As promised....

Here are the pictures from our recent trip out to California, It was a great little getaway. Hopefully we will get to do it all again super soon.
For the first half of our trip we stayed in good ole' Porterville, Cort's old stomping ground. I got to go to the Relief Society broadcast with Cort's mom and Grandma, our first night there. All of the speakers talks were so good. But it was President Uchtdorf's remarks that really got me thinking. one of the things he talked about was happiness and how even in tough times we can find happiness. One of the things he said that really stood out to me was at the end of his talk when he said "In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance." Thanks Luann and Ann, I really apprecioated going with you.

Here's some of the other fun things we did while we where there.

On Sunday we had a barbeque with Cort's family and the Farmers, some of Cort's old friends from back in the day. They have a boy and a girl about Taylor and Chase's same age, so that was fun for them. I love how kids can just get together and it's like they play together everyday.
Here's Chase and Easton.

and here's Taylor and Maddy

Talan got really good at walking while we where there. It's so cute to see him go. He kind of does a little swagger (is that a word) when he walks. It totally makes me smile and a little nervous. I keep thinking he's going to fall, but he usually is pretty good at catching himself. When did he get so BIG?

Here's Tay with her grandma watching a movie together in their pjs. These two really do have a special relationship. Tay just beams when she's with her Grandma.

After a couple of days in Porterville we headed for Disneyland. The first day down there we decided to stop and let the kids play at the beach. We were told about this really cool beach at Laguna Beach, so that's where we went. (Thanks Buchanan's for the tip.) When we first got there it was a little chilly, not bad, but definitely NOT swimming weather. We got out of the car and started walking down to the beach when Taylor and Chase started begging us to let them put their swimsuits on. I couldn't believe it. They are such die hards. The water was quite chilly and no one was really getting in....expect our kids, oh and the surfers with their wet suits on. Taylor and Chase had a blast, wading in the water, and splashing around. It was such a fun spot, it had these huge tide pools, with hermit crabs, everywhere, and seashells, which was Tay's favorite part. We originally thought we'd only be there for like a hour tops, but I think we ended up staying there for at least a couple hours, if not longer.



Chase was loving the seagulls. He chased them all over the place.

The next two following days we did Disneyland. The kids were so excited. The first day there I couldn't believe it, we were WALKING ONTO THE RIDES!! I think I was more excited about that then the actually rides. We had such a good time. Cort took the boys back to the room around 3:00 that first day, so me and Tay got to spend some quality time together just the two of us.

Talan was such a trooper the whole time. Here he is in the carrier fast asleep taking his nap.

Taylor kept calling all the little rides like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Snow White, roller coasters. She had no interest in the real ones. Here we are on the teas cups. The one thing that she said she HAD to do.

Our second day there Cort's parents drove down to join us. Thanks grandma and grandpa. We did Finding Nemo, Pirates again (one of my personal favorites) and the Haunted Mansion with them, among others. Chase was so funny both times on Pirates. We decided before we left that Chase was going to be Captain Jack Sparrow for halloween. Well, everytime we saw Captain Jack, Chase would scream out "there me!" We also took turns with grandma and grandpa, going on two of my other personal favorites Indiana Jones and Tower of Terror. Chase was soooo bummed out that he couldn't ride the Tower of terror with us. He just didn't meet the height requirement. We had to promise him next time for sure when we was a little bit taller. He just kept saying "I biggeer."

A highlight for Taylor was when we stumbled upon the princess hair and make-up salon. We had them do her hair and paint her face. She was in heaven. When the lady asked her what color flowers and ribbon she wanted in her hair she said "yellow and red," her favorite. Well, the lady then assumed that, that's what she wanted on her face as well, well Taylor was quick to tell her that she wanted her brothers favorite colors green and blue on her face. What cute kids. They are always thinking of one another, it melts my heart.


When we asked Chase who he wanted to meet he said only Goofy. I didn't even know that he really knew who Goofy was. Well, we are all about making dreams come true in the Welker household, so here we are in Toon Town with good ole Goofy.

We got to meet a lot of the charaters and Taylor got a lot of their autographs. Here's the gang with Minnie all dressed up for the holiday.

So sad when it was time to go, the kids actually shed many tears as we were packing up Friday morning. I am so grateful for times like these, being with family is just simply the best.

For all you Twlight fans

How fun is this! And just in time for Halloween. Which Twilight character are you?
I am....

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!
You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and appreciate the kind way you always handle things.
Take the quiz here
http://twilightersanonymous.com/Quizzes/Find-out-which-female-character-you-are.html

and then for fun leave a comment saying which character you are. I think it would be fun to compare.

Naptime?

I think we seriously wore this little guy right out last week! We took a big family trip out to California and had such a fun time. (Stay tuned pics soon to come). We got home way late Friday night. Well, Saturday morning we got up ate some breakfast, hung out for a bit, and then I got Chase in the bath. I got him in and walked in the other room for a sec to check on Tally came back and this is what I found.....Chase snoring fast asleep in the bath tub! Sigh. I almost died when I saw him. What a stinkin' cutie.

These two....

crack me up! Seriously could they be any cuter? I'm sitting in the family room this afternoon when I hear these two little rascals just giggling as they came bee-bopping down the hallway. I smiled so big when I saw them come around the corner. Oh, how I love these kids! After we took a much needed picture, they both decided to perform for me. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

Kasey's Big day

Well, it's offical my little sis got married last night. She has always been such an important part of my life and I love her dearly. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make her day so special. She looked amazing. It was a fun time, and now we have a new member of our family.
Introducing Chance and Kasey Noyes..........

Everyone had such a great time too. Especially the kids, my kids just live for this kind of stuff. Here's Taylor in all her glory. She was sooooooooo in her element. Seriously, getting her hair all done, wearing lip gloss, carrying flowers, wearing a beautiful dress, dancing to her hearts content, this is the type of stuff Miss Taylor lives for. She was in heaven. Her, Riley and one other little one where in charge of getting the gifts and Taylor really took her job seriously. I went to check on her at one point just as some people were arriving and I heard Taylor say "oh, a customer!", as she ran to greet them.


Little Chase had a good time too. He worn his little suit that we got for the ocassion the ENTIRE time. I was shocked! I orinigally thought 20 minutes TOPS! Ahh! This kid melts my heart. He was all about the chicken dance, (see pic) I wish I had it on tape, and of course the chocolate dipped strawberries. YUM!


And here's Tally Wally doing what he does best, looking so darn cute. He loved the dancing too (see pic below). This kid is just the sweetest.

And here's a couple fun random shots.



Cort and Talan dancing

the fam.


And here's one of all the flowers from the reception that we took over to my mom following the reception. We did this for my wedding and Whit's too. It's always so fun to go and do this with who ever is still around. I know my mom just loves this. And we love doing it too.

One last of Talan on the way home after a long day of fun. All three of the kids crashed hard on our way home late last night. We really wore them out.
Congrats again Kas and Chance, love ya both!

Update

Seven years
Last week was me and Cort's 7 year anniversary. Hard to believe it's been seven years! 7 years, 3 kids later, and still going strong. I feel so blessed to have Cort in my life he truly is my best friend. He works so hard for our family and always has our best interest at heart.
Here's a couple pictures of us about eight years ago or so, I can't believe it's been that long. I remember when I was younger and eight years felt like an eternity, now I feel like I blink and eight years passes by.....


And here's one of us with Taylor when she was six weeks old. (still can't believe she's in kindergarten.)

For our anniversary Cort planned a little trip for us. We went up to Portland for the weekend while his parents stayed with our kids. It was a nice little break even though I missed the kids like CRAZY.
Cort sort of surprised me with tickets to Phantom of the Opera that first night and dinner at a resturant right on the water. The play was amazing! The special effects were incredible. Of course I forgot to take a picture, (I am so bad at taking pictures if it doesn't include our kids). However, I did have Cort stop by the theater so we could take a picture by the poster on our way out of town at 5am!
And here I am.....

The second day we went to the beach, did some shopping, had some fresh seafood and just enjoyed being together.
Cort really is quite a guy. I know I don't tell him that enough. I look forward to many more years with him. I am a lucky girl!!
Sick day
Well, a couple days after we got back poor Tally got pretty sick. He had a stomach bug of some sort I guess. I made him a little bed in the family room and put in a movie for him and he just laid there and watched it, which he NEVER does. Anyways, I thought this picture of him and Chase was so cute I had to post it. Chase was so concerned about him. What cute brothers.

Growing up
I love this picture of Chase. I took it right before he was about to go to one of his little buddies birthday parties. He was so excited to go. As I watched him get ready to walk out the door, I realized how big he was getting and that's when I decided we needed to take a picture to remember how I felt at that exact moment when I realized he really isn't a baby anymore, he's a little boy. Or as he would say "a big boy!!" Get it right mom!

Campout
The whole fam actually got to go to our ward's campout this year. We had a blast! Chase was totally in his element, as was Taylor. They are true campers for sure. There was a great big hill right by our camp sight that the kids climbed up and down I don't know how many times. We had hot dogs for dinner, roasted marshmallows, and slept in a tent. Honestly, does it get any better then that? Not in my kid's world! Ever since we got home, almost every night in Chase's prayer he thanks his Heavenly Father for the campout. I think it's safe to say we will be going a lot over the years.


Talan is one!
Tally turned one on August 27th. Once again I can't believe it! He was so cute at his little party. When we sang him happy birthday he just stared at us like we were crazy. It was hilarious. I got it on tape, I really need to learn how to upload videos. If anyone wants to teach me that would be great. Of course Tally enjoyed his cake. We had him eat it outside, good thinking on my part. He made a mess and as soon as he was done he crawled right over to the sandbox and started playing. He now plays peek a boo with us with him being the one who hides on his own. He's not walking yet, but he did take his first step at church today, but honestly he's really not that interested in it yet. He loves to eat just about anything, and makes all of us smile on a daily basis. I can't believe he's one. Happy Birthday little guy!!


And I am 32!!
I had the best birthday this year. I felt very humbled by everyone thinking of me on my big day. I truly do have some of the best people around in my life. What a blessing it is to be surrounded by such amazing people who are such wonderful examples to me. I really am so blessed in so many ways. As I look back on the last year of my life and think of all the many times and ways my Heavenly Father has blessed me I am overwhelmed. I am so grateful for the good times and of course even the bad times that have made me better and stronger. Thanks to everyone who made my day so special, it truly was because of all of you, here's to another great year!

Time flys

For those of you who have been concerned, no the Welkers have not fallen off the face of the earth, we are still here, just a little behind with the blogging world. I can't believe that we are already half way through August....I guess it's true what they say time flys when your having fun.
Here's some of the fun stuff we have been up too lately....
We went down to St. George a couple of weeks back and did some hiking, shopping, swimming, and just had a grand old time. Me and Taylor also went and saw the Sound of Music at the Tuccan theater down there. She couldn't take her eyes off the stage. If you have never been you MUST go. Here's a couple pictures of us hiking the red rocks down in St. George when we were there. The kids absolutely loved the hike, regardless of the fact that it was over 100 degrees! When we first got there Chase was hoping so hard that we would find a snake and of course no surprise to those who know me well, I was praying that we didn't!



However, we did find this little guy and one of his buddies on a bench that I almost had the kids sit on to take a picture. YIKES! Thank goodness I didn't! Cort actually saw him and I found his friend on the way back to the car.

We have also been doing a lot of swimming over the past two months too, the kids just simply can't get enough of it. Chase is our little dare devil, the phrase "no fear" comes to mind. He absolutely hates that I make him wear a life jacket when he sees that Taylor doesn't have to wear one. He just wants to be like his big sis in every way. I seriously think he'll be swimming before long.


Our little Tally has been going through a lot of big changes lately too. He is really turning into a little boy. He was leading the music in church yesterday. And he is now waving, pointing at things, giving kisses, saying mama, and dada, and he LOVES playing along side Taylor and Chase, (no big change there, no one can make him laugh like they do). However, probably my favorite thing he does is when he is all fussy and whining and I'll ask him if he wants a cracker or a drink and he'll stop crying and babble back at me, I swear he's trying to tell me that he does. I really need to get it on tape. Also, his new love is the hose in our yard. He will seriously sit and play with it forever. The other day he was outside playing with the hose, and eating crackers, when we brought him in he was a big wet mess, so Cort threw him in the kitchen sink and gave him a bath. He loved it. It was pretty cute stuff.

And of course, one of are most exciting news is that Taylor is now a big time kindergarter!! She started last week. I can hardly believe it! Even now when I drop her off I have to remind myself that yes she is old enough to be doing this. Her teacher is adorable and she is already having a lot of fun. I was driving around the other day and I was thinking about her starting school and I couldn't believe that it has already been FIVE AND A HALF years since we welcomed her into our family and lifes. She is my little gem! Here she is on her first day of school. She is such a poser, she loves to have her picture taken. I just know that she is going to have a great year.