The Byron Family

New Years Eve

2012-01-26T10:49:00.001-08:00

For New Years Eve the girls and I went to the movies and then we met up with the boys for dessert and appetizers at Applebees, we finished the night at home watching the countdown.

Christmas

2012-01-26T10:30:00.001-08:00

Christmas

I like Jordan's face below, it was a little early for her to be up.
I got a Silhouette paper cuter

Jacob got lots of camping stuff (for Scouts), video games and toys

Tyler got a smart phone

Jordan got a smart phone

Chris got a keyboard for his ipad

Emily got lots of clothes, shoes and makeup

Catching Up-Tyler's Birthday and Hawaii

2012-01-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

For Tyler's 17th Birthday he went to Hawaii with his dad. Some of the places they went were to the Arizona Memorial, the Temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Catching Up

2012-01-25T12:16:00.001-08:00

I guess it's time to catch up on my blog. I have a good excuse though, my laptop broke right after school started and I couldn't possibly walk all the way to the downstairs computer to work on my blog, so I had to wait until after Christmas when I got my new laptop to start blogging again. By the way, the song playing is one of my new favorites from the Breaking Dawn soundtrack, I can't seem to get it out of my head.

So here it is:

Scouting-Look how much Jacob loves his mom(notice the elbow to the chest)

Jacob Receiving his Arrow of Light

A couple of the older boys put on a really neat ceremony for Jacob, complete with Indian attire and all.

First Day Of School

2011-09-26T12:04:00.001-07:00

Just and FYI....Emily was mad she had to wear her cheerleading outfit on the first day of school. She really wanted to wear some of her new clothes. When Emily got to school the principal told her that her skirt was too short and she needed to wear leggings under it or put sweats on over it, but she could take the leggings off during the assembly and games. Don't you think they should get longer skirts if they are supposed to wear them to school but they are not allowed to wear them to school, or maybe they should not be told they have to wear them to school?? Or maybe they could make an exception for the cheerleaders who are told to wear their uniforms to school on assembly and game days. It's seems a little confusing to me.

Anyways, Emily is starting 8th grade, Tyler is in 11th and Jacob is in 5th.

Vacation-Our Last Week-Days 30-35

2011-08-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Day 30-We went to dinner at Fogo De Chao (a Brazilian restaurant) with our friends the Isom's and then we went to see Captain America. All the kids stayed back at the apartment and went swimming and watched movies.

Day 31- We drove up to New York. We checked into our hotel on Staten Island around 4:00pm and hurried to make it into New York City for the evening. On the ferry ride over we saw the Statue of Liberty, it was actually much smaller than I expected it to be. Even though we only had a few hours we managed to see Wall Street, Trinity Church, Ground Zero and just got to experience New York. It was very dirty and there were piles of garbage all over the streets. It looks so pretty on TV.

Day 32- Last night we stayed up until about 1:00 in the morning and then the kids insisted we get up at 6:00am to drive over to Carlos Bakery. I'm pretty sure this was the entire reason the kids wanted to come to New York. We made it to Carlos Bakery by about 7:30 and only had to wait in line for about a half hour. It was the highlight of the day and we got to try lobster tails, cannolis, eclairs and of course a red velvet cupcake for me. The lobster tails were awesome and the rest of the stuff, well not so much. I didn't even finish my cupcake:(

After we were done at Carlos' Bakery we went over to New York and we went to Battery Park, Time Square, Central Park, all the fun stores like, Hershey's and the M&M store. The girls managed to get tickets to Mama Mia so the boys went to Ripley and spent a lot of time playing around in Toys R Us.

Day 33-Our last day in New York-We went to See Wicked, my favorite Broadway play and the highlight of my trip. The boys and Jordan went to FAO Schwarz and saw Transformers. We ended the evening in the very busy Time Square and on the way back we stopped and saw the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden. Overall it was a really fun trip and I'm glad I got to experience New York.

Day 34 was a packing and cleaning day.

Day 35 We flew Home and missed the Earthquake in Virginia by less than an hour. We are all very happy to be home and to not have to deal with the Hurricane that Chris gets to experience this weekend. After so much to do everyday, we are currently suffering from extreme boredom and hope it passes soon.

Vacation-Days 24-29

2011-08-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Day 24-As many of you know, Emily has Solar Urticaria which is an allergy to the sun. We have always felt very blessed to have chosen to live in a place where we never see the sun:) We were very worried about taking her to a hot and sunny place. Emily has done very well with the sun as long as she wears sunscreen but she decided to lay out at the pool without putting any on...and here is what happens.

Day 24- We met Chris for lunch near his work at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which is very good, and then we walked over to the naval museum and some boat(I forgot the name). I wasn't too excited about this since I've been to the naval museum in Bremerton (boring) and been on many ships but the naval museum was really big and didn't even compare to the one at home. The ship, well, it was just like the rest, but the boys has a lot of fun. Jordan and Emily opted to stay home that day.

Day 25-Chris and I wanted to go to Gettysburg but the kids out voted us and wanted to go to Virginia beach. They have never been to an east coast beach so we felt bad and took them. Our beach here is too cold to actually get in the water. They had a really good time even though we drove in bumper to bumper traffic for five hours to get there. We were only able to stay for a few hours but we managed to play in the sand, swim in the water, we walked the boardwalk, ate at a buffet and then we had to start the long drive home. On the positive side, it only took us 2 1/2 hours to get home.

Day 26- We all slept in and then went to Church. After Church we decided to go the Arlington Cemetery. As soon as we got there Jacob threw up so we left the older boys there and took Jacob home. I was sad I didn't get to see the cemetery but I guess I have pictures.

Day 27-Jordan and I went to the Air and Flight Museum (I have no pictures), the American Indian Museum, the Sculpture Gardens and Museum, and the Smithsonian Castle.

Day 28-We had to wake up early to stand in line to get tickets to the Bereau of Engraving and Printing. Apparently this is the most popular attraction in D.C., I'm not really sure why, It was neat and everything but 7:30 was a little early. After the BEP, the kids took paddel boats over to see the Jefferson Memorial and Jacob and I walked over to see it. When we were done we walked over to the Holocasut Museum. This was a nicely done Museum, they didn't allow pictures, but I don't think I would have wanted to take any anyways.

Day 29 was resting and packing for New York.

Vacation-Days 17-24

2011-08-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Jordan's Birthday- Jordan decided she wanted to go to the wax museum and dinner for her Birthday. The wax museum was really fun to take pictures at and pose with all the celebrities. When we were bored of posing we went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I have never been to any of the Hard Rocks but it turns out they actually have really good food, now if you want to have a conversation with each other, that's another story.

The boys thought our plans were kind of lame so they opted to go to Dave and Busters and see Harry Potter.

Day 18 we went to the Air and Flight Museum. The kids were not too excited about this but when we got there they saw the plane from Transformers and their attitudes changed a little. Chris really wanted to go on the tour with a guide and so he ended up bribing the kids if they came along that they would get to ride in the simulators when we were done, the tours were like 2-3 hour tours he almost had to bribe me too. We also got to ride to the top of a flight tower and see the city.

Day 21-We have a friend who works at the Pentagon who was able to give us a tour. After me repeatedly reminding the kids to remember their I.D.'s, when we got there and as the guy asked me for my ID, I realized I had forgotten It. I search through my pockets to see what I had with me, I couldn't believe I had Forgotten it, but even more unbelievable was they ended up letting me in with my Debit and Costco Card(Shh...don't tell anyone). Some memorable things we learned on our pentagon tour was...It has 17.4 miles of hallways, 23,000 people work there, it has 400 bathrooms, you can get from any one point to another in less than 8 minutes, they have a bank, jeweler, dentist, restaurants and anything else you can imagine, and there is a memorial outside that has a bench for each person who died at the Pentagon on 9/11. I think the neatest things we learned were all the miracles that happened on 9/11. Even though many people died, there were so many more saved. What a great tour, It was the best tour we've been on.

Day 22 we went over to the D.C. Temple and Visitor Center. First impression, it was huge. What a beautiful Temple.

Day 23 the kids went to Kings Dominion which is a giant amusement park. I opted out on going considering I can't even ride to the store without getting motion sick. They forgot a camera so no pictures.

I went shopping that day and went back to Georgetown. I decided to do a taste test of the cupcake shops. The cupcakes are from Sprinkles, Georgetown Cupcakes and Baked and Wired. All were supposed to be really good. For anyone planning to visit DC and in a need of the best Red Velvet cupcake, Georgetown wins(they are the smallest though). They were all good, Sprinkles cupcake tasted like a boxed mix, I really liked it though, but I wouldn't want to pay money for it. Baked and Wired was big and the frosting was good but the cake was kind of dry.

My dream Job...A cupcake taster.

Days 19-church and rain, rain, rain.

Day 20 shopping, groceries, frozen yo(the best yogurt place ever) and we picked up Brandon who is Tyler's friend and went to see the white house at night.

Vacation-Days 12-16

2011-08-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

Day 15 we toured the White House and the White House Visitors center. The excitement of the day was watching the motorcade leave the White House. I really enjoyed seeing the inside of the White House, but the visitors center left something to be desired. Later in the evening we went over to Georgetown Cupcakes (aka D.C. Cupcakes). I have to say, they live up to the hype, they really are good cupcakes. I plan on going back to Georgetown later and trying Sprinkles and Baked and Wired cupcakes to see which is the best.

Day 13 we toured the Capitol Building. I enjoyed touring this building it was really beautiful. We stood around a star that was the exact center of D.C. Later in the evening my niece Lakyn came to visit for a few days.

Day 12 we went to church and had dinner with the Isom's. We used to live next door to the Isom's in Provo while we were going to school. They were very gracious to us and managed to feed all 7 of us plus their family of 7 a very delicious dinner of Chicken Parmesan. We haven't seen Mike and Kiersten for 10 years and really enjoyed hanging out with them. They are still the best neighbors we ever had.(And I'm not just saying that because she reads my blog)

Day 14 and 16 were resting, cleaning and swimming days.

Vacation-Day 11

2011-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun today. First we drove up to a little town called lititz near Lancaster Pennsylvania to go on a Pretzel Factory Tour. (On the way there the kids saw a Pokemon car and had to pull over to take a picture with it.) We all became expert pretzel makers and got to try a lot of different kinds of Pretzels. Next we went to Hershey, I have always wanted to go there, I was so excited. We went on the Hershey tour ride, checked out the gift shops and ate chocolate shakes and cupcakes. It was a dream come true.

Vacation-Day 10

2011-08-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Jordan's friend Eric came to stay with us for a few days. During the day we went to the DEA Museum, it was.... interesting. It was full of a lot of drug paraphernalia. I could of lived without my kids seeing a Bong, Pot Tarts and Budda-fingers:)

In the Evening we decided to go into D.C. We took the metro to the Arlington station where we stopped and looked at the Soldier Statue. We continued to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the fountain and then ended the evening at the Washington Monument. Even though it was 97 degrees outside and we were all dripping sweat, it was still really neat to be there at night.

Vacation-Day 9

2011-08-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the National Archives where we saw the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Next we went to the Museum of American History. The kids had no interest in being at another museum and were quite upset that I would go to two museums in one day, so they walked through the museum in lightning speed and I saw almost nothing. I was lucky to get two pictures with the kids.

Vacation-Day 8

2011-08-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Today Jordan flew in from College and we picked her up from the airport. When she was taking a nap Emily and I discovered a really cool outlet mall where she got lots of new clothes. I also included pictures of our apartment.

Vacation-Day 7

2011-07-26T14:31:00.001-07:00

Today we visited the National Zoo. It was about 90 degrees today and actually felt really great because there was no humidity.

Vacation-Day 6

2011-07-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

We are all exhausted and stayed home to rest, minus the little trip to the outlet mall.

Vacation-Day 5

2011-07-26T14:20:00.001-07:00

Driving home from Palmyra we stopped at Watkins Glen State Park. It was a beautiful hike with lots of waterfalls and stairs.

Vacation-Day 4

2011-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today we visited Palmyra and Fayette NY. We started the morning in the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. It was an awesome experience to be able to walk through he grove. Next we toured Joesph and Emma's Smith's house, the hill Cumorah and Visitor Center, Palmyra Museum, The Book Of Mormon Printing Shop(which was really cool), the Martin Harris Farm, the Peter Whitmer Farm(where the chruch was organized) and last, on the way back to the Hotel, we saw the M'clintock house in Waterloo where the Civil War ended. We wanted to end the day in the Sacred Grove at sunset, which turned out to be a really bad idea because we spent the entire time running from and fighting off the nasty bugs.

Vacation-Day 3

2011-07-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today we spent 8 hours in the Car driving to Palmyra NY. On the way there we stopped in Harmony Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna river where the priesthood was restored and where much of the Book of Mormon was translated.

Vacation-Day 2

2011-07-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

Museum of Natural History

Vacation-Day 1

2011-07-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Giant Mall

Today was our first day in Washington D.C. I was very excited to have some Georgetown Cupcakes waiting for me when we arrived to the Apartment. We spent the day checking out our rental apartment, getting groceries and walking the huge mall across the street. In the evening we went to the D.C. United soccer game. We have never been to the East Coast before and didn't quite understand the pure misery of humidity until that night. The game was at 7:30pm and it was 95 degrees and 70% humidity outside, fun.

Emily's Birthday

2011-07-11T09:40:00.001-07:00

Emily's Birthday started off with breakfast at Burger King, followed by a Picnic lunch at the Frandsen's house. Emily played volleyball for several hours and when she was done with that we went to the movie Monte Carlo. We ended the night with cake and Fireworks.

Emily Cheering at the Armed Forces Day Parade

2011-05-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

Momorn Prom

2011-04-26T12:17:00.001-07:00

Bishop Byron and his Bodyguards

2011-04-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Chris was recently called to be the new Bishop in our Ward. He called two awesome guys to serve as his counselors. It wasn't until the first Sunday when they were all sitting on the stand that I noticed how surprisingly small Chris looked in between them. Later I found out that I was not the only one who noticed. I had some friends over a few weeks ago and they started joking about buying Chris a booster seat and sticking it up on the stand as an Aprils fools joke.(Fortunately they never did). They had also mentioned that it looked like Chris had two Bodyguards sitting next to him. We had a good laugh about it but now every time I see the three together I can't help but laugh. His secretary is really tall too but I didn't get a picture of him.

Biggest Loser

2011-04-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Chris recently competed in the Biggest Loser competition at the base gym. He lost 33 pounds in 8 weeks. He won the competition and received an Ipod Nano, Nike shoe and Ipod software and running case.

BeforeAfter

Young Women's

2011-03-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful husband and his new calling, I'm no longer allowed to be the Young Women's President. As sad as that makes me, I am grateful for the time I've had to serve these beautiful Young Women and for the awesome leaders I was able to work with. I am also grateful to be able to continue on as the Young Women's Secretary.

Hair

2011-03-17T09:56:00.001-07:00

This picture is for my mom who wanted to see my new hair color. I've been a blonde for as long as I can remember. I was a red head when I was very young, then a natural blonde as a child, and over the years it's just gotten darker and darker. I've payed a small fortune keeping myself blonde over the years, the upkeep is unreal and I always seem to have roots showing. So I've opted for something a little easier and cheaper to manage that's much closer to my natural color.

Tolo

2011-03-04T11:39:00.001-08:00

Leavenworth

2011-03-02T10:53:00.001-08:00

Tyler's 16th Birthday

2011-01-26T12:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, so Tyler's Birthday was way back in the beginning of November but I'm just getting around to posting this. For Tyler's Birthday he got a new(used) car. He complained for months before he got the car because he didn't want a stick shift. He is a now very good at driving stick shift (minus the 2 times he hit the house and the time he put a huge gaping hole in the van bumper) and he's grateful that we made him learn. For his party he took his friends to trampoline world and to his favorite buffet. I'll post party pictures later.

Jacob's Birthday Party

2011-01-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

This year for Jacob's 10th Birthday he invited his friends over for pizza, to play the xbox and

to go to a double feature of Yogi Bear and Narnia.

Bone Marrow Part 4 (pictures)

2011-01-06T17:50:00.001-08:00

Day 5-Donating (smiling because it's over)

Day 1-Shots (smiling because I don't know any better)

Bone marrow donation - final report

2011-01-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

I can't remember where I left off in the last post so I'll start with day 4. Day 4 was worse than day 3 but better at the same time because I was only one day away from donating. I didn't go to work and I'm glad. It was a lot more bearable at home. I think around 1pm we left to take Jordan to the airport. First stop, of course, the mall. I agreed because a good lunch was promised afterward. I let them do their thing and went and found a comfortable couch outside of the Apple store where I could get free wi-fi. From the car to the couch I walked like an old man, avoiding grimacing and consentrated on smiling so I didn't frighten the little children. I had contemplated staying in the car but the couch was much more comfortable than the car so I'm glad I went in. After lunch we hit the airport and said goodbye to Jordan. That's another blog in itself. Needless to say it was hard to say goodbye to my little girl for the better part of the coming year.

We arrived in Seattle and checked into the Sorrento hotel which was old but elegant. It had a huge king size bed which proved to be the best part of the room for Dianna because I didn't sleep much that night so hopefully she didn't feel me tossing and turning. My back hurt so bad I just couldn't go to sleep and so I was in and out of bed and the TV was on and off all night. We packed light for the overnight stay but I REALLY wish I would have remembered to bring some nyquil or tylenol PM or something. My bad.

We met Carrie, the donation coordinator and very nice lady, at 7am the next morning for my final shot. After getting the shot Dianna and I had some breakfast at the corner cafe' and then it was go time. I hopped up in the luxurious hospital bed with crunchy sheets and made myself as comfortable as possible. With a pillow under each arm and a bright pink blanket pulled up to my chest I was ready. They stuck a needle in each arm, the right to pull the blood out and the left to pump it back in. It was a weird feeling is all I can say. I could feel clear up in my right shoulder the pump pulling the blood out and in my left could feel the luke warm chill of the blood coming back in. I let Dianna choose the video to watch, hoping that I would be able to fall asleep because I was exhausted. No luck though, so I had the pleasure of watching Eclipse. It was a treat. The machine clicked and spun and in just over 3 hours I was all done. It was like giving blood for a really long time from both arms. Thankfully I didn't have to go to the bathroom while I was strapped in. I was concerned about this because they were pumping me full of IV fluids the whole time, not to mention the orange juice I downed for breakfast. Why the concern you ask? Well, with needles in both arms I would have required a nurse's assistance to go. I tried to convince Dianna to help me but she said there were certain lines that shouldn't be crossed in a relationship and that was one of them. The nurse assured me she was used to it but I assured her I was not. Enough about that. One other thing that was interesting is they were giving me a calcium drip to compensate for what I was losing. Apparantly I was getting too much at one point because my lips started tingling. It was like getting nitrous at the dentist office. A quick adjustment and it went away though.

When I was done I physically felt much better and my spirits were lifted as I watched them weigh and package the stem cell bag which, by the way, looks a lot like tomato soup. They put it in one of those organ coolers for transport and said by the next morning the patient would be receiving it. The nurses there were nice enough to give me a little thank you bag that had a card signed by all of them and a t-shirt and mug. I think there was a candy bar in there but I may have just been hungry and imagined that. Anyway, it was very nice. That afternoon and evening I was tired more than anything and spent it on the couch. With the help of some nyquil I slept very well that night (last night) and woke up pretty much back to normal. I went in to work with no problem and am looking forward to a relaxing night at home to finish recouperating. By tomorrow I expect to be good as new. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do this and would encourage anyone who reads this to look into being a bone marrow donor if you aren't already. Aside from being the right thing to do, I'm hoping this will earn me a couple of bonus points with the big man upstairs. Heaven knows I could use the extra credit.

Bone marrow donation part 2

2011-01-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

One word for yesterday, OUCH. Yesterday was day 3 of the shots and by far my worst day so far. Out of nowhere my hips started hurting like crazy. I was walking like an old man. I went in to work thinking it would distract me and it did for a while but still, like I said, ouch. Not like the make you cry ouch but a nagging persistent ouch. So, I've been a little frustrated with this whole pain scale thing. They told me if I ever got to a level 3 that I was supposed to call the doctor. Isn't a level 3 like a mild headache? It's still a happy face on the doctor's office smily face chart, right? It just didn't make sense because they tell you up front that it's going to hurt. Needless to say, I manned up and maintained that I was only at a level 2 even though I definitely wasn't smiling yesterday. Just give me a baby aspirin, maybe a flinstone vitamin and I'll be fine because that's how you treat a level 2. So this morning, day 4, I get the paperwork that my friend Brad has been filling out each morning after giving me the shots and I notice something. I notice that the pain scale isn't a scale from 1 to 10, it's a scale from 1 to 4. Well, that makes quite a difference. Here's how they define it; level 1 is mild pain that doesn't interfere with function. I'm thinking that's like a headache or something. Level 2 is moderate pain that does interfere with function but not ADL which is 'activities of daily living'. So a level two means you're in pain and don't really want to do anything but find a comfortable position but you're not in so much pain that it affects ADL like brushing your teeth or eating. Then there's the mighty level 3 which is severe pain severely interfering with ADL. If you make it to a level 3 you don't want to eat, sleep, play monopoly, nothing. You just lay there and sob. NO WONDER they want you to call if you're at a level 3. Level 4 is defined as disabling. I guess that's where you have the paramedics come in and lift you onto the gurny. Now that I've properly defined the pain scale I can safely say that I have not been above a level 2 this whole time. But like I said in the previous blog, I would gladly go through much worse knowing that this small sacrifice could save someone's life. I think about the patient a lot. I know it sounds a little twisted, but it makes all this much easier to handle knowing that she's going through a lot worse right now. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

Bone Marrow donation

2011-01-02T12:45:00.000-08:00

Umm, Hi, this is Chris. If you haven't guessed by now, Dianna is the mastermind behind our family blog. She asked me to start this entry out and talk about my experience over the last few days. Well, it started about 15 years ago when I was thinking about my uncle Bob who died of Leukemia. I wanted to be on the bone marrow donor list just in case one day I could help someone like uncle Bob. So we looked it up and had to drive all the way to Salt Lake City (from Provo) and then they made us pay like 25/30 bucks a piece and to top it all off they didn't even validate our parking. I hope they've gotten better. But hey, at the end of the day I was on the list. So, fast forward 15 years to about a month ago when I got a call out of the blue from someone down in the bay area in California. She asked some questions about my health and then told me that I was a perfect match for a woman in that area that needed a bone marrow transplant. I was so excited and nervous but eager to help.

Did you know that you don't have to get your hip drilled into to give bone marrow? That was a relief, not that I'm not tough enough to handle it but I might have cried and that would have been embarrassing. Anyway, what they do now is give you an injection once a day for a week that stimulates stem cell production and then at the end of the 5 days they hook you up to a machine for about 6 hours that sucks your blood out, spins it around, and then pumps it back in. I haven't made it that far so I can't say more about it right now. I am, however, on day two of the shots which are supposedly the worst part. They kind of freaked me out when they told me about getting nauseous, headaches, flu like bone aches, etc. I envisioned an experience similar to when Wolverine had all of his bones melted away and replaced with adamantium. Ouch. Thankfully it hasn't been bad at all (yet). You know how when someone scratches a blackboard and you get the chills? Well, imagine that but in your bones. It feels a little tingly I guess, especially in my skull. Weird. Beyond that I haven't felt that bad. My lower back is killing me but it hurts often and I'm not entirely sure if it's the medicine or just me. But, you know what? I would gladly experience 10 or 100 times the discomfort with the knowledge that I could be a part of saving someone's life. Somewhere down in the San Fransisco area there is a women who is battling Leukemia and right now is going through intensive radiation and chemotherapy to prepare her body to receive my bone marrow. How can I think to complain when the discomfort I feel now pales in comparison.

That's it so far. I'm betting that Dianna will have me do a couple more of these posts over the next few days. After all, our lives are pretty boring and having something like this going on makes for some good blogging.

Bathroom Remodel

2010-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well I seem to be having technical difficulties on my blog site. I can't seem to edit my already posted items and I always end up having a ton of space below my pictures and before my comments. If anyone knows how to fix this let me know. Anyway, since I couldn't add text to my pictures of my bathroom remodel, I thought I would just add a new post.

So, we recently decided to remodel our very small master bathroom. All we really wanted was a new shower. Well it turns out that everything in our bathroom was custom made. Chris ended up having to tear up the floors, move piping, redo drywall, etc... It was quite the project but i love how it turned out.

Bathroom Remodel

2010-10-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Tyler Playing Soccer

2010-10-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

Portland To Coast Run

2010-09-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

This summer Tyler had the opportunity to run the Portland to coast relay. The run was 127 miles and he was on a team with 11 other kids. Each kid took two legs of the race. Their team, Run for your life, started at 6:00pm on a Friday night and they finished Saturday around 1:30pm.

There are a few pictures above along with a link below to a YouTube video that Jordan made for the team.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JordanByron1000#p/u/2/m6L3YSmnCZU

Family Pictures

2010-08-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

Emily's Birthday Party

2010-07-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

For Emily's 12th Birthday she decided to have a bowling party.

Crazy Bowling

This is Emily very surprised she actually got a cell phone for her Birthday.

This is Emily crying because she actually got a cell phone for her Birthday.

Trek

2010-06-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

This year Jordan ,Tyler and Chris went on a four day Pioneer Trek. This is a group of kids from our ward who went. It was about 6:00am on Wednesday when this picture was taken and they were all looking great and excited to go

Tyler is in the middle

Chris is the 2nd from the left

Chris is the 3rd from the left

Tyler, 3rd from the left

Jordan in the pink dress

This is what they looked like when they got home Saturday night.

Part of Tyler's Trek Family

Happy to be home

Tyler's Eagle Court Of Honor

2010-06-24T15:02:00.001-07:00

Flag ceremonyTyler receiving his Eagle

Jordan and Emily's Graduation

2010-06-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Leaving for Graduation

Emily's 6th Grade Graduation

Emily and her Principal Mr. Nash

Emily and her teacher Mrs. Leewick

Emily just received the Presidents award for outstanding academics throughout elementary school.

Emily was chosen to sing a solo of "We are the world"at her graduation.

Prom

2010-06-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

This year Jordan was invited to Prom by the sweetest boy ever, Eric. On Prom morning we were taking the youth on a temple trip that begun at 5:00am. When we walked out the door, very early in the morning, we found flowers, hot chocolate and a note wishing Jordan a good Prom morning. Nicest boy ever.

For Prom they went to Seattle and ate at the Melting Pot, went to the top of the Space Needle, attended prom at the Experience Music Project and had dessert at Shari's.

It only took me about 15 minutes to pin on the Boutonniere.

Freshman

2010-05-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Tyler and his friends going to the Freshman dance

Trip to Langley, B.C.

2010-05-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

We recently took a trip across the border to attend the open house of the Langley Temple which is located near Vancouver B.C. We took all of our kids along with Jordan's three non-member friends who were interested in seeing the inside of a Mormon temple. The temple was beautiful of course, the rain and wind however, not so much. You would think we would be used to the rain but it was even a bit much for us. We spent the night in Langley and did some shopping and eating. We discovered a really great donut shop called Tim Horton's and the mall had a lot of different and unique stores. I'm glad we were able to go and take all of the kids.

2010-05-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is what the boys do to entertain themselves while the girls shop.

Snowboarding

2010-01-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

Chris took Emily and Tyler Snowboarding to Snoqualmie Summit. It was the first time the kids had ever been snowboarding. They left at 6:00am and stayed until 8:00 at night. They had a two hour lesson then spent the first half of the day on their butts. Things got better after lunch and they say by evening they were pros. They look forward to the next time.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-27T22:05:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas at the Byron house. We are so lucky to be blessed with family and friends who all remember us at this time of year. The kids got lots of great gifts. I added pictures below of each of the kids big Santa gifts.

Emily and Jacob were so excited to get unicycles...I know, weird.

Chris got an Ipod Touch

Jacob got lots of video games

Tyler got a cell phone

Emily got an Ipod Nano

Jordan got a Laptop

FHE with the Missionaries

2009-12-27T21:58:00.001-08:00

House number 1 is Tyler's, Jordan's and her friend Eric's House. They were bored after about 3 minutes. House Number 2 is Chris, Emily's and mine. House 3 is the Missionaries and Jacob's.

Bedroom Make Over

2009-12-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

A few days before we went to Disneyland we had a leak in the upstairs bathroom. Unfortunately it soaked through Jordan's ceiling and ruined her drywall. On the positive side we were able to do a total room make over. The Zebra print is so Jordan.

Disneyland Here We Come!

2009-09-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

3:30am came way too early!

Plane Ride

2009-09-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Still Too Early

The Kids First Limo Ride To The Hotel

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They were a little excited

Our Hotel

2009-09-22T10:11:00.001-07:00

Waiting for the Disneyland Bus

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

Disneyland

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Finding Nemo Ride
Soaring California

The kids terrified waiting for the Tower of Terror

Jacob training for the Jedi Academy

Mickey

River Rafting Ride

Waiting for the Parade

The Incredibles

Our Last Night At Disneyland

2009-09-22T09:42:00.001-07:00

Returning Home from Disneyland

2009-09-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Silverdale Whaling Days Family Fun Run

2009-08-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

This year Chris and the kids decided to compete together in the 1 mile Family Fun Run.

2009-08-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

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Everyone is exhausted after the race.

2009-08-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Chris took 1st place in his division. His good friends Errol and Mike came in 2nd and 4th.

Emily's Birthday

2009-07-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Emilys Birthday is on the fourth of July. This year she decided she wanted to have the dreaded sleepover party. It actually wasn't that bad, the girls were very well behaved and I was able to sleep peacefully through the night.

Pizza

2009-07-13T08:47:00.001-07:00

Presents

2009-07-13T08:44:00.001-07:00

Emily got lots of earrings, too bad her ears aren't pierced.

Swimming

2009-07-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Emily's Birthday Cake

2009-07-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

Trip to Portland

2009-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

This Last weekend for Chris' Birthday I decided to surprise him with a trip to Portland to see his favorite comedian, Brian Regan. Chris' Birthday often gets overlooked since Emily's Birthday is on the 4th of July and his is on the 5th. I always try and celebrate his Birthday another weekend when we're not so focused on Birthday parties, Picnics and Fireworks.
I picked him up early from work on Friday and we drove the very long 3 hour drive to Portland. When we arrived we checked into the Benson hotel. It was located right downtown which made it really nice that everything was within walking distance. After checking out our hotel room we went to Voodoo donuts followed by dinner at Pastini. Following dinner we went to the show, which was hilarious. A nice surprise to top off the night was when we were walking back to our hotel we saw a huge film crew and they were filming the cable show Leverage. Chris was so excited because he loves that show. The next morning we went to the Saturday market, breakfast, the outlets and Mutnomah falls. It was such a fun weekend.

The Benson Hotel

2009-07-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Lobby was beautiful!

2009-07-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Apparently "Historic Hotel" means small rooms.

Voodoo Donuts

2009-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

You may have actually seen this place on the food network. They have the strangest donuts. The kids wouldn't even try the Capn' Crunch one.

Brian Regan

2009-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here we are waiting for the show to start.

Mutnomah Falls

2009-07-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Mutnomah Falls is located just outside of Portland. Chris loves to hike so I thought I would take him on a small one mile hike that maybe I could handle. When I got there I realized the Hike was one mile straight up. I waited for Chris at the bottom.

Twilight

2009-07-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

For all of my twilight friends, this is just to make you jealous. This is the house that the prom scene was filmed at. It's located about 5 miles from the falls.

Schools Almost Over

2009-06-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

I love the end of the school year. As parents we get to go to orchestra and choir concerts, field days and BBQ's, assemblies and award ceremonies. The last few weeks have been overwhelming with all the different events that each of the kids have had. There were so many, I didn't even take my camera to most of them. I do have one picture though. This is Jordan receiving an award for being in the top 3% of her junior class academically and an award for being a good citizen. The good citizen award is only given out to about 20-30 students in her school of about 5000 students. We are very proud of her.

Graduation Gifts

2009-06-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

No Jordan is not graduating this year. However a lot of her friends are and I wasn't about to buy them all gifts. So I made these candy graduation cups for each of them. I think they turned out pretty cute.

Jordan and Austin's Prom 2009

2009-05-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

2009-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

2009-05-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

2009-05-16T18:23:00.001-07:00

2009-05-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Trip to Las Vegas

2009-05-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

This is Shonni, Kris and Cindy. Shonni and I have known each other since about 2nd grade, that we can remember. I'd say about 28 years or so. Next to her is Kris and Cindy, obviously twins. I met Kris in 7th grade and she has been my best friend ever since. We even have daughters 3 months apart who are also good friends. Me and Kris and Cindy spent so much time together in high school that I started to feel like triplets. I love my friends so much and we had so much fun in Vegas that I'm sure there will be another girls trip planned in the future. (Kris, we're still meeting for Thanksgiving though). Because of this awesome trip through memory lane, I have changed my play list to include our most favorite songs back in High School.

2009-05-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Shonni and Cindy at Kahuna ville restaurant.

2009-05-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

We decided Cindy and Kris should sit on the floor of one of the hotels and take a picture because the floor was just so pretty. At this hotel some girls actually stopped us and asked us if we were mormon and we asked how they knew and they said because we had clothes on. People don't wear a lot in Vegas.

2009-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

This was our first night in Vegas, we had 2 days left and we were already exhausted.

2009-05-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

This sign made us laugh. It pretty much sums up Las Vegas.

2009-05-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

We ate lunch at In-N-Out burger. It was the most crowded I have ever seen a fast food place.

2009-05-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Me and Kris exhausted from shopping.

2009-05-05T14:21:00.001-07:00

This is Shonni at lunch(she's so cute). We ate at some french restaurant across the street from the Bellagio hotel fountain show. I eventually found something on the menu I was willing to eat and they were the best french fries ever.

2009-05-05T14:20:00.001-07:00

Cindy and Shonni in from of the Eiffel tower.

2009-05-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

bellagio gardens

2009-05-05T14:17:00.001-07:00

Kris matches the snail so nicely. I had to have a picture.

2009-05-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Bellagio gardens. It was awesome.

2009-05-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite picture. We had been shopping for about 12 hours and we were really tired.

2009-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Cindy, Me and Kris

2009-05-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Kris and I at the buffet at New Orleans hotel.

2009-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

This was our last day in Vegas and these are supposed to be our sad faces, because were leaving, but I'm trying not to laugh andKris looks a little mad, (probably from all the pictures I kept taking)