Conner's 11th Birthday!

 

 

 

Conner turned 11 years old on December 1, 2009! We told him that he could open his present from us on his actual Birthday, instead of waiting 3 more days until his birthday Party. The rule was he had to wait until 7 AM to open his present. At exactly 7 AM he was in our room. We told him to wake up all his siblings! The picture of all the kids on the red ottoman was at 7:10 AM. Look at the anticipation on all the kids faces! The first present Steve gave Conner had a bar of soap in it! Conner immediately said, "Where is my real present?" I guess he knows his Dad way to well! The video shows it all! Conner, Derek, and Cameron were slightly exited to find out that the present was a Nintendo DS with three games. Conner was told he could keep the present and pay us half, or we could take it back and he could choose something else. Since we got it at the day after Thanksgiving sale for a great price, Conner was not about to suggest taking it back. He paid up very quickly! We also sent homemade oreo cookies with him to school for his Birthday. The kids liked the cookies so much, that some of them wanted to trade things for the left over cookies. Conner is a very good negotiator. He ended up trading the oreo for a burrito, and then trading his burrito for a Nintendo DS game that his friend didn't play anymore. Too Funny! A few day after his actual Birthday, Conner had a late night Birthday Party. He had 18 of his good friends attend the party. They had a great time playing Football, singing Karaoke, and Playing Basketball. We got 8 Little Ceasers pizza's, and they ate every last one of them. They also had lava cake,ice cream, and soda. I love the video of the kids singing! They were so off tune, and didn't even realize it! To say the least, Conner had a wonderful Birthday!!!

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Austin's Baby Blessing

 

 

 

 

Austin Jacob Reese was blessed in the Logandale 3rd Ward on November, 29th 2009. Steve gave him a wonderful blessing! He was dressed up for the occasion in a white tuxedo. We had many relatives and friends in attendance for the blessing. Afterwards, we had a luncheon at our house!

Alexa Can Count to 20!

The kids have so much fun with Alexa! Recently, they discovered that she could count to 10! Apparently, 10 wasn't enough so they taught her how to count to 20. Now at barely two years old, she is the master of counting.

Family Pictures

 

 

 

 

We had family pictures taken for Christmas cards. My brother Justin and his wife Kayla took our pictures. They have recently started into the photography business, and our doing great. Anyone who can get 6 kids under 10 to look at the camera and smile(all at the same time) are wonderful photographers! These are a few shots that we loved!

Kids Turkey Triathlon

 

 

 

Conner and Derek just competed in their very first Triathlon! A couple months ago, they heard some people talking about training for a triathlon. They have wanted to compete in one since they heard that conversation. I heard about a kids Triathlon in S.T. George, so I signed them up. When I told the boys I signed them up, they immediately had to call and invite their cousin Mason and friend Hunter to join them. The Triathlon for kids started with a 50 yard swim, 2 mile bike, and 3/4 mile run. The kids practiced one day running and biking, and we took them to Mesquite to the recreation center one day to have them swim the distance. Out of 31 contestants ages 7-12, Conner took 2nd, Mason 3rd, and Derek 4th. They did awesome. The funniest thing is that they were only seconds apart from each others time. From start to finish Conner's time was 25:09, Mason 25:26, and Derek 25:33. Each of them were strong in different areas. Conner's fastest time was with the running. He is super fast! Derek's best time was in the biking, and Mason's in the swimming. They had so much fun, and can't wait to compete in next year's triathlon!

Steve receives a Life-Saving Award

 

 

 

 

Steve and one of his partners from work received a Life-Saving award at a ceremony held in Las Vegas. It's not everyday that officers receive these awards, so I took all the kids with me. Steve's Parent's, and his cousin Johnny also attended. My brother Justin was there receiving a different award, so his wife Kayla and their son Joshua were in attendance. The incident that Steve was being recognized for involved two toddlers. Steve was in the newspaper the day following the award ceremony with a write up of the scenario. I am going to copy what the paper had to say.
On June 9, 2009 civilian Amanda Freeman called police when she heard cries from inside a storage garage at the Augusta Apartments on Spencer Street south of Pyle Avenue. When officers arrived, there were no longer any sounds coming from inside the garage, but Ms. Freeman was adamant that she heard children crying. Officers Curtis Lawrance and Steven Reese made the decision to have the Fire Department cut down the door. When the door was lifted they were met with a chilling sight. Two brothers, ages 1 and 2 were bound, gagged, hooded and strapped into car seats on the garage floor. Reese and Lawrence freed the toddlers and quickly identified their mother and her boyfriend. The June heat could have killed the children. Jonathan Weaver, the boyfriend of the mother of these two children, was arrested on several charges including child abuse, kidnapping, and attempted murder.
I was glad that I had all the kids there to see Steve receive this award. Going to these award ceremonies helps them better understand the hard work, and danger police officers go through each day.

Cameron's Soccer is over

 

It was so fun to watch Cam play soccer! Cameron is one aggressive soccer player. He takes his losses personally! Although he scored on average 3 to 4 goals a game, he felt as if he should have scored more. I'm sure a lot of his drive and motivation comes from having two older brothers that expect him to be at their level! I remind them all the time that he is quite a bit younger than them, but the reminders don't seem to help much. Well, if anything he is one tough cookie! The funniest play this year was when Cameron was playing the forward position. The other team had the ball and was about to score. Cam noticed that the kid playing goalie on his team wasn't paying attention. So, Cameron jumped into the goalie box and caught the ball that was kicked. After making sure they weren't going to score he assumed his position as forward! When I told Cam he needed to play his position only he said, "Do you want us to win or lose?" What can you say to that?

Soccer has ended!

 

 

Derek had a great Soccer Season. He had his good friend Hunter on his team. Derek made some great goals, and some awesome passes that ended with a score. He enjoyed playing against his cousin Mason, and many of his good friends. It's fun to watch them be competitive on the field, and best buds as soon as they walk off. Derek's true love is football! This will probably be his last season of soccer, because next year he is old enough to play tackle football.

Tackle Football Season has Ended

 

 

 

This was Conner's first time playing Tackle Football. It was a great learning experience for him! He loves football! If he wasn't at football practice, then he was home playing football, or watching it on TV. He even plays at school every morning until the bell rings. This season he mostly played wide receiver, and defensive line. Towards the end of the season, he was really starting to figure out what he was supposed to do in his position. A couple weeks ago he had a great tackle. The other team was close to scoring. The player running the ball was ahead of the rest of our team. Conner came out of "No Where" and tackled the player on the 30 yard line. That play kept the other team from scoring a touch down. Derek, Cam, and all of their friends at the game cheered so loud for Conner on that play! He can't wait until next football season!

Going back to Detroit

 

 

 

 

Lisa and I flew to Detroit for a few days. Lisa took Abby, and I took baby Austin. I had promised my parents that they would see their newest grandchild soon after he was born. Since Lisa hadn't taken Abby when she visited over the summer, she decided this would be a good time to visit. We were only there for 3 days, but it was very enjoyable. My parents had asked us what we wanted to do while we were there, and we said, "Nothing." It was very relaxing to stay up late visiting, and then in the mornings wake up when we felt like it. We are always on the go when we're home, so it was lovely doing absolutely nothing. We went at a beautiful time. The leaves were so pretty. I love the red background in the pictures we took. Steve stayed home with the other five children, and did very well getting them to and from all of their activities. He is quite the Dad to juggle football games, Halloween dress up parties, and church with all five kids. You would think he would take the kids out to eat, but instead he cooked meals every night. Pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy was the most impressive.

Halloween Day

 

 

 

 

This year for Halloween we did it a little different. Conner had a football game in the morning, and then we had a neighborhood get together. It is tradition for the Evan's to host this event. Everyone in our subdivision is invited to bring one non-sweet food item. We let the kids play, and the adults visit. It is very relaxing and enjoyable. After the party is over, all the kids trick or treat door to door around the neighborhood. After that we headed over to Lisa's neighborhood party. They had homemade soup with rolls, and lots of other yummy food. After eating everyone got on a truck pulled trailer filled with hay bails. The kids would hop on and off the trailer, and then trick or treat door to door. It was so fun to see the kids experience trick or treating the old fashioned way. We usually attend our ward trunk or treat, but decided this year to try something new. We all had such a fun time!
Conner dressed up like Larry Fitzgerald(He plays receiver for the Cardinals,) Derek is a cheerleader, Cameron is Kemp from the Dodgers baseball team, Sydney is a white cat, Alexa is a butterfly, and Austin is a pumpkin. A few days before Halloween my sister in law was at Old Navy. The Halloween costumes were on clearance. She bought the cat and butterfly costumes for 2 dollars a piece. They were excited to have more than one Halloween Costume! Thanks Suzanne for thinking of us!!

Round 2 of Halloween Parties at Bowler Elementary

 

 

 

 

After leaving Perkins Elementary, we ran home and had an hour to make pigs in a blanket for Derek's class, cheese and cracker tray for Conner's class, and a fruit tray for Cameron's class. Steve and I then packed up the kids and headed over to watch the kids costume parade. Steve and I rotated for the next hour from one child's classroom to the other. It is quite the juggling act to spend an equal amount of time with each child in their classrooms. The kids all had fun at their parties, and they all consumed a year supply of sugar! I love the picture of Abby feeding Alexa a cupcake. Derek and Mason are in the same class, so Lisa and I helped at the same time. We let Abby and Alexa eat whatever they wanted to keep them happy while we helped the other students with an art project. I was worried Alexa was going to throw up from eating too much sugar. Thank Goodness she never did!!!

Halloween Party at Perkins

 

 

 

 

My Preschool class combined this year with the other Preschool classes. Sydney dressed up like a cat, and Alexa was an elephant. Little Austin wore a Devil costume that my sister in law lent me. I borrowed my Medieval Princess costume from one of my friends. I didn't think my other party costume was appropriate for this occasion! The kids had fun parading through the other students classrooms, frosting pumpkin cookies, making Halloween necklaces, and eating! Steve and I were just getting started for a long day of Halloween Parties, and we were already exhausted!!!!