The Yoder Family's Growing Tribe

Justin's New Home

2010-01-12T20:28:00.002-07:00

Justin had an open house/21st birthday party for Jenn. Justin was an amazing chef with his new grill in his new house. How lucky is this kid. Whatever happened to ruffing it when you start out? Oh ya the $8,000.00 first time home owners plan. Where was that when we started out?

Ashley, Nate and Grammy just waiting for their burger.

The kitchen, in case you couldn't tell.

Justin and Jenn during the painting processs. I swear it took us two weeks to paint this house.

Justin's slummin bedroom. We did get him the furniture before he moved out a few years ago.

Justin's living room. He did most of the painting and improvements himself. Okay that's a lie, he had a lot of help from his family.

Kelsey's Graduation and Misc Stuff

2009-05-28T19:25:00.006-07:00

It's the time that most parents either can't wait for or they fear. Mine was the latter. It marks an undeniable change in our lives. Our baby has graduated from High School. She isn't moving out or, thankfully, even threatening it. Bryon and I are happy to let her live at home until she is 30 if she chooses to. That may change.

Kelsey is planning to attend GCC next year and work toward getting her nursing degree. We are in negotiations on where she'll go to get her B.S. degree. We are encouraging her to go to Idaho, like Ashley. We think it would be a great adventure of independence for her. She thinks she'll freeze to death.

This is our sassy little adult. I hope she never looses her wonderfully magnetic personality that draws us all to her. She is a constant bright spot in our family. That's not to say that she hasn't created her fair share of challenges, oh she has. I know that she'll use these opportunities to learn and grow and become an amazing woman because of them.

The ever spoiled Kelsey, baby of the family, received a new laptop, for college along with some sweet sunglasses from her brother. She started her day with a delivery of beautiful flowers from Ashley. I think this day was really difficult for Ash. She wanted to be there for Kelsey, in the worst way. It stinks when all of your kids can't be together at times of celebration. Our family has always been together so it's a big adjustment for us all.

She's such a spoiled princess.

But a really cute one.

This was taken before prom this year. We had all of these kids over for dinner in the back yard. It saved them time and money. I hope they enjoyed it and it will be part of a great memory. It was fun seeing so many kids that we've watched grow up over the years. They're not babies anymore!

Kelsey is of course the most beautiful one in the bunch. I feel bad saying that but, hey, look at her.

The wind wouldn't stop blowing, of course. It didn't stop them from eating most of the food. They had Olive Garden do the food. It's always a hit.

This is another one of those bittersweet times. This is the first birthday that Justin and Ashley weren't together to celebrate. They turned 21 on February 1st. This was really hard for me. Okay, one big collective aww, for me.

My oldest niece, Jessica, her husband KJ and they're baby Holi, came to AZ for a brief visit. It was great to see them again. They are a beautiful new family and Jessica and I both have a common appreciation for the advances in fertility treatments. I hope that they are blessed with a bonus baby like we were.

Kelsey with her cousins, Kaitlin and Holi.

Bryon and I did a day trip to Jerome. We used to do little day trips before we had kids all of the time. We are trying to remember all of the things that we did before kids no that we have so much more time to spend together. YIKES

Jerome is a little ghost town with some historic buildings and fun artsy things to do. This is the old bank. You can pitch coins through the bars into old pots. They are actually out houses but I was afraid to gross anyone out. They're just the shell of the out houses but you get the visual.

I probably pitched a roll of quarters hoping it would bring us good luck. I am still waiting to see the results.

This is the old Connor Hotel. Jerome was a copper mining town and The Conner was the posh place to stay while visiting. Or another version would be that it was named after my friends son Connor because he's such an amazing kid. We won't tell him about the saloon on the bottom floor. It still packs them in.

The real draw to Jerome for our family has always been the Copper Country Fudge. It's homemade with the good stuff. It is seriously the best fudge in the world. Hands down.

Yoder Family Pictures

2009-04-30T13:53:00.005-07:00

The funniest thing about this picture besides my weird expression, is the fact that Nate has realized he's laying in fresh bird poo. This was a memorable family moment. Poor Nate, welcome to the family.

Aside from loving this picture of my kids, I love the rooster in the background. Perfect timing Nick.

2009-04-30T13:33:00.005-07:00

We recently had Ashley and Nate here for a visit, so we had some family pictures taken. I am so happy with them. They had a weeks break between semesters. They are doing the trimester fast track. Ashley hates it. They both are taking Chemistry and are convinced the teacher thinks it's the only class on their schedule, they hate it too. I think they will both be so happy when this is behind them. They are planning to move back here for their Masters degree. She's not too fond of the cold weather in Idaho either.
We were able to enjoy Easter together and to celebrate Bryon's birthday, albeit a week early. We had a great time together as a family and these are the times that I will cling to as the kids get older and do their own things.
Justin has some big changes coming up in the next couple of weeks. He's buying his first house. It's not far from us, maybe 7 miles. I'm sure he'll be home often to eat and raid our pantry. I'll miss him being here on a daily basis but I know he is soooo excited to be taking this huge leap. He's done it all on his own too. I am very proud of him.
Kelsey will be graduating from Ironwood on May 21st. She'll turn 18 on June 14th. I can't believe my baby will be grown up, at least legally. She still does some really goofy things at times. Kels will be staying home for the next two years and going to GCC. The house won't be completely empty. She is a social creature though and is gone a lot. She is hoping to be able to be one the dance team there. As you can tell by her senior pictures, she's incredibly limber and talented. Oh ya, she just got her first job hostessing at Abuelo's. She's so excited to make her own money. Maybe now she'll appreciate all the money we give her!!!!

Kelsey's Senior Pictures

2009-04-10T21:31:00.012-07:00

I Love this picture of Kelsey. She has the most infectious smile.
I love the creativity of this picture. She must have had a great time taking these pictures and she's not camera shy.
Holy cow, are her eyes blue.

This captures her personality perfectly. This is one of my favorites.
So is this one. HA
So is this one.
I can't believe how perfect this jump is and I can't believe that Nick caught it at the perfect moment.

You can hardly tell it at this size but it's raining confetti on her. I love this kid and I can't believe that she's graduating. It's the end of the football games and dance recitals. So sad.

A Few Good Friends

2009-03-17T18:52:00.016-07:00

The Howe's, Lundeen's, Chase's and us at Ashley's Arizona reception. I have no idea what Hugh and Loren's faces are about. They can be a little strange sometimes.

The three amigo's better know as the PTC club. I couldn't have done it without the help of my bff's.

This is one of my best friend, Wendy's, family. They have quite the tribe. I don't know how she does it and works too. And looks so hot.

My favorite trip with my Golden Wheel Girlfriends to Jerry and Vickie's little 12,000 sq. ft. shack in Deer Valley. What a great time with great women.

Melynda, Toni and I in the Deer Valley bathtub in our room. We are very close! We even shared a bedroom and talked ALL night.

Toni, Wendy and I at the shower they had for Ashley and her friends. Toni is the consummate party planner.

Toni, Molly, Wendy and I at another Deer Valley trip to the shack. It's a good thing we have strong backs. Ha Toni!

Melynda, Wendy and I, setting up for the Snow Ball Gala. It was a spectacular event for a great cause, Children.

Vickie and Char. Vickie always has her keys and phone in hand for the quick get away.

Amber and Linda. Linda loves to sing to me and girls camp and women's retreat. She is my favorite roomie and chef!

Melynda and Justin King. Great friends and a huge helpers with the reception here. I am so glad they were able to come to California too.

Our Families Fun Times and Adventures

2009-03-11T17:10:00.006-07:00

We have had so many fun trips, it's hard to pick the ones you want to post. These are a few of Lake Powell. We go every Labor Day with several other families. It's our kids favorite trip of the year. We always go exploring with the Lundeen's. This picture was when the water level was high and there were some really amazing coves.
This is the Lundeen family boat. It's always packed with their growing family.
The kids love to go tubing. I think they have more fun doing this than wake boarding. They make a game of jumping from one tube to the other and the boys try to throw each other off. It can get a little dangerous sometimes. But it's fun to watch and occasionally go for a ride. Bryon is brutal when I am on.

Justin is taking a nap in the living room. Staying on the Big Dog is really slummin it. HA

In our explorations, we usually find some cliffs for the brave ones to jump off of. We also like hiking into caves and crevices that the boats can't fit in. We find all kinds of things. Some not so pretty. No dead bodies though.

Bryon was able to take a boys trip to Alaska and stay at our friends, Ron and Jane Carmichaels cabin. They did a lot of fishing. Bry has never been a fisherman but he had a great time on this trip doing guy stuff. He really enjoyed being spoiled by Jane.

We used to go to Rocky Point, before some bad experiences. The girls wanted to ride the banana so badly, I just couldn't say no. I was worried the entire time. Safety in Mexico is not a high priority. They came back unscathed and had a blast.

Rocky Point

This is just a random picture of us on Coronado. We always used to rent these limo bikes and cruise the island. Kels was just a baby here.

I hate this picture of me but it's from our last trip to Hawaii. Bryon and I celebrated our 20th anniversary. A whole week away from kids and work!

Another Rocky Point trip. The kids usually took friends for extra fun. Ashley Marie and Josh Stevens were on this one. Josh was so funny, he joined a mariachi band with a full circle of locals and juggled beer bottles in the center of the group. They were so drunk that they loved him. We just laughed in amazement.

Kelsey's Cheer Competition

2009-03-08T15:08:00.001-07:00

Andy, Jamie and Kelsey. They've all danced together since they were 6 years old.

Kelsey and Jamie have been friends since preschool. They actually started taking dance classes together when they were three. Their first recital they danced to Chiquita banana.They compete at different High Schools but still love each other.

Kelsey and Cara have gone to school together since kindergarten and have remained great friends since then. They are both Seniors now at Ironwood High School and on cheer together. Don't let the cute smiles fool you, they are pure trouble together. JK

Kelsey is one of the three flyer's on the varsity squad which in short means she gets to be tossed in the air, do a stunt and hope the base girls catch her. I can't tell you how nervous this made me at first. You should see the release forms they make you sign when your kid does this.

This is Kelsey doing the "Perfect Cheer". For all the SNL freaks like me.

Ashley and Nate's Wedding

2009-03-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

The proud parents of the bride, Bryon and Me.

Our family at Carlsbad Beach. I love it.

My two beautiful daughters, Kelsey and Ashley

The Yoder, Wilkinson family at the temple.
Ilove this picture of Ashley. It belongs in a bridal magazine.

How could the sunset be any more perfect? This is the California that I love

This is one of my favorite pictures from our oldest daughter, Ashley, recent marriage to who I think is the best son-in-law in the world. Okay, so he's the only son-in-law we have. It better stay that way for a while.
Their wedding was an amazing and very long event. The California part was my favorite. This was taken at the Four Seasons Resort, where we had the reception after the marriage in the San Diego Temple.
Ashley, you make me proud!