Mark & Megan Forever

Mark and Megan were married for time and all eternity in the Sacramento Temple. It was a gorgeous day filled with lots of family. After the sealing in the temple we enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Spaghetti Factory. Later that evening we danced and ate cake at a beautiful reception held at Megan's house. I was the lucky duck that got to be the photographer so I had front row seats to all the action. I love these two people and we are all very happy to welcome Megan into our fold!

We Love to See the Temple!

MayLynn Eliza DeWoody was sealed to her family today! What a miracle and blessing this little princess is to our clan. This was such a sweet day with family gathered all around. Many came to see May get sealed to her eternal family, tears of joy were shed, hugs were shared, and smiles beamed. We love this little girl more than words can say, how grateful we all are to have her in our family!

Color the Sky!

We roused our children from bed early to make it to this fun event. The sun wasn't even up when we loaded the four kiddos into the car and headed out to Ripon for what we all considered an AWESOME experience. There was a line of hot air balloons getting ready for flight. We got to watch their owners prep the balloons. It was fascinating to watch all of the effort that goes into getting the balloons ready for travel. After watching the balloons ascend into the air we enjoyed some of the other activities available including bungie cables! It was a wonderful morning and well worth the early wake-up call!

Soccer Season!

It's that time of year again... You know, that time of year when family dinners become non-existent, homework is done on laps in the grass, Saturdays are tied up with games, and the laundry has a constant stream of red jerseys cycling through it. Yes, the soccer season keeps us busy between our 4 children, but we love it just the same and are very grateful for the time together. (Even if that time "together" really means on opposite sides of the field!)

Summer Campouts

Every summer we make at least one trip to Pinecrest lake for a family campout.  This year we squeezed in a trip to Clark's Fork as well.  It is so beautiful up there!  We went fishing, hiked around, and ran through a flower filled meadow.  There were campfires, ice cream, and lots of family fun.  It's good to be a Thompson.

Jett's First Hair Cut...

There comes a time in every mans life when he must cut off his curls... I miss those adorable ringlets hanging from Jett's little head, but I love his big boy hair cut and adorable chubby cheecks that go so well with it!

First Day of School 2011

Well, it's that time of year again.  The kids are headed back to Knights Ferry for another school year filled with fun, friends, and memories.  This year Paris is in fifth grade, Brenden is in fourth, and Sophia is in 2nd.  They love their little school on the hill.

Little Miss Sophie Turns 7!

Sophie LOVES the show iCarly, so for her birthday we threw an iSophie party.  There was a wacky wheel, random dancing, silly food games, and of course, lots of fun.  The girls got to eat donuts tied to strings, have pies thrown in their faces, have a silly string war, bash a pinata, and be just plain silly.  Sophia had a great time and even wore her iCarly shirt for the occasion.

Berry Picking!

 

My First Wedding Gig!

 

4th of July with Lu!

 

Cousin's Camp!

 
Well, Brooke threw another awesome bash this year. Cousins camp was a three day adventure at the good ol' Thompson Ranch. The kids camped in tents pitched in the yard, they made crafts, went on a bike ride, starred in "Cousin Idol", and splashed in the water until they just couldn't splash anymore. There were home made slushies, fresh popped pop corn, and lots of licorice. Yes... they are spoiled, but you are only a kid once. (Well, maybe twice if you're a Thompson girl, we don't really get the whole growing up hype...)

Do a Little Dance...

 
Sophie and I had our annual dance recital for 5678 Dance Studio. Sophia danced to a fun Disney song that we had never heard before... but it was all about Mickey on guitar and Donald Duck on bass. Pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. I danced to "He's a Tramp" from the Lady and the Tramp soundtrack. It was just the two of us this year so we had a fun cozy time hanging out together back stage. I love my little Sophie girl.

Thompson Family Reunion 2011!

Uncle Brad was a super star for this year's family reunion because he put together a group package that allowed all of us to gather in DISNEYLAND! What a fantastic opportunity! We met at our hotel for a pool party on Monday afternoon and then ventured over to Medieval Times for dinner. We were assigned the green knight and with our large energetic group cheered louder than anyone else there! We spent Tuesday at Disneyland where we met up for a few shows. Wednesday morning we gathered for our family photo-op and then spent the rest of the day enjoying some more fun in the "Happiest Place on Earth." This year's reunion was a blast as always. When it comes to Thompsons any time is a fun time... Disneyland was just a HUGE perk! We have a fabulous family and I hope that we keep up these reunions FOREVER!

Easter!

 
Easter was quite an event this year! Laurie was down from Mammoth, and Rachel was up from Fresno... so it was a PARTY! Brooke baked some amazing pies and cream-filled cupcakes and despite the kitchen being under construction Meredith and dad put together a delicious dinner of tri-tip and salad. When it came time for the egg hunt we were suprised with a double rainbow and the little cousins started singing the famous viral You Tube Double Rainbow song. We stayed late into the night just hanging out and being together. It turned into a giant sleep-over for most of the cousins. A day at the ranch is always fun, but a day at the ranch with good food, awesome dessert, and all of my sisters... now that is heaven. I think I've mentioned this before; but let me just say it again: I LOVE BEING A THOMPSON!

Trenton Jay

 
February 18th, 2011... Little Trenton Jay Moore joined our Thompson Clan. While I was visiting Laurie and Eric I grabbed little Trenton and Laurie and headed upstairs to a window for some quick pictures. If had more room and time perhaps I could have gotten more... but I'm happy with what I DID get. I caught those beautiful icy blue eyes... nothing better!

A Trip to Mammoth Lakes...

In December; Laurie and Eric moved to the mountains. We've really missed having them around. The trip to their house should only be about a three hour drive, but due to seasonal road closures and snow, the trip is about 5 hours this time of year. We've been looking forward to the birth of thier son and the opportunity to make the trip up to see them. On April 17th Trenton was blessed by his father and so we finally were able to make the trip up to see them and participate in the blessing. We really enjoyed the visit. Eric and Laurie's house is an adorable cabin with a creek and pond in the yard sitting right at the base of the snowy mountains. Looking out from their balcony is a spectaular view of the lake. It's wonderful to see them doing so well and feeling so settled. They had a long road to make it to this point, but here they are, all together and moving forward with the next chapter of their lives. Congratulations guys! We love you!

Bodecious Bodega...

Michael has been working on a beach house remodel in Bodega Bay for the past few months. He will go up to the job site and stay for a few days, then return home. On this particular week he got back home late Wednesday only to learn on Thursday that he needed to return to Bodega on Friday. He invited the kids and I to join him and so we quickly packed up and were on the road by 6:00am Friday morning. After Mike had done what he needed to do we headed over to the beach to catch low tide. We hiked around the beach for a couple of hours and enjoyed watching Jett experience sand for the first time. We stayed at a great little bargain hotel and the kids splashed around in their small heated pool. We went out to dinner and tried some sea food dishes. We were back in our room by 6:00 and totally beat from a long and fun day. We laid on the beds in our pj's and watched cartoons until we fell asleep. Early the next day we hit the tide pools one more time and then slowly drove down the coast toward San Francisco. We drove over the Golden Gate and then parked our car and hiked up to Fort Point. Fort Point is an amazing brick building that the Golden Gate Bridge is built over. The wind was so strong at the top of the fort that the kids could actually lean into it and not fall over! On the way back to the car we discovered the House of Air. We went inside to find out what it was and found a huge gymnasium filled with wall to wall trampolines. Trampolines even lined the walls! There was a special section just for training where you could be tied into harnesses and learn how to do flips. We watched the jumpers for a bit and then finally left the city. Mike and I are thinking that we might want to return and try that place out some time. It was nice to experience some of the good that San Francisco has to offer. We returned home tired but happy. It was a great impromptu vacation.

Happy Birthday Brenden!

March 29, 2011 - Brenden officially turned 9 years old. We have a tradition of taking the birthday kiddo out to the dinner of their choice and a movie. They always choose Red Robin because of the free ice cream sundae and birthday serenade. So, this year as we ate at Red Robin Brenden got the extra bonus of having Red himself come over to our table. Jett wasn't so sure about the giant red bird. After dinner we headed over to the local Oakdale Theater and saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. When we got home we sang to Brenden and then all had a piece of his "donut" shaped cake. It made for a fun evening out with our little family. I love you Brenden. More than you could possibly ever know...

Spring Has Sprung!

I am a simple girl and so simple things bring a smile to my face. Spring is one of those things. I love the flowers, the smell of the air, the feeling of renewal, and the photo opportunities! I did a little photo session with my kids at the ranch among the blossoms, and then capitalized on some great weather and took the kids out again but this time to Knights Ferry. My kids were great troopers for me this year and let me take all of the pictures that I wanted. We stomped around Knights Ferry for over 4 hours. The only thing that made us stop our expedition was the dead battery in my camera. After our little session we headed down to the Knights Ferry Creamery for some delicous hand scooped ice cream. Did I mention that I LOVE this time of year?!