Scenes from a fabulous Thanksgiving

We had a great meal and great company at our house this year!  We were just missing Chris and Megs family who were in Utah and Wendy's kids who were with their dad.  It was a quiet year! We are so thankful for all our family and all our many blessings!  Love to all the rest of our family....see you at Christmas!!

another yummy bird done on the barbecue!

I LOVE these birds!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Halloween and a birthday

Nate and I celebrated birthdays in Palm Springs with our dear friends the Zeediks.  Nate and Mark planned a little overnight getaway.  We had such a great time with such great friends!  We started in Palm Springs where the weather was about 104.  The next day we made a stop at the Redlands temple and then headed down to Santa Monica where the temperature dropped to 60!  This is what I love so much about Calif.  You can be in the desert and then in 2 hours be at the beach!  Good times:)

Redlands temple

 Another year older.....Jane made a sign for me that said "Your not 40 yet!"  sigh......I am 39 and holding:)

For a friends party Nate and I dressed up as Flo from the Progressive Ins commercials and Nate was Mayhem(click to watch) from Allstate...funniest commercials!

 For the ward Trunk or Treat Jane didn't want to go alone as a Hot Dog on a Stick worker so I decided to join her!

 Our "Scary" trunk.....

Halloween night.....a Celtics fan and yes that is Jake as a ghost.....being his usual weird self!  Aubs didn't trick or treat this year so no cute pics of her:(  check out her blog here for pics.....

She's a Beaut!

The kids bathroom remodel is mostly done!  There are a few little things left to do but overall it is great!  These picutres do not do it justice but it will give you an idea of the transformation.  So hurry and book your next trip to stay with us!  

Still trying to decide on paint color.....

Love the shampoo holder!

awesome river rock bottom!

little shoes.....big dream

Most of you who know Jake know that he has a love of basketball.  Not only does he love to play the sport but he loves all that goes along with it.  Meaning....the shoes, the shoes, the shoes.  This kid LOVES his basketball shoes. He loves the smell of a new pair.  He even goes so far as to keep a magic eraser close at hand to wipe off any marks.  His hope and dream one day is to own his own shoe store.  He spends plenty of time researching and looking at all the shoes online.  He is more knowledgeable the ANYONE at Footlocker:)  Nate and I didn't realize what we started when he got his first pair of Air Jordans at 2.  If he had the choice,  every gift he receives and any money he makes goes towards shoes.  The other night he was describing to me how he wanted to display his shoes in his room on the wall.  Who displays their shoes on their wall???  Well, when he came home from school I surprised him by putting together a display. I tried to do what he described but of course I was needing this to be cheap. He was pretty excited and now has plans to buy more shoes and add more cubes......uh oh.  It is nothing special but I am sure tonite as he lays in bed with the little dimmer light shinning down on  his shoes he will dream about the shoe store he will one day have.

Demo has begun!

When we moved into our fixer upper house 61/2 years ago we had BIG plans.  Before we moved in we did some major home improvements like new windows, floors and paint inside and out.  Kitchen, bathrooms and roof were going to have to wait.  Well, the wait is over for a least ONE bathroom.  Having three full bathrooms is great except when you find out how much a bathroom remodel costs.  Ouch.  We have begun the demo, which we did ourselves to save money.  Fun, Fun!  Thanks to a great husband who suffered injures to the feet and legs and breathed in who knows what for 2 days while demoing this 35 year old bath!  To all those who have stayed at our home and have had the pleasure of using the lovely bathroom upstairs, this is for you!  Next time you come you will have a beautiful place to get yourself ready for the day!  Yay!  I will keep you posted on the progress......

can't be good for the lungs!

New river rock bottom

A fun and Swift first day!

First day of school 2011!!  All went well and Aubs survived her first day of High School!  Another year of driving to 3 schools.....yay for me:)

Highschoolers! (9th & 11th)

Junior High (7th)

Elementary (3rd)

 Not only did Jane have the 1st day of school today but she also went to her first concert!  She is a HUGE Taylor Swift fan and was lucky enough to get a ticket to go!

Aubs getting her ready to go!

a very excited Jane:)

last lytle getaway

We deceided to do one last little getaway before school starts this week:(  WHAT a bummer.  We headed down to Newport for the night and met up with all the cousins the next day.  Every summer growing up  my family would pack up and head for a week to a beach house in Newport.  What great memories we have of those weeks with our cousins and friends.  It is such a fun place!  Because it is so darn expensive now adays to rent a beach house we try every summer to go down there and spend the day doing the things that we love.  Eating at the Crab Cooker is top of the list!  After luch we spent a lot of time on the beach. Later we headed over to Balboa Island on the Auto Ferry.  We ended the night letting the kids spend a few quarters in the arcade at the Fun Zone.

It was a great end to a great summer.

Jane's Corndogs!  She really wants this cement bench.

On the ferry over to Balboa!

Little guy, Big day

Yesterday Avery had his big day....he was baptized!  Thank you to ALL the family and friends who took the time to share this day with him.  He felt so loved.  Jane played the piano and Aubrey gave a talk.  We loved hearing Avery's two cousins from Utah play their violins.  Avery couldn't have been happier and we couldn't have been happier for him:)  We love you Avery, you are such an example to all!

Grandma and Grandpa Lytle

Grandpa and Grandma Bluth

Utah Cousins!

The After Party:)

it's great to be 8

Avery turned 8 today!  He enjoyed his last day at cub camp and then him and I were off to see Cars 2.  After the movie we met grandma and grandpa and Debbie for dinner at Bandits!  He was all smiles all day!

Averys cousin is NOT a Celtics fan:)

The 30 ft.  'EGG DROP" at scout camp....looking to see if it survived:)

His egg survived by being wrapped in miracle foam, sheepskin and packed in marshmallow!

We Love you Avery!

Bike, beach and a birthday girl!

Happy birthday Aubrey June!  Aubrey is 14 today:(  She wanted a new bike WITH a basket.  Riding around the neighborhood is one of her favorite pastimes.  Nate, Jane and her rode their bikes to the donut shop and then we hit the beach.  It was a beautiful day!  We love you Junebug.....

Aubrey and neighborhood friend:)

Revenge and a cute cub

I am not too sure what Jake did at youth Conference to deserve this payback.....

I will forever be finding green dots.....

Avery got to go to cub camp this year!  He is quite excited to start scouts, unlike his big brother.  For about a year now he has been looking forward to getting his "costume."  I have stopped correcting him.....too cute.  Today when we picked him up he told me he had "faced his fears" by climbing to the top of the climbing wall.

Next stop....High School!

Seriously, time just goes too fast!  Today Aubrey had her 8th Grade Promotion.  Another Lytle off to High School. Crazy.  

whose big kids are these???

A night of Stars

Last night we took the 3 younger kids (Jake had more important things to do...ha) to the Hollywood Bowl. We had the pleasure of seeing Star Wars in Concert.  We had a great time and Avery especially LOVED it.  They showed scenes from all the Star Wars movies with a live orchestra and choir playing. The atmosphere there is so, so neat!  We sat in the bleacher seats up top with a great view of the Hollywood sign and the Hollywood hills.

.  

 After we headed down to Hollywood and Highland and walked around the busy streets enjoying the sights!  The kids loved the Walk of Fame and seeing all the hand and foot prints.  It was a fun but late night!