Merry Christmas

Family Slideshow

Here are some pictures from our family photo shoot. Our good friend Shawna Banagas (Krepps) took us to Yorba Regional Park and did an amazing job photographing our family. I was so afraid that none of the pictures were going to turn out because the boys were being...well...boys!! But Shawna worked her magic and somehow got some good shots! I can't decide if I like them better in black and white or color so please leave your comments and let me know what you like. The slideshow has some of the black and white and the next post shows them in color. Thank you Shawna... You're Great!!

Our Family Photo Shoot

Christmas Letter 2007

We can’t believe another year has come and gone, time really does fly when your having fun!. This year has been another great year for our little family. Since our move to Glendora we have been able to spend a lot more time as a family, which has been wonderful. We spent most of our summer camping and riding bikes at the beach or around town. We took two trips to Utah for family reunions and in April went on a camping trip to Big Sur, which was beautiful. Here is a quick Davis family update.

Brigham had a pretty exciting year with sports and school. He played Tee ball again and decided he really loves sliding into every base. We got a kick out of watching it! He started kindergarten in September and really loves it. He is learning so much and enjoys being so independent. He loves camping and watching Man vs. Wild, he is very resourceful and attempts a lot of the things that he has learned on that show. We think it’s great that he is learning how to survive in the wilderness, but sometimes get frustrated when he tears up the backyard so he can make shelter in case it rains, or pulls all the branches off the trees in an attempt to make a campfire (the list goes on and on). He is growing so fast and is always telling us that he is almost a “man“. He says that “when he grows up he is going to be a daddy with a honey and he is gonna be a rock star“. We pray he’ll outgrow the rock star part.

Joseph has enjoyed pre-school this year and is doing very well. His teacher says he is a real sweetheart and loves to participate in all the classroom activities. Joseph loves cars, trucks, tractors, fire engines and basically anything with a motor. He is very imaginative, if we give him a few cars and an area to play with them he will entertain himself for hours! Joseph loves being Brigham’s sidekick and tries to do everything Brig does. Together they can thrash the house in about 4.5 seconds! Joseph enjoys going to Gavalin Hills where he and Brigham get to explore for hours. He is such a sweet boy and loves to share with everyone around him. His favorite thing to do is climb into mommy and daddy’s bed early in the morning and snuggle. Joseph looks forward to starting kindergarten in the fall.

Paul has had the busiest year of all. We don’t really know what he has been doing, but he is always busy!!! We can hardly keep up with him. He definitely wears the pants in the family (or at least he thinks he does). He loves to wrestle and play fight with his brothers and more often than not he wins! He has learned self defense at a very young age. Paul loves Curious George, which has confirmed our suspicions that he is a monkey! Brigham and Joseph just love Paul. They take him on all of their backyard adventures and often use him as a guinea pig for the their many “experiments. Paul thinks he is about 5 years old and can do everything his brothers do. He has a great sense of humor and thinks he’s a comedian. We usually just sit back and laugh.

I (Summer) stay very busy taking care of the boys all day. Between taking them to school and back, helping with homework, chasing a 20 month old around, going to playgroup and trying to keep up with the house I rarely find time to relax(I know all you mom‘s can relate). In April I took a much needed trip to Utah for BYU Women’s Conference with my sister. We really enjoyed all of the speakers and the spirit we felt while we were there. I came home rejuvenated and ready to be mom again. I have decided I am going to attend Women’s Conference every year. I enjoy aerobics and started teaching an aerobics class for the women in our ward. I have been studying to take the AFAA test to become a certified aerobics instructor. I love being a mom and watching our boys discover the world. I love taking them on little adventures and watching the joy and excitement in their eyes as they discover new things. I am amazed and overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and energy! I also love being a wife and treasure date night with my HOT hubby ! I feel very blessed to have such a great husband and 3 wonderful children.

Michael has had a great year. He stays busy at work and enjoys his shorter commute to the office. This is his 6th years at Fresh Air and is lucky enough to love his job. He has really appreciated living closer to the office because it has given him the opportunity to spend more time at home. He has been able to participate in all kinds of activities with the boys and we have a lot more time as a family. He has also spent a lot of time fixing up the house and finally finished the backyard in July. Mike enjoyed his annual fishing trip with my dad and brothers and his annual deer hunting trip with his uncle Val and brother in law Brent. He didn’t get a deer this year, but still had a great time trying. The kids had a bad case of the flu while he was gone so luckily he didn’t have to deal with that this year - guess who did??

We are so grateful for this time of year when we get to celebrate the birth and the life of our Savior and reflect upon the blessings we have received throughout the year. We enjoy the opportunity this holiday season gives us to catch up with friends and family we don’t get to see as often as we would like. We are grateful for you, our family members and friends, and hope and pray that this letter finds each of you healthy and happy and may our Heavenly Father bless you and your family with a wonderful 2008.

Love,
Michael, Summer,
Brigham, Joseph and Paul Davis

I'm Tired, Leave me Alone!!!

If you want a good laugh watch this video.

When we got home from church today Paul was pretty tired. We were feeding him lunch and he was falling asleep while eating his PB&J. Since I am such a great dad I went and got the video camera and decided to mess with him a little. My favorite part is when he hits the camera. We were laughing so hard at this that I thought we should share it with all of you. By the way; we did put him to bed after this little bit of torture.

*Remember to pause the music before you watch the video*

I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY

I know some of you are going to think I'm a total freak, but I love Black Friday!! My sister in law Jaime and I start counting down the days til Black Friday the day after Black Friday! (For those of you who are non bargain shoppers, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when you get all the great deals!) Our husbands know that is our day out to do all the shopping we want=). I hate Walmart every other day of the year, but on this day Walmart is the BEST! You can't believe the deals I got!!! Now, this is why you will think I am a freak... we went to Walmart at 9pm Thanksgiving Day, pitched our tent and spent the night on the sidewalk! It is sooo much fun, this is our 4th year doing it but this year was the best. Last year we froze our butts off so this year we brought the tent and the heaters. We were so cozy and warm. We always divide and conquer but this year we were a little short on help so my nephew Todd came and hooked us up! We were 5th in line and when the doors opened at 5 am I ran to electronics, Jaime ran to toys and Todd ran to our big stuff (Jaime's jeep, my trampoline)! Thanks Todd, you're the bomb, and when you have a bunch of crazy kiddo's runnin' around and mine are all grown I will so hook you up!!!! My mom, Kim and Erin Thompson met up with us after the doors were open and we were running around like a bunch of crazies...but we all got great deals! I told my husband that with all the money we saved I earned about $150.00 an hour! It was funny because I was the first person at electronics and I got everything we all wanted and as I was leaving people were giving me the dirtiest looks. They had an x box advertised for $199.00 normally $399.00 and I was the only person that got one (they only had one per store - lame huh)! Laptops, cameras, digital frames and playstations - we all got what we wanted! Then their is Jaime! That girl is ruthless!! She got all the toys and clothes we wanted. If you ever see Jaime at Walmart the day after Thanksgiving, you better just move out of her way and that is all I'm gonna say about that! Ha Ha!
I buy birthday presents and Wedding gifts for the whole year on this day! Seriously, you might think I'm crazy but it is such a money saver. You should try it next year, you'll be surprised at how much fun it is! We hit all the stores and were done by about 9am. We went to IHOP afterwards and shared all of our great bargains as we enjoyed a delicious breakfast together!




Here we are camping out at Walmart!


Walmart at midnight.

The Perfect Date

Mike and I always go on a date Friday night and Brigham and Joseph are always telling me they want to go on a date too, so Saturday night I took them on a date!! We had soooo much fun! I got them all dressed up and told them they were going to take mommy on a date. They were so excited! We decided to go to Victoria Gardens to have some dinner and to see The Bee movie. When we got to the food court I told them that since we were on a date they needed to do everything by themselves... order their food, carry their tray etc. They were so dang cute. Brigham said "I'm a man huh mom". They were perfect gentlemen during dinner and I was very proud. After dinner we went to see the Bee movie and on the way to the movie Joseph said "we have to hold hands" then Brigham said " yeah, cause that's what you do on a date"(he said he heard that on one of his favorite TV shows Drake and Josh). When we got to the movie I bought them their OWN kids packs with the small popcorn drink and candy (this was a big deal because we always share everything). They walked very proudly into our movie and I was laughing as I saw people pointing and and making comments about how cute they were. They LOVED the movie! It was funny because after the lights came on Brigham said "mom this movie really made me think, and I don't think I'm gonna hurt bees anymore".

After the movie we took some pictures in front of the Christmas tree and it started to snow!! I guess every night at 8:00 the snow machines blow out fake snow. The boys had a blast running and playing. Then we decided it was time for dessert so we headed to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory where we got chocolate covered apples...YUM! On our way out we stopped by a Game Shop and I let them play video games for a while. The whole way home all they could talk about was when we were going on our next date! I had so much fun I think I'm going to make this a monthly event.

From One Pumpkin to Another!

My cousin sent me this email a couple of days ago and I thought it was a great analogy, so I decided to post it for all of you to read. I hope it puts a smile on your face like it did on mine!

A woman was asked by a coworker, 'What is it like to be a Christian?'
The coworker replied, 'It is like being a pumpkin.' God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.
He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Halloween Happenings

I was going to post a slideshow of all our fun Halloween festivities but I haven't been able to get my hands on a few of the pictures I was waiting for, so I'll have to post what I've got. My camera went dead so my sister an mom took some pictures for me and when I get those I will put them up. I feel bad cause I don't have one picture of Paul on Halloween, but he was being such a stinker it was hard to corner him. I do have pictures of him at the pumpkin patch though, and as soon as I get my hands on those I will post them.

Brigham...or should I say Captain Jack Sparrow

Brig's Kindergarden class

The Halloween Parade at school. The kids

loved being the center of attention!

Is Joseph the cutest cowboy you

have ever seen or what!!

This is Joseph with his preschool teacher.

He just loves her!! He gives her a big wet

kiss on her cheek every day and talks about

her all the time!

Here is Joseph's class singing for the parents

after the little trunk or treat in the parking lot.

The Dorothy standing next to Joseph is

his "girlfriend".

He won the award for "most original

costume" at the ward Halloween Party!

Pizza and Candy

OK, so this is Mike signing in. I know that there aren't too many entries on here from me but I thought this was pretty funny last night and I thought who could better appreciate it than all our friends. We went to our ward trunk-or-treat last night (I am sure there will pictures on here at some future date). After the ward party we were on our way home and Summer suggested that we stop by and get some fast food so that she wouldn't have to cook anything because it was late. So we stopped at Papa John's for pizza and while they were making the pizza the kids were bugging us to eat all their candy. Well Summer turned around and with a dead straight face says "No, your going to get sick to your stomachs. You can't have any candy until after you eat some pizza." I don't think she even realized how funny it was until after she said it. Those of you who have kids will appriciate the paradox of trying to do the right thing for you kids and not always having enough energy or time in the day to do things the way you really wanted to. Anyhow I just thought that was funny.

And, since I probably won't weigh in on this blog again for another 6 months to a year; I just want to say how wonderful I think Summer is. After being married to her for 8 years I know better than anybody how great she is. Not just for me but for our kids as well. I love you Summer.

Our Summer in a Nutshell...

Well, here are some of our end of summer pictures, we are missing a few but I will post those later. We are sad that it is over, but very excited for the fall and winter seasons. I love it when it gets cool enough to put on a little sweater and feel the chill in the air. Being in California we don't see the leaves change very much (which makes me sad) or watch the snow fall at Christmas time, but we do love that it is always warm. I love this time of year with all of the Holidays and can't wait to pull an all nighter for the after Thanksgiving sales!(yes, I know I'm crazy but it is sooo fun you should try it!!!) I'm a sucker for a good deal!

This slide show is kind of long, but I hope you enjoy it!!

Grandma Carrie Jaqueline Martin

This summer my Grandma Martin passed away and I wanted to share the video I made for her funeral with all of you. It is about 10 minutes long.
How to view the video:
To view the video you'll first want to scroll down this page about halfway and and on the right hand side you will see my music, click on the pause button for my music. Next, come back to this section and click on the play button twice- if you don't pause my music first you will not be able to hear the music on the video because they will both be playing.
Grandma Martin has been greatly missed by her family and friends, but it is very comforting to know that she has been reunited with Grandpa and all of her family. She was the last of her siblings to go and all she ever talked about was the love of her life-Heber. We are so lucky to be members of the gospel and know that we are families forever. I hope you enjoy the video.

A trip to Gavalin Hills

We love going to Gavalin Hills! Last week Brigham had an early out day so we headed out to Gavalin Hills when he got home. On the way I had to stop by Todd and Kristen's House and we decided to take Kate with us. My boys love Kate, last week they had a fight over who Kate loved more! My mom and Dad are so great with the kids and my boys just love going to see grandma and papa. There are all sorts of adventures on their 5 acres, swings, slides, frogs, bugs and a whole lot of dirt! Paul was really funny though, he followed my dad around the whole day!! I think my dad must have had chocolate hidden in his pockets or something.


Kate and her boys (see how happy they are)


Grandmas are great!


Paul loves to swing.


He also loved this little picnic table my parents
bought. He sat there and ate better than he has
all year!! I told my mom I need to buy one now...
he thinks he's such a big boy!!!


Funny Boy...He is always laughing or smiling!


Paul and Grandpa eating lunch together...Too cute!

A Fun Family Home Evening

Tonight was a really fun night. We invited 2 other families over for a BBQ/ FHE. We started with the best food!! There is a mexican market close by and you can get the best marinated chicken, beans and rice there!! So we BBQ'd the chicken and and ate first, then we had a short lesson out of the Friend magazine. Next, the dads took the boys on a bug hunt. We turned off all the light and gave them flashlights and they searched for gummy bugs in the backyard. They had lots of fun with it, and the moms had a moment of piece and quiet(which is pretty hard to come by these days). When they were done with the bug hunt the kids decorated cupcakes which gave the adults some time to chat. I love getting together with friends, we had a such a good time.


YUMMY FOOD!


Brigham, Cooper and Carter decorating cupcakes.


Joseph decorating cupcakes.


Nathan decorating cupcakes


Paul and Savannah...babies are sooo cute!

Our 8th Anniversary Weekend

About a month ago Mike asked me what I wanted to do for our anniversary and I told him to just surprise me.....well he surprised me alright!!! What an amazing weekend! Mike arranged for his sister Lara and brother Paul to watch the kids for the weekend. Everything was a secret so I had no idea where we were going. We left our house Friday afternoon and went to the 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica and did some shopping and ate dinner. From there Mike took me to an awesome hotel overlooking the ocean.


This was our hotel room.....

And this was our view!!

After we unpacked we went to the Pantageous

Theatre in LA and saw...


Wicked!!! It was amazing! I told Mike about 4
months ago that I wanted to see it and he told me
you had to buy ticket a year in advance, so I had
no idea until we pulled up to the theatre. If you
haven't seen this yet you have too!! It was great!


The next day we slept in until about 11:00
and then headed to the Pier for a nice long walk.
This is us at the end of the Peir.


We went to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack and got
front row seats to the Ocean. On our way home
we stopped by the Santa Anita Mall and bought
each of the boys a little toy so they would know
we were thinking of them while we were gone.
We had such a great time and it was so nice to
get away for the night and just spend time alone.
Mike did such a great job planning an amazing
anniversary weekend!

Girls Night Out

What a fun time! Last weekend I went with some of the "mommies" in my family and we had a "girls weekend". It was so much fun... as you can see! We met at the Mall in Mission Veijo and had a great time shopping before having dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (Yummy!!). We got a great deal on a room at the Hilton in Dana Point (thanks Emily!) so after dinner we went back to our hotel. We did our "favorite things" exchange which was lots of fun. I got a couple cool Cd's, a DVDs, a great message from the prophet, some crystal, some yummy pumpkin bread, a great lip liner, some really cute gift bags, mint chocolates from See's and some really good snacks and drinks! It was great to go home with everyone's "favorites". After our exchange we gave each other facials and stayed up until 4 am talking, which would have killed me except for the fact that we were able to SLEEP IN the next morning!! A whole night (or morning) of uninterrupted sleep!! So, we got up got dressed and went to the San Clemente pier for brunch. We spent a couple hours at the pier and then headed to Irvine Spectrum for some kid free shopping! It was so much fun! I felt like I got so much accomplished! While we were there we heard Rob Machado was signing autographs at Buckle so we went to meet him. We ended with a light (but yummy) dinner at The Corner Bakery before heading home. It was great to get away for the night and hang out with the Girls, but it's also great to see the look on your family's face when you come walking in the door!!! I am such a lucky girl!


Our group picture at The Cheescake Factory


At the hotel, just before our exchange.
(Katie, Tammy, Amber, Jaime, Me)

Don't we look scary?? What we go through to

look beautiful!! Girls don't hate me for putting

this pic up...I love it!! What fun!

Some of the group at the pier.

Me and my momma at the beach.

Me, Rob, and my mom at Buckle.

8 Years of Marriage!

When I first met Mike I could tell that he was the kind of guy I wanted to marry. He was handsome, kind, sincere, spiritual, hard working, he loved kids and loved to serve others. He was always helping someone put in a new yard or painting their house. We instantly became the best of friends and it wasn't long before I knew he was the one, although it took him a while to figure it out. We spent about 8 months being great friends and finally he kissed me! It was only 3 weeks later that we were engaged and 3 months later we were married! It was September 24 1999.
I can't believe we have been married for 8 years! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves the Lord, love me and loves our children. Each day I love him more and more and I thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a great guy!

Because we are celebrating our 8th anniversary here are 8 reasons I love Mike:

1) He has a stong testimony of the Gospel.
2) He loves me and is a wonderful father to our 3 boys. He has set such a great example for them to follow, of how to be a good husband and father.
3) He loves to serve others.
4) He is a hard worker and a good provider.
5) He's got a great sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time!!
6) He admits when he is wrong and always stands for what is right.
7) He is very honest, trustworthy and loyal.
8) He keeps me grounded. Whenever I am scared or uncertain I know he is there for me. He is one of the most Faithful people I know.

Happy Aniversay Mike....I Love You Mike!!!