Cruisin'

We just back from our vacation cruise down to Cabo San Lucas (starting in San Diego) and loved it. We went with our friends in the neighborhood, Adam and Tristen, and it was extremely fun. It was from a Monday to Saturday and was five nights of non-stop eating, sleeping, ||censored||, and eating. Lots of laughs too. I highly recommend a cruise on Royal Caribbean if you haven't done one.

This is our ship, Radiance of the Seas.

Michelle and I on the back of the boat enjoying the weather getting ready for a game of hearts.

This is us in Ensenada at La Bufadora, the blowhole. Talk about blowholes... Ensenada is a one and done town. Won't be planning a getaway there anytime... ever.

Formal dinner night. Damn, I look good.

Boat ride in Cabo at Land's End where it's the tip of the Baja peninsula. Very cool, except the stinky seals.

Well, that's all the photos I posted. The other ones revealed too much of the weight I gained eating 4 times a day. Buffets and being on a boat are great in theory, but leave you feeling a little lathargic when you get home. Back to the gym it is.

It's Halloween and the Ghouls are Out!

I have to admit that I haven't done nearly as much leading up to Halloween this year with my kids as I have done in years past. However, that said, I feel like I'll catch up and make them walk around neighborhoods until their little legs fall off. Michelle can stay at home and relax while passing out candy.

Here's some pics to catch up from the last post and get us in that Halloween spirit.

Ella and Peyton at the pumpkin patch for pre-school.

Michelle and I before our Halloween party last weekend.

Our kids and the Hagen's kids at the same party place the next night. This place was an empty house in Alpine that the hosts were selling, and filled with Halloween decor everywhere. Very cool.

Conner carving it up.

The kids posing in front of the finished products. I chose the Berlin coat of arms this year.

Easton getting slimed in Ella's pumpkin.

Ella and Grandpa hanging out.

Tonight should be lots of fun. We're having a little eat before you treat with our neighbors out in our garage. Last year it went well, so Michelle and our neighbor decided to do it again. They're such go-getters. ;-P

ATTENTION - There are A LOT of new posts!

For those of you complaining that I haven't updated in FOREVER, please feel satiated that I've gone through and updated the blog with the newest, most relevant events in our family over the past month or so. August was boring... nothing there. But September and October are thrilling.

Surprise Kids!... We're going to Disneyland

We decided to surprise our kids with a quick trip to Disneyland last weekend. We got all the rooms and tickets, and then Michelle went and checked them out of school while I headed home from work. It was fun to do it like that.

Main gate photo.

Wait... who's that in there with us? Grandma! Yep, she flew down Saturday afternoon and surprised the kids for a second wham-o.

Ella and G-ma.

Me, Conner, and Grandma on California Screaming right before it takes off. Awesome ride.

Grizzly Rapids with the boys and Paula. East got soaked.

We're here to @#($ stuff up.

Cheez!

Temple Wedding Day

Brent and Sara had the reception first, then the temple the next day. Here we are at the Provo Temple.

Eric and Bubba doing the missionary handshake photo op.

Michelle and East sitting around.

Easton and Ella sitting by the fountains.

Brent's Wedding

My nephew, Brent, got married this last weekend to a great girl, Sara. It was fun to get together with my family for the weekend and hang out.

Parents of the groom, Kelly and Valee.

Boys monkeying around...

Ladies doing weird things in the photo booth they had set up. This was a quick shot through the curtain.

The girls...

Deer Valley & Park City Trip

Michelle and the kids went to Deer Valley with her parents while I was in Europe. Looks like they had a fun time together.

Catching Up - Ella's First Day of Preschool

Here's Ellie-bellie with her brothers on her first day of preschool. Let's not forget Mr. Rocko either.

And here she is with her BFF, Peytie.

Cowabunga Bay!

Michelle, the kids, and the nephews all took a day with Grandma and hit Cowabunga Bay to soak up the sun in the last days of summer. Looks like they had a great time.


Ella performing her "watch me, watch me..." while dunking herself underwater and practicing her swimming lessons. So cute.


This is Con and Dyl striking a pose before they get "striked" with tons of water dumping from one of the huge buckets.

The boys getting their "chill" on in the pool. Sometimes it's crazy to see how big they get and how fast they grow.

We should be able to get there maybe one more time before it shuts down... because I'm pretty sure they're not going to be running it in February.

What happens when family convenes...?

Beins Family Campout 2009 - Eight Mile Campground, Idaho

Another great campout this year over the 24th of July up in the mountains of Idaho. We had good food, good activities, and a little bit of craziness as always to go with it. We met Alease's boyfriend, went on bike rides and four-wheeler rides, hikes, runs, and did some fishing. All in all it was a great weekend for some relaxation.

Here's the fam getting our pose on.

Elvis and the kids going 4-wheelin

Kelly with the other load of kids

On the way home Conner and Easton got a pic in front of the "Devil's Handprint".

This is Elvis and I getting our morning bath out of the way. We're basically sitting at the beginning of the creek in a cold spring.

Me and the boys

Easton and Grandma

Can't wait for next year, too. Always a good time to get away and go rustic. We need to get a few more family members up there to make it complete, but it's still fun regardless.

Going up there makes me realize what a beautiful planet we live on and how lucky we are to be here.

Gateway and Silver/Twin Lakes - Sunday

This Sunday we had a family day. We went to Gateway with my sisters and their families and watched the kids play in the fountain and ate at the Pizza Kitchen. Then we said goodbye to them and then went hiking with Michelle's family up Big Cottonwood. It was a long, but fun day and we capped it off with dinner at Porcupine. (Which included calling the cops on some people who left their dog in their hot car... idiots).

All of us at Twin Lakes.

The boys strikin' a pose.

Some of us hiking up to the lake.

Elvis and Ella playing in the water.

Easton and Ben just chillin...

Me getting Ella acclimated.

Getting our mist on.

Easton enjoying himself in the water.

Too much fun that ended a busy weekend with family in town and a family reunion. We're also watching our nephew this week until I take him up with us to go camping this weekend. Good times...