b&w chapman family

Emery Turned 8 - Isn't That Great!

2009-09-14T12:01:00.005-07:00

Emery has turned eight and got to do lots of fun stuff for her birthday!

In our house, my kids get "friend" parties when they are 5, 8, 12, and 16, so Emery felt like she waited forever to have her friends come for her birthday. She had a horse party and got to invite 7 friends to come (we ordered her birthday party stuff thru Birthday Express online- it was awesome, tons of themes and everything packaged together for one price, love it!).

Then on Saturday she was baptized! She was the only one being baptized that day, so it was really special. She had a beautiful baptism dress and she was very happy that her dad got to baptize her and comfirm her too. The spirit was so strong, we had a really special day.

It was a very memorable weekend for Emery and our whole family!

Singing "Happy Birthday" and throwing confetti

Here's the birthday party girls, all of Emery's BFF's

(l to r: Hannah, Courtney, Emery, Sarah, Abby, Olivia, Claire, Ashlyn)

Emery in her baptism dress

The close-up (don't you love the missing teeth!)

Brett and Emery

(sorry the pic's so small)

Gramms and Grandpa Owens with Emery after she was baptized

WHAT A FUN SUMMER!

2009-08-26T10:05:00.008-07:00

We had a really great summer of fun vacations, but we did a lot of in between vacation stuff that really made our summer special. Here's a recap!

josh came home from his mission in switzerland

cardinals camp, boys day out!

swimming fun with friends

swimming fun with gramms and aunt brittany

cousins play day

camping and quad riding with friends

pioneer day

flip flop fun

mighty mud mania

swim lessons

ben's graduation

riley's graduation (befor the rain)

water park fun

memorial day at the mesa cemetary

Alone at Last!

2009-07-16T09:07:00.011-07:00

Brett and I got to take a fun trip for four days to Denver, Colorado to celebrate our anniversary. It's been 2 years since we've been away by ourselves overnight and we had a great time. It was so nice to be able to spend time together and actually be able to have a conversation with each other, without children interrupting or being too tired to really pay attention each other - ya know, life getting in the way. I was so relaxing and fun. I can't wait to do it again!

THE VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL ROOM BALCONY

"GARDEN OF THE GODS" - COLORADO SPRINGS

CAN YOU SEE BRETT IN THERE?

THIS WAS A REALLY NEAT THING TO SEE...

AT THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING (CAN YOU READ THE STEP?)

WE GOT TO GO TO TWO DBACKS-ROCKIES GAMES, SOOOO FUN!

THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS (SO HIGH, LIKE 11,OOO FT!)

15th Anniversary

2009-07-01T08:40:00.007-07:00

Brett and I celebrated our 15th anniversary yesterday. It is so weird to think that we've been married for that long. It really feels like just yesterday we were newlyweds - oh how time flies by!

Being married to Brett has been the biggest blessing in my life! He is wonderful, the love of my life, and I pray that our lives will be as happy in the next fifteen years as they have been in the last fifteen.

So to honor fifteen years of wedded bliss (haha, but I wouldn't change a thing!), here's 15 pics of Brett and me...........

Swim Lessons

2009-07-01T08:14:00.016-07:00

I try to have my girls take swim lessons every summer, just to improve their swimming skills (they swim fine - hello, we live in az - it's just mostly to give us something to do for 2 weeks), and this year is no exception. I have good little swimmers!

SOPHIE took beginning diving this year and did pretty good. She probably had as many belly flops as dives but she's getting better and better!

EMERY did really well this year and was one of the fastest swimmers, especially when it came to the backstroke. That's her specialty!

MAGGIE loved swim lessons this year (thank goodness!). The last couple years she's really hated it, but this year she had lots of fun and is a really good swimmer now.

OWENS FAMILY CAMPING TRIP

2009-06-23T15:41:00.020-07:00

We went camping with my family a couple of weeks ago. Not everyone could make it, but for those of us that were there - we had a great time. My brother Andy planned this great camping trip. We left on a Thursday and hit Sedona, which meant Slide Rock of course. I hadn't been to Slide Rock for a really long time, and we just had a blast. My kids really enjoyed it too.

That night we camped in Flagstaff near Sunset Crater. It was a beautiful campsite set up for large families and reunions. We were the only ones there that night, so we had the whole place to ourselves to have marshmallow wars and stay up late ! Then next day we went to the Lava Tubes, which is a cave in northern Flagstaff, up by Snow Bowl. If you've never been, it's definately something to try - it's dark and cold, but so fun!

Then we camped the last two nights at the Grand Canyon. I've been to the Grand Canyon before, but never camped there, and I would love to do it again! There is a junior ranger program for the kids to do and that took most of our Saturday, taking the kids to different programs and helping them complete their booklets, but we sure learned a lot about the Grand Canyon and the kids earned their "Junior Ranger Badge"!

We had a really great trip, lots of memories.

It's always fun to be with family!

From l to r : Bailey (15 mths), Brett (3?), Sophie (9), Maggie (4), Emery (7 & 3/4), Whitney (i'll never tell, heehee)

Disneyland Fun

2009-05-31T16:20:00.014-07:00

So I promised pics of our fun vacation (way back in April, ya i know!), so here they are. We surprised our three oldest girls and took them on a trip to Disneyland. We left our baby with my sister and her hubby and we told the other girls that we were just going to dinner before Sophie's softball game that night. When we just kept driving and driving they started complaining that they were hungry, so I said "Ok here we are!". It was a Carls Jr. in Buckeye, like an hour from home, and we told them that we were just going to eat in the car so we could go back for Sophie's game. They were so mad to have gone a whole hour for drive-thru food that once we got it and were on our way again, my two oldest started thinking something was up and finally looked in the back of the truck and saw all the luggage. It was then that they realized that we were going on a trip somewhere, but we still wouldn't tell them our destination. About at the Cali border we started giving clues every hour on the hour, but they weren't catching the hint. By the time we got to our hotel (which was right across the street from Dland) it was dark and all the girls were sleeping so they didn't see where we were. As we got out of the car they started begging us to know where we were, so Brett couldn't keep the secret anymore (ok, it was me...) and we told them - Disneyland!!!

We had a great time with just the three oldest, and made a lot of fun memories! I got matching shirts for them - a different one for each of the three days we were there, thanks to the Disney Outlet store ($4 a piece, you can't beat it!). And the highlight was getting to see and take pic's with Tinkerbell - TWICE! We can't wait to go again!!

PICTURE PALOOZA

2009-04-20T14:53:00.010-07:00

We are taking our family on a fun vacation this weekend (posts to come), and so I wanted to get all caught up on our latest happenings in our lives.
Be prepared to for lots of pic's................

EASTER EGG HUNT AT OUR HOUSE,

WITH OUR FRIDAY NIGHT BABYSITTING

GROUP FRIENDS

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EASTER BUNNY SATURDAY

(the easter bunny comes on saturday morning

in our house)

MAGGIE PATIENTLY WAITING FOR HER

SISTERS TO WAKE UP TO LOOK THROUGH

THEIR EASTER BASKETS

SOPHIE'S FAVORITE GIFT.......A BOOK

EMERY'S................PEEPS, OF COURSE!

MAGGIE GOT A FUN POP UP GAME

(bailey got a basket too, but no pic -

bad mommy, bad mommy!)

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EASTER SUNDAY

GRAMMS ( whitney's mom) MADE MATCHING

DRESSES FOR THEM.

SOOOOO CUTE - THX GRAMMS!

BAILEY - 1 YR. OLD

(she looked so cute this day, but wouldn't smile for the camera)

MAGGIE - 4 YRS. OLD

EMERY - 7 1/2 YRS. OLD

SOPHIE - 9 YRS. OLD

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EASTER EGG HUNT

IN GRAMMS AND GRANDPA'S

BACKYARD

SITTING WITH OUR COUSINS,

CHECKING OUT OUR CANDY!

HERE'S BRETT AND WHITNEY

(we don't get pic's of us together very often,

cute couple huh?)

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THE "SPRING SING"

FRANKLIN WEST ELEMENTARY

SPRING CHORAL CONCERT

EMERY ON THE TOP ROW OF 1ST GRADERS

AND SOPHIE ON THE BOTTOM ROW OF 3RD GRADERS

(i think sophie is doomed to be on the bottom row forever,

we just call her "short and sweet")

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WHILE MOM AND DAD WASHED THE CARS,

THE GIRLS WASHED THEIR BIKES

(they were just excited to wear their new swimsuits)

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WHEN IT'S HOT AND YOU DON'T HAVE A POOL,

WHAT DO YOU DO? --

YOU MAKE DO !!

COOLERS AND BUCKETS MAKE GREAT

POOLS, WHEN FILLED WITH WATER!

2009-04-20T13:30:00.010-07:00

BAILEY RUTH CHAPMAN

TURNED ONE YEAR OLD!

ABOVE: 1 MONTH OLD

BELOW: 1ST B-DAY

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MY "ACTIVITY DAYS" GIRLS AND ME.

WE WENT ON A HIKE DOWN THE MESA CANAL

DURING SPRING BREAK.

THIS IS US BEFORE OUR HIKE,

WE DIDN'T LOOK THIS CUTE AT THE END :)

RICH PORTER AND SOME OF THE GIRLS

GETTING A GOOD WORK OUT!

TAKIN' A BREAK BEFORE OUR HIKE BACK

TO THE CAR

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WE WENT CAMPING AT FOOL HOLLOW LAKE,

DURING THE LAST WEEKEND OF SPRING BREAK.

HERE'S OUR CAMPER .

(when we got there, there weren't any camping spots left,

so this really nice guy - who drove a motorcycle,

and was only there for the night - let us share his spot with him.

wish i would've got a pic, but he was so great!)

HERE'S MAGGIE LOOKING OUT!

OUR AWESOME DAD MAKING US SOME AWESOME

DUTCH OVEN DINNER, YUM!

EMERY MAKING HER OWN PINE NEEDLE SALAD,

BECAUSE SHE WAS SO HUNGRY WAITING FOR

DADDY TO FINISH COOKING DINNER!

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MAGGIE'S 4TH BIRTHDAY

(i don't know what's up with her hairdo,

wish i had a better pic)

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WE HAD A FAMILY PARTY FOR

MAGGIE AND BAILEY'S B-DAYS

MAGGIE SHOWIN' OFF HER BIRTHDAY ATTIRE,

AND GETTING READY TO OPEN PRESENTS

BAILEY GOT LOTS OF FUN STUFF TOO

MAGGIE'S BLOWING OUT HER CANDLE ON HER CUPCAKE....

...AND BAILEY JUST STARING AT HERS.

THEN CAME THE PINATA,

WHICH WASN'T UNTIL HOURS AFTER THE PARTY

WAS OVER, CUZ MOM AND DAD FORGOT ABOUT IT!

SO WE CALLED OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FRIENDS

AND THEY RUSHED RIGHT OVER AND HELPED US

BREAK IT OPEN, SOOOOOOOOOO FUN!

General Conference Weekend

2009-04-06T21:06:00.019-07:00

I just have to say how much I enjoyed Conference this session. It was so nice for Brett and I to be able to actually watch all 4 sessions (brett -5). Usually we have soccer games or softball practices or something - and this year we actually got to stay home and really take advantage of the two days.

I learned so much from our dear leaders and really had so many of my prayers answered through their inspired words. One quote I really loved, was in the sunday afternoon session ( I can't remember who said it) he referrenced the scripture "Satan will sift you as wheat". He explained that it meant that Satan will make us common - like everybody else, and that really hit home to me. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life.

Here's some of the fun stuff that we did as a family during conference:

WE MADE FRIENDSHIP NECKLACES

(always a good time distraction for at least one session of conference)

WE TOOK NAPS BETWEEN SESSIONS

(thank goodness for a warm and cozy daddy)

MAGGIE DREW PICTURES OF OUR FAMILY:

This blue one is daddy

(it's hard to tell but there is a stick figure in there somewhere)

The red one is Mommy and the orange is Sophie

The big one is Emery

(Maggie was laughing cuz she gave her a big head)

and the little one is Bailey

And this one is her own self portrait

(I think she was sick of drawing by this point, cuz she has no limbs)

HERE'S BRETT AND WHITNEY

HAVING A RELAXING SUNDAY AT HOME

(actually I was trying to get a new facebook pic, but i'm not sure about this one)

SOPHIE'S 9TH BIRTHDAY !!

2009-03-22T20:40:00.011-07:00

Our oldest daughter Sophie turned 9 last month!

It's so strange to think we've had her for nine whole years,

but she has definately been a joy to us.

She is so smart and funny, athletic and friendly,

daring and talented, and most of all has a true testimony of the gospel.

We love you Sophie!!

Emery Got A Perm!!

2009-01-22T11:20:00.010-07:00

We've always thought Emery was so cute, but with a new hair-do, she is gorgeous!!

Here is before

(always in a pony cuz it was soooo hard to manage):

Here is the perm process:

Here is the finished product:

Thanks Aunt Caitlin for helping

Emery have the best hair around.

We love it!!

We Had A Great Christmas.....And Then We Went To The Snow!

2009-01-22T10:35:00.010-07:00

Sophie was a pro at sledding! She could make all the jumps and wasn't even scared!!

Emery ran right out of the car and into the snow! She thought this was the most fun ever!

Bailey hung out in here stroller with mom, the whole time. She wasn't too happy about that!

Maggie loved making snow balls and even tried sledding a couple of times with dad!

Here is Brett and my brother Andy. They were coming back from sledding down the biggest hill!!

I think Brett is pretty proud of himself. He is "The Man"!!

Emery and Sophie's Dance Recital

2008-12-16T08:08:00.010-07:00

This was Sophie's first time taking a real dance class and she did great!

Emery and Sophie together, sooo cute!

Emery is a pro! She remembered all her moves.

Here's Sophie during her cartwheel solo!

The whole class!

Emery loves to dance, and she's so good at it too!

Sophie had so much fun, but mom said she had to choose either dance or softball for the spring (we did soccer and dance this fall and it was too much!) and she chose softball. you go girl!

These are all the girls that carpool together. Brett has picked them up every Tuesday for the whole year and he calls them HIS dancing girls! He bought them all a flower and gave it to them at the end of the recital!

....Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas....

2008-12-11T12:37:00.022-07:00

What fun we've had getting ready for Christmas, even if we are a little behind schedule! I usually have my Christmas cards out, presents wrapped, treats for our neighbors made, and the house decorated for weeks by now. Oh well, the point is that now it's Christmas at the Chapman house, hurrah!

This is what we day to do with Bailey to keep her out of all the decorations.

You would've thought that she would have screamed and cried, and hated it, but really she loved it.

She had toys in there to play with (and probably some pretzels too), plus she could see us and be with us!

She hasn't stayed away from the tree, though, but she is starting to realize that wooden ornaments and fake pine needles don't really taste all that great.

She is actually not bothering the Christmas decorations too much.

I know this picture is a little fuzzy, but I had to show what happens when we are all decorating the Christmas tree and we didn't realize that Maggie wasn't helping. She found a stamp and stamped up both arms, her hands, her legs, and her face!!! She knew she was in trrrrrrrrouble! (But of course I had to laugh and take a pic first, heehee)

And then there is Emery who had to get in on the fun, and instead of hanging up the stocking, wore the stockings!

Our Thanksgiving in Utah

2008-12-07T16:14:00.013-07:00

This is our family on Thanksgiving Day outside the home of our good friends Eric and Amy Erickson. They live in Draper and we went to visit them and their three kids, Braiden-Paige-Cameron, for the holiday weekend. Now if I look a little tired to you, it's because we got in late the night before, after driving 12 hours in our truck (yes, 12 hours with all 6 of us in the truck!), and almost not even going because of the storm that came right when we were packing up. Whew!

We got to take the kids to the dinosaur museum that is right next to Thanksgiving Point. We had never been there before and there was so much to see and do. They had so much fun, we were there forever!! By the way, if you can't tell, we are about to be eaten by a giant T-Rex, ahhhhhhhhhhh!

I also got to go see "Twilight" again with Amy (and it was better the second time), and we did a little shopping. I would have really liked to do a whole lot more shopping, and gone to Temple Square, and more, but we did get to go out on a date with just the four of us- and that was fun! Next time we'll have to stay a little longer, if that's ok Ericksons? It was a great trip and we can't wait until the next trip.

Sophie's a Soccer Star!

2008-11-25T08:31:00.006-07:00

Sophie just finished her soccer season, and she had so much fun. She always seeems to be the smallest player on the team, but she is so good! She loves to play and plays really well. It was a long and busy season for Sophie, doing soccer and dance, but well worth it. She's an awesome sporty girl. What are we going to do with our Saturday mornings now?

Trying to Catch Up!

2008-11-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

So, I'm finally updating this blog! YEAH!!! There have been some really fun things that have gone on with our family in the past two months. We went quad riding with some friends out to the desert, and our kids had a blast - and we found out that sophie is a natural. We have been going to a lot of Mesa High School football games, supporting my brother Riley, and now the seasons over - but it was so much fun to watch him play. I took the girls to a farm in Gilbert over October Break, and they got to ride horses for the first time. Our little Bailey is growing so much, that she's on to solid foods and crawling everywhere. And of course, Halloween! I've put all the pic's into a slide show, check it out.

oct/nov 2008

2008-11-17T22:29:00.001-07:00

My Sister Got Married

2008-09-23T09:49:00.016-07:00

My sister Caitlin got married last Thursday, Sept. 18th. She is my only sister and we are 14 years apart. I love her to death and had a hard time watching her get married. In my eyes she's still this fun little sister, not a grown woman, but at least I can feel confident in handing her over to her awesome hubby who I know will love and take care of her forever!

*Congratulations Caitlin and Robin Beach*

And here's some fun and family after....

Emery's 7th Birthday

2008-09-23T09:20:00.006-07:00

Emery turned 7 and got to celebrate her b-day with her cousin Brittney. She could hardley wait for her birthday day to come. She got to celebrate for almost a whole week. She had a party with the Chapman's on the 6th, our family and babysitting group on th 12th, and the Owens' on the 13th. WHEW! She is so special to our family and we love her.

Our Sweet Daughters

2008-09-07T21:22:00.010-07:00

This is our SOPHIE LAYNE!!

She is 8 years old and our second mom. She started 3rd grade this year and got to sit right next to her fun friend Sydney, hoorah! She is taking dance for the first time and loves it. She is playing soccer as well and is soooo good at it. She also takes piano lessons for her third year. She is so good at so many things and is always up for trying new things, but after this mom says only one activity at a time (it gets pretty crazy when you have to leave for dance 10 minutes after she gets home from school on Tuesdays and the minute she gets home from dance she has to hurry and change and make it to soccer practice right away, whew!). She also loves to read and go to Activity Days - especially because her mom is the Activity Days leader :) She is a great big sister and a big help to mom and dad.

This is fabulous EMERY KAY!!

She is almost 7 and can't wait for her birthday. She loves it when there is a special something just for her and no one else. She started first grade this year and is so smart. Emery is also taking dance (for the 2nd time) and chose to focus just on that talent and not do soccer this year. She is really talented at dance and her teacher says she has great lines, whatever that means! She is also taking piano and getting better and better. She is very imaginative and likes to pretend to be an American Idol singer or Hannah Montana or any Disney singer. She is always making us laugh, and she is really fun to have in our family.

This is funny Maggie LeRue!!

She is almost 3 1/2 years old and as spunky as they come. She used to babble so much when she was younger, carrying on conversations in "maggie talk" and we would all just nod our heads in agreement, not knowing what she was talking about. But now, she speaks really well and she still talks a lot. She's a crack up!! She loves movies and the first thing she says every morning is, "Mommy, I want to watch a movie." And we're not kidding when we say - every morning!! She's started preschool and loves to go play with her friends there and at church. Her favorite places to go are Target (she loves to get popcorn there) and Disneyland. Even though we haven't been to Disneyland in over a year, she still asks to go there about once a week. She loves her sisters, especially her baby sister, and calls her "Sugar, Sugars". We love her!!

This is adorable BAILEY RUTH!

She is 5 1/2 months old and cute as can be! She loves to smile and laugh, especially at her funny sisters and crazy dad. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but she slobbers so much that they have to be coming in soon, don't ya think? She began rolling over about a month ago and now is up on her hands and knees, rocking back and forth, and we think that she will crawl any day now - yikes! She has been such a fun and easy baby, that we feel like we are spoiled. She eats, sleeps (and thru the night since she was 8 weeks old, might I add), and plays on cue. How lucky can we be? Her sisters all adore her, so much so that Sophie said she wants another baby sister (whoah there, lets give mom a little time before we start talking new babies, ok?). They played and loved on her so much this summer that she had a hard time adjusting when they all went off to school and the house was quiet, and there was no one to entertain her. She is a great addition to our family.

Mighty Mud Mania

2008-09-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Barb and I, took our kids to this really fun event in Scottsdale called "Mighty Mud Mania".

*This is the "Before the Mud" pic*

(L to R: Sophie, Emery, Courtney-Micah-Marissa :Barb's kids, and Maggie)

They had obstacle courses in the mud for all ages. They got to race other kids through these courses and at the end, win or lose, they got a ribbon.

There were a couple big pits of mud that they could just go and get all dirty, too. What a blast, they loved it!

There was also a big shaded area with 50-75 different play houses for the kids to play in (which I think was Maggie's favorite thing to do) and a big shaded sand pile to dig in.

It was so much fun and at the end they got to go down a long soapy water slide to get cleaned off. It was a really neat event and we are definitely planning on going back again next year!!

*This is the "After the Mud" pic*

Chapman Family trip to Greer (or Heaven?)

2008-07-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

One of this summer's highlights is a short family reunion trip to beautiful Greer, AZ. Nestled in the deep forests of the White Mountians in north eastern AZ, lies a small town where the temperature is perfect-65 for the high and 45 for the low. We stayed in our tent trailer while the rest of the family stayed in a cabin several miles away.

It was so nice being with our family. We have such great memories of the white mountains. We had fun playing games, taking hikes, fishing, boating and watching the rain every afternoon, and enjoying a little R & R.

One of the funnest games we played was Quelf. (visit http://www.quelf.com/ )
Everyone should have this game in their home. We have never laughed so hard.

Here is one of the stunts that you have to do when playing Quelf.

One of our favorite places to visit is the "ranch" - a meadow just southeast of Nutrioso. This is the place where we had family reunions every summer for several decades with the Chapmans and Burks.

(front: Maggie (3) / Back: left to right-Sophie (8) Whitney, Brett (with Bailey (4 months) and Emery (6) )

4th of July

2008-07-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Is is winter yet? I think our family is starting to get tired of the heat (at least Brett is-he must be getting old). We started off the Summer with scorching heat and by the time July 4th came around, the Arizona monsoons took over. Heat + Humidity + Rain = Yuck!

We started July 4th with a Flag Ceremony at the Mesa Stake Center and then we enjoyed breakfast from 6 different wards. Yum Yum!

Later in the day we went to Whitney's parent home and enjoyed a great BBQ and get-together.

We then went to one of the high schools in the area to watch the fireworks and then the "monsoon" started to brew. We waited and waited for the show to begin, but the wind was too strong. By 9:30 the fireworks started and 15 fireworks later the show ended. Embers from the fireworks were landing on the people in the stadium, so we left-obviously disappointed-except for Emery-she hates fireworks.

This is a photo of all the girl cousins from the Owens Family- Whitney's mom made all the dresses. Aren't they just adorable?

It is such a blessing to have the freedoms we do enjoy. Freedom to worship, freedom to love, freedom to play, and freedom to laugh.

Mexico Trip June 2008

2008-06-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from our annual to in Rocky Point-it was such a blast. The weather was perfect, except for a few days of wind. Bailey handled the trip very well and as you can see, so did Maggie, Sophie, & Emery (left to right). We are so ready to go back and enjoy some more potato tacos and burritos. YUM YUM!

We enjoyed playing in the sand and finding a great bargain on "almost free" jewelry and fireworks.

It is so nice being only 5 hours from the beaches of Mexico. We cannot wait to go back.

Finally....get with the times Chappy!

2008-06-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I think we've felt enough pressure....The Brett & Whitney Chapman Blog is now up and running. First of all, I want to apologize for the dust, while the blog is under construction.
We are excited to share with our fun friends and family with live so close and so far away a tad bit of our lives.
It has been fun seeing all of our friend's and family's blogs, so keep em coming.