Picture nature day, Fall 2009

FALL FAMILY FUN DAY . . .  We set out for our fall family picture day so I could send out a yearly picture for Christmas, but it turned out to be much much more.  Karyssa was having a blast taking pictures of us taking pictures; Jarem was being his goofy funloving self and making Karyssa smile, Kyson and Konner were having fun right along with them and Jacelyn and Jayden were just loving being kids in the great outdoors.  Mom and dad remember this fun day well because everyone was smiling, nobody depressed acting or whining, everyone getting along and everyone just enjoying being part of the great outdoors and more importantly ..

AN ETERNAL FAMILY.     

The entire day was just as fun as some of the crazy shots we ended up with...   Jarem being a goof,  then Konner taking his turn...  Karyssa trying to take crazy picture of us all as we were goofy...  Kyson and Jayden off in crazy you tube land.  Happy parents just watching all the smiles and loving it all.  It was just a relaxing nice crazy family-fun day.

 Jayden Gerald Van Dyke was baptized this year in May.  He is such a fun little guy.  He gets along well with Kyson.  They find humor in everything.  Most of the time they are just jabbering away saying something that they heard and liked from YouTube.  Jayden gets along mostly with Jacelyn who is 4 here as long as they both don't want the same toy or position.   Kyson turned 12 in July this year and started young mens at church and received the Aaronic priesthood.  He still has his innocence and is a fun-loving, very sensitive, soft, good-natured and loving kid.  He started Jr. High this year and started experiencing those fun challanges including grades and fitting in.

Konner is 15 this year and just starting his first year going to  High School.   He has a bit of an additude and emjoys loud crazy music and a wild day or too, but on this day has even he a lot of fun.  For a teenager, we could definately experience worse and really love our Konn Konn.  Karyssa is 16 this year and about to turn 17.  She has her set of challenges which is another thing that made today so special . ..  we saw smiles and some giggles...  we saw lots of crazy fun things . ..   She was sharing her talent and love for photography and nature and letting us be part of it.  It was awesome and she looked beautiful today.   This mom felt some amazing happiness, peace and blessing when she was hanging out with the family that she loves so dearly.   It was definately a day I will always remember among one of the best.  It will keep me going in dark times knowing our family will overcome challanges and someday be together forever with lots of room to grow and love.

Jarem is our happy Senior this year who is just getting ready to put in papers and embark on his experiences as a missionary.  He graduated from seminary and High School making us proud and the prepares himself for his future.   Some of my kids refer to Jarem as the glue of the family because he is so good natured and easy to love.  He is funny and just has many qualities that our other kids have and are developing, but being the oldest he gets to use this for good in our family. 

Here are the proud parents of all these crazy kids!  We love the outdoors and a day with no complaining being in the outdoors is a very most awesome day for sure!  We are proud of our 6 children in so many ways.  They have had their share of challenges as they get through that hard transition from a child to an independant adult, but they are mostly obedient, caring and funloving children.  We appreciate all they do for our family and especially on special days like this!