jensen family

Phase 1 of our remodel

2012-01-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

So we are in the thick of our kitchen remodel, and since I want to wait until we're all done and do a big reveal with before and after pictures, I did want to give a tiny glimpse of what's been going on here. So I'll tell about the first phase of our new carpet! We had all 5 bedrooms carpeted, plus the game room and sewing room. Three days later, we all helped Mike move his office home into one of the bedrooms upstairs. He is LOVING working at home and not having to go out in the cold, dark early morning hours.

This is of all of us moving everything out of the bedrooms into the family room, living room, and guest bathroom (doesn't Cam look thrilled to be helping?) It was a huge undertaking and we figured with the time all 6 of us spent moving everything, it totaled about 12 hours.

That was the easy part though as we learned the next day when it came time to put everything away. . . Two carpet installers worked from 10:30 am until 8 pm laying the carpet, which I LOVE. I'm so excited about it, and to have it in the other rooms as soon as we're done in the kitchen.

Here's our bedroom with the new carpet. I love it, and love that I don't need to vacuum nearly as often as with the lighter.

More fun family time

2012-01-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

We continued having fun after Christmas with several more activities. We all went bowling one night and Mike and I really enjoyed beating everyone with our great scores and many strikes. . . We should have been playing for money! We had the Bundy's over one evening for 'fast and easy' pizza and monkey bread. That double batch was gone quickly. We played both name games, then the game of 'things.'

On New Years Eve we went to the matinee "We bought a Zoo" and enjoyed that, then came home to eat a tasty Turkey dinner. I'd been feeling deprived of one since we'd missed out on one for Thanksgiving, so I had fun preparing the dinner and feasting on leftovers for days afterward.

Since the snow came in November before we'd had a chance to rake up any leaves, we took advantage of a 50 degree day and got them raked up. Since we haven't had snow for about a month, what we did have is mostly melted. It's been a weird winter so far. How long can it continue this way?

Carol invited us out one evening for munchies and two new fun games. It was fun to get together with her and her kids, Ann, and the Bundy's.

We got several new fun games for Christmas including Just Dance 4. We've had fun playing that, and I'm surprised at how much rhythm the boys have!

Ann and I took our girls to SLC for some shopping and lunch at Thaifoon. We hit some great stores that had 50% off Christmas decorations so I'm excited for next year to have some new things.
All too soon it was time to go back to work and school, and for Brody and Kylee to leave for Colorado after three wonderful weeks with us. I guess it's true that "all good things come to an end." That's OK, because I have great memories of this Christmas season and now have our remodeling to look forward to. Stay tuned!

Family time

2011-12-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have loved the past few weeks being busy with many fun family activities. It's been awesome having Kylee and Brody here since the 17th, and having Jess and Brad around a lot. We had a fun time at the Skeens having a party before Christmas. We had an ugly lamp contest, played the newlywed game, and played around the world, 4 square, wall ball and dodge ball in the gym.

I loved Christmas being on a Sunday this year. I wish it was every year and that we could have an amazing 1 hour Sacrament meeting like we did this year. It was great. I actually liked just getting up and going to church at 9, then coming home, taking pictures, then opening presents and having a big breakfast at noon. We spent the rest of the day going to the Weyerts, then hanging out at home playing the trivia game, hide the pickle, and several other fun games. It was so wonderful to all be together for the whole day.

Kylee and Brody are here for another week, so stay tuned for another post of more fun activities!

Mexico!

2011-12-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

Our family had the wonderful experience of spending a week near Akumal, Mexico (70 miles south of Cancun) for a week over Thanksgiving break. It was the best vacation ever, and we'll have memories of our time there to last a lifetime. The first pictures I'm showing have to be one of my top three favorite things about the trip: THE VIEW. This is what we got to look at everyday. I couldn't get enough of it. This is what I call paradise.

Me, Mike, Jess, Brad, Jake and Cam journeyed together from SLC to Cancun, meeting Ky and Brody in Mexico as they'd come from Denver. One of my other favorite parts of the trip was how we spent every evening. We would start off with "topic presentations." Before arriving in Mexico, everyone picked a topic that would teach us something, then they'd present it, and we'd discuss it for awhile after. For example: Mike taught us how we get water in Logan, Brody talked about space, and Brad talked about gratitude being a part of having a winning and successful attitude. It was very informative and interesting, and fun to discuss topics we wouldn't normally. Then we'd either play cards or watch home movies. Both activities were very amusing and fun.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at a park called Xel Ha. We had a blast riding bikes, snorkeling, cliff jumping, going on zip-lines, rope swings, enjoying the beauty, eating the delicious buffets which were included in our entry, AND swimming with dolphins! It was a perfect day.

Friday we enjoyed a lovely, relaxing day at our beach house having fun going kayaking, laying out, swimming and snorkeling, playing a little volleyball, lazing in the hammocks, getting covered head-to-toe with sand (something only Jake would do. . .) climbing coconut trees (something only Brody would do. . .), and going out for dinner that night at a quaint Mexican restaurant called La Buena Vida. Does life get any better than this? I submit that it does not!

Saturday was spent at a park called Xplor. It was amazing! We went on these zip-lines that took
1 1/2 hours to get through all of them, and because it wasn't crowded at all, we were able to do them twice. It was so much fun to go flying through the air. We also rode the rhino jeeps twice, swam and rafted in the underground river (which was so cool and pretty) and enjoyed two more tasty buffets, again included with our admission. We all loved this adventurous day.

Sunday we went to nearby Akumal to snorkel at Turtle Beach and swim with turtles! It was so cool! Jake and I saw one with three gold fish on it's back, and when it came up to the surface for a breath, we touched it! It was probably three feet long. It was awesome. Also seen were swordfish, stingrays and various colorful and huge fish. Jess and Brad made a cool sand castle. The picture on the left is the back of our beach house, and on the bottom right is the front of the house. I absolutely loved that the house was right on the beach. It was literally 40 steps from the back door to the water. SOOO cool!

We all got cleaned up and spent a little time taking some family pictures right outside our beach house. I'm so happy with the way they turned out. Kylee had borrowed a friends tripod and remote, so we just clicked away!

These are some of my favorites of the kids:

We then headed over to the town of Tulum to check out the Mayan ruins. It was so cool to walk around and see everything in such a beautiful setting.

Monday we spent more time relaxing on the beach, then in the late afternoon went to our last park- Xcaret. It was mostly a zoo and aquarium (nothing exciting like the other two parks) , but still cool to just walk around looking at all the exotic creatures in a beautiful setting. We had our last delicious buffet (again, included with our admission) then headed home to enjoy our last night in Mexico.

More pictures of the boys having fun and keeping themselves entertained.
My last favorite part about the trip was seeing my kids all enjoying being together and having fun with each other. I loved that there were no distractions like we have at home: school, jobs, friends, electronics, etc. and that we just had each other to enjoy and make memories with. I will end with the sight I can't get out of my head and wish that I could wake up to every day here like I did for 7 days in Mexico.

Back to reality

2011-11-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

This was the view out my bedroom window yesterday. . .

and this is the view out my front room window today. . .

Needless to say, I'm having a bit of vacation withdrawal. I'll do a long post all about our fabulous Mexico vacation soon!

Jake turns 18!

2011-11-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

We had fun celebrating Jake's 18th birthday last week. So much fun that we had to spread it out over 2 days! On his actual birthday he had a swim meet in Ogden, so had to get up at 5:30 a.m. for that. He had a great meet and got some of his best times in some of his events. Then it was back to Logan to attend the first round of playoffs for football. That night he hung out with his friends. This is what greeted him after the football game in the school parking lot. (Someone is a talented poster maker. Thanks Jess!)

The next day we had the Wheelwrights, Skeens, Bundys and Petes (minus Cody who was hunting) over for sweet pork burritos/salad, then a fun new name game that the Bundys taught us.

We then headed over to Lundstrom Park for some ultimate frisbee. Jake's team came out on top- helped by plays like this. . .

It was then out to the Skeens to go for a RZR ride. It was such a nice day for the end of October. We loved spending so much time outside.

We then had some rousing gym games including 4 square, dodge ball and wall ball.

Home again to open presents and have cake with Grandma and Grandpa Weyerts. Mike then made crepes and the Lester boys came over to eat with us and then the 4 boys watched Captain America. Whew! What a day. Who couldn't be happy with that celebration?

I love Jake so much and am so happy he's in our family. He blesses my life every day.

2 hikes and fall break

2011-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Stacey came to visit a few weekends ago, and it was so much fun spending some time with her. Jess and I joined her and Ann on a fun Saturday adventure. We rode the RZR over to Liberty and went on an awesome hike, shopped at a cute boutique, ate dinner at 'eats' then drove home. The weather was perfect, the scenery divine, and the company exceptional! It was a fun day.

One of my favorite hikes in Logan Canyon is Crimson Trail and I hadn't done it all summer, so I was happy when my friend Janae was able to do it with me last Wednesday. We had a great time and enjoyed visiting and taking in the beauty of the canyon.

For fall break, Mike and I took the boys on a little adventure to Ft. Collins to visit Ky and Brody. We had a great time, and I'm so glad we were able to go. We got there Thursday night in time for a tasty dinner Ky had prepared. We played cards after dinner and watched some home movies we'd brought. Friday we all went on a fun bike ride (Brody only joined us as far as CSU then he had to go to class and study after) around the town. Ft Collins is a very bike friendly city with bike lanes and paths everywhere. It was great. We shopped at a fun outdoor mall in nearby Loveland and had lunch at Culvers. That night we grilled Salmon burgers and sat in the hot tub, then the adults played Rook while Cam and Jake played Xbox.

Saturday we went to the Rec Center at CSU. It was pretty awesome. The boys played on the rock climbing walls while Ky and I walked around campus. There were about a dozen teams playing ultimate frisbee dressed up in Halloween costumes. It was pretty funny to see. Everyone went swimming for awhile except for me and Mike. We did some more shopping, then went to a matinee.

That night we walked around old town Ft Colllins and checked out the zombie fest. Ky and the boys tried their best zombie look, but it wasn't quite the same as the real zombies. . . It was pretty entertaining. We ate dinner at a delicious pizza place, then got an ice-cream. More rook and myth busters when we got back to Ky and Brody's apartment.

Sunday we went to church and got to hear Brody speak in Sacrament meeting (don't worry, he didn't wear the beanie. . . ). He did an awesome job- he definitely is a talented speaker. After eating a meal of Hawaiian Haystacks, we were on our way home.

We were so glad we could visit Ky and Brody in their new home. I'm so happy that they're so happy there. Now we can see why!

Easily annoyed?

2011-10-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if I'm unusually annoyed by things, or if most people feel as I do. For example: I've noticed that many people have words or phrases they say over and over. One friend I have says this same thing every time I see her. . . "you surviving?" Another person I know says "and such" at the end of many sentences. Someone else says "to that end" every five minutes. I'm also not a fan of people repeating the same thing over and over in the same conversation. Do they have short term memory loss, or are they just trying hard to make a point? I also have a problem with repetitive noises and sounds. A girl in my Zumba class slaps the floor with the palm of her hands after most songs. Huh? Pounding, tapping, leg swinging, chirping, knuckle cracking, burping, chomping, twitching- all these things about send me over the edge. What bugs you? Or are you more tolerant or unobservant than I am?

Bike ride, cookout, boys activities

2011-09-28T08:42:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday Jess and I drove Mike, Brad, Jake and Cam near the top of Logan Peak and then the boys had a great time riding their mountain bikes down to Blacksmith Fork Canyon where we picked them up.

Jake had fun horsing around while the others were busy getting the bikes ready to go. Even if no one is watching or thinks he's funny, he still enjoys entertaining himself. . .

On Sunday we made tasty tin foil dinners in the canyon- something we've been wanting to do all summer! I can't believe this is our first time for the year. That's disgraceful! We had a great time playing cards, eating, and making s'mores.

During homecoming week LHS has a tradition for senior boys who are interested learning a dance from the Hi Lo's and then performing it at half-time of the powder puff football game. Jake and his friends had a fun time participating in that. He wore the blue wig for the powder puff performance, then changed it up with the blond wig for the pep assembly a few days later. The boys also wear their outfit all day to school before the pep assembly performance. . . (yes, he's also wearing make-up. . . ) He rode with the Brickettes in the homecoming parade, and painted the street on Sunday before Homecoming week started. Homecoming activities are always the highlight for the year for the kids.

Lindsey took some senior pictures of Jake a few weeks ago. She'll be doing more as the year goes by, so stay tuned. . . (isn't he handsome and so photogenic?)

Cam is having a great Sophomore year playing football. After the first two games of his broken arm still being a little tender, he now says it feels perfectly normal.

I love fall which brings football, cooler weather, changing leaves and the new television season!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

We had a very fun Labor Day weekend. Since Friday was a half school day and I didn't have to work, I got to go hiking with the likin hikin gals. We hiked Card Canyon which was a lovely 8 mile hike. I always love getting out and hiking with these great ladies.

On Saturday, we watched/listened to the heartbreaking USU football game loss to Auburn, then tried to recover enough to have fun at Lava Hot Springs. It was fun being there with Ann, Caspersons, Petersons, and Bundys and Wheelwrights.

The funnest thing for me was floating down the river in a big 4 man tube that wasn't supposed to flip. That proved to be incorrect as me, Jess, Brad and Lindsey were flipped coming down a small waterfall. Jess and Brad were the worse for wear as they suffered many cuts, scrapes and bruises. Cam (in his single tube) has several falls, scrapes, bruises, and lost his flip flops. It was fun anyway.

Monday me, Mike, Sara, Cody and Trace went for a nice bike ride to the end of Smithfield Canyon and back, then I made a big breakfast for them, plus Ann, Ericksons and Bundys. On the menu was breakfast burritos, yougurt parfaits, and scones. We played several fun games of big beach VB.

The 6 of us went for a hike on the Logan River Trail by 2nd dam while Jake and Cam stayed home with the 4 little kiddies.

After taking Cam and Jake out to dinner at Aggies, Jess and Brad were back from their cabin retreat with Brads family so joined me and Mike in 2 matches of ROOK (my favorite card game.) If you know anything about this game, you will know this hand I got did not make me happy. How pathetic is this??? We need to have a tiebreaker soon as Jess and Brad won the first match, and me and Mike won the second.

It's back to life as usual today with school and work. It's great to have a break from the routine and enjoy spending some good time with family.

Summer of fun with Kylee, a sad goodbye, a trip to Texas, 1st day of school & a new job

2011-09-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun this summer having Kylee living with us. I loved having someone to do everything with! We enjoyed working out together- most days riding our bikes to the Sports Academy, going to a class, then riding home. We took Sal for a walk most days- either in the morning or at night. We went to several movies, lunches, and on many shopping sprees. We took a trip to SLC/Provo to celebrate her 24th BD and to Fort Collins for two days looking for an apartment for her and Brody. We had our "shows" we watched at nights- The (dumb) Bachelorette, SYTYCD and Season 1 of The Middle. I would have had a lonely summer without her here, and I am so glad I had that one-on-one time with my sweet girl.

All too soon Brody was home from Africa and it was time to help them get packed up for their move to Fort Collins Colorado. It's nice knowing they're only 7 hours away now instead of 11-12, but I still wish and hope they'll be even closer someday in the future.

The day after they left, Jessica and Brad flew me to Amarillo Texas where they had been living for the summer so I could drive home with Jessica since Brad was planning on working the whole week leading up to USU starting, and Jess wanted to chill and relax for a few days before school started. It was awesome that Fort Collins was almost exactly half way home, so we got to stop for the night and stay with Ky and Brody. We had a great time eating out, playing cards, and helping Ky make decorating decisions. I loved spending some one-on-one time with Jess during our 15 hour drive.

Since Jessica didn't have much to do all summer (besides taking two on-line classes) while Brad was out working hard six days a week for 11-12 hours, she decided to learn how to crochet. And boy, did she learn! I'm amazed at her creativity and talent! All of these creations are for sale, so let me (or her) know if you're interested in purchasing anything.

All too soon, it was time for school to start for the boys. Jake is a SENIOR, and Cam's a sophomore. Wow, I just can't believe how quickly time flies. Honestly, it seems like not that long ago that I put Kylee on the bus to go to kindergarten. . .

After knowing all summer that I wouldn't have a job at the middle school as an ESL aide (a sweet job I had for 5 years) because of budget cuts, I was very happy to get a call from the vice-principal a week before school started offering me a 3 hour a day job in the computer lab. There has been a ton to learn but so far I'm liking it a lot.

Cakes, A birthday, casts, family party, JOSH, and Salomon

2011-08-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on since I posted last, so this post, like most of my recent ones, will be a variety of happenings. Since Kylee took several cake decorating classes while living in AZ, Ann and I wanted to learn the basics, so one day she taught us a few things. It's a lot harder than it looks to make a cake look amazing- which Ky always does. I think I'll stick to fancy frosting on cupcakes and leave the cake decorating to the professionals. We had a fun afternoon anyway.

Kylee turned 24 on July 27th, so we decided to take a road trip to SLC and Orem. We met up with Teresa and girls, Jessica, and Stacie and kids for lunch at Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious. We had Cam and 2 friends with us since they wanted to go to Orem and hang out with some boys they had become friends with the week before at EFY. So they hung out at the mall while we had lunch, then joined us at Stacie and Rick's new apartment in West Valley for a swim- along with Sadie and Maddie. After dropping Cam and friends off at their friends, Ky and I spent the rest of the evening and night with the Romneys. We enjoyed eating a tasty meal and playing "Things." It was quite entertaining. The words "dry farm" and "ginger" will never be the same. . . The next day Von joined us for a few hours of shopping and lunch at a yummy Thai restaurant. It was a great little get-away.

As mentioned in a previous post, Cam broke his arm on June 25th falling off a ripstick (similar to a skate board). He spent 4 weeks in the blue above the elbow cast, then two weeks in the green/yellow one. It was a relief for him to be able to get it wet, and also straighten his elbow. When we went in to have that one removed, the doctor decided it needed a little more healing time, especially since he'll be playing football as soon as it's strong enough, so he put the red cast on for two more weeks. What a way to spend the summer. Happily it came off the day before school started.

We had a fun Sunday picnic at Lundstrom park with most of Mike's family. We ate then played kickball, then came to our house for big beach volleyball and homemade ice cream. It was a fun night. I love the addition of Brad and his kids. They like playing games! We missed the Nelson's though. (notice Jake in the picture of the tree. He had fun climbing it.)

There aren't many performers I would want to see in concert, but JOSH GROBAN is one, so I was thrilled to attend his concert in SLC with 10 family members. I loved riding the front runner from Ogden to SLC with Mike, Ky, Lindsey and Carol. We had a great time visiting and playing cards. We met up with Romneys, Smiths and Densleys for dinner at Thaifoon, then the concert across the street at Energy Solutions Arena. It was a perfect 2 hours listening to Josh's amazing voice. I just love him.

Although I'm not a dog lover, I have to say I'm kinda going to miss this little guy. I'm going to miss his owner too (Kylee) but I'm pretty sure I've spent more time with the dog. . . He's been my buddy all summer, and I fear it will be a little lonely when I come home and he's not right there to greet me, and then follow me around wherever I go for the rest of the day. Goodbye Salomon. I'll see you soon.

Another hike, an era comes to an end, and cooking for the masses

2011-07-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went on another hike with the Likin Hikin ladies- this time to Old Ephraims grave. I have wanted to do this hike for awhile now, so was happy to be able to go. The weather was perfect- cooler than usual and overcast for most of the time. And the wildflowers were out in full force and so beautiful. There is an amazing sink hole along the way that you have to wonder what caused it and how long it's been there. It was a relatively easy 12 mile hike and I enjoyed the company and scenery very much. It was interesting to learn more about the capture of Old Ephraim (a giant grizzly bear) as Nan read us the story while we ate our sack lunch. A very enjoyable day!

A day I had very much anticipated came on July 15th at 12:10 a.m. as I attended the midnight movie in Ogden of HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows part 2 with Kylee, Jake and Cam. I was more than a little sad that this movie means the END of all Harry Potter movies. I had a severe case of depression for the next several days, and it was just starting to get better when we went to see it again Friday night, and the depression started all over again! To say I'm a devoted fan of Harry Potter doesn't really explain how much I've loved the books and movies over the past 10 years. It's been so fun and rewarding to read the books and watch the movies together with my family and anticipate each new book and movie. I have no understanding or comprehension of people who aren't fans. Needless to say, the movie exceeded my expectations and I'm just happy I love rereading books and rewatching movies. Goodbye Harry, Ron, Hermoine, and all the other wonderful characters I've loved, hated and mourned over the years.

In January, Mike and I were asked by a counselor in our stake presidency to be in charge of the food for our stakes (and 3 other stakes) APTC July 18-21. APTC stands for Aaronic Priesthood Training Camp, and it's held annually for boys going into their senior year of high school and for boys who just graduated (who serve as the leaders for the younger boys). It's like a mini-MTC experience while camping. Since this program was started 10 years ago, we've heard so many amazing stories about how much the young men learn and are affected positively by it, so we were looking forward to our boys having that experience too. Since Mike and I have practically no experience cooking for large groups of people, (we were told to plan on feeding 120 people, with 250 on parents night) to say were were overwhelmed would be an understatement. We were happy when our friends the Lesters were called to help us, along with 2 other couples we didn't know. Over the past several months, Mike and I have spent hours and hours figuring out the menu and equipment, how much to buy, where to buy it, and when to order it. There were many areas of guesswork and cluelessness. It somehow all came together, and on Monday morning, we were ready to roll. What helped immensely was having plenty of cooking equipment (borrowed from a man in one of the stakes who lent us his trailer full of every piece of equipment you can imagine) and a refrigerated trailer so we didn't have to mess with coolers or making a bunch of trips into Logan to pick up food for each meal. We also had a nice, fully functional kitchen to cook in, plus a big covered pavilion with 25 picnic tables to serve in. The whole experience was awesome as somehow the preparation for every meal was mostly stress free, and we had almost exactly the right amount of food (including seconds and thirds) for each meal. It was amazing to be at the camp (and especially great to be there with Jake and his friends) and feel of the spirit there. The spirit the boys felt was so strong that during the two testimony meetings we got to hear, most were crying when expressing their feelings and testimony. It was amazing to witness. I'm so grateful we had this opportunity, and for the help of the other couples with the cooking. We had a lot of fun together, and it was great to spend 3 1/2 days with Mike plus the months of planning it together.

Besides three meals a day, we also prepared a 10:30 p.m. snack each night. One night it was scones, and we had 10 pans of rolls rising to fry the 500 scones that the boys consumed and wished for more. I've never seen anything like what mealtime was like when 100 boys descended upon the food like vultures who hadn't eaten for a week. . . It really was incredible!

One morning the boys spent having fun playing about 5 different team building/cooperation type games. Walking around taking these pictures may have been the only thing I did for the whole time besides cooking, cleaning and preparing for the next meal!

A carnival, accident, hike, holiday, and a birthday

2011-07-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

We attended the most creative carnival theme party at the Skeens on June 24th to celebrate Jamie's 40th birthday, Daniel's 14th birthday, and the arrival of the Lake's for their summer visit. There was much to see and do, including cute carnival type games for the little kids, and Minute-to-win it and rifle shooting for the adults. There were even cotton candy, popcorn and snow cone machines. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the Skeens, Lakes, Caspersons, Petersens, Searles and Ericksons.

The next night (Saturday) Mike and I went back to the Skeens to play some cards and visit with everyone. We'd only been there about 45 minutes when we get a call from Cam. He said he thought he broke his arm falling off a rip stick at a friends house. Mike told him it was probably fine, that we'd look at it when we got home and perhaps take him into the doctor on Monday. A few minutes later, his friends Dad called to say that he thought it was broken and we probably should come and take him to the emergency room. So, that's what we did, arriving there at 10:30. Our friend and Orthopedic Surgeon Keith Nelson came (along with his son Chase, who is Cam's friend) to take care of it. Since Keith had to set it back into place, and that wouldn't be pleasant to be awake for, he put Cam under "conscious sedation." Cam was pretty happy about that. He has to wear a cast above the elbow for 4 weeks, then hopefully it will be healed enough to wear one below the elbow for another 3-4 weeks. So baseball season is over a few weeks early, as is early morning football conditioning. Why do these things always have to happen to Cam??

I went on a lovely Friday morning hike last week with the "likin hikin" ladies- most of whom live in my stake. They're a group of gals who get together every Friday morning in the summer to hike, and every Friday in the winter to snow shoe. I enjoyed going with them, hiking somewhere new, and getting to know women I didn't know. I may have to make this a tradition.

On Monday, July 4th, we had a great day. Mike and I started off the day with an awesome bike ride with Cody and Sara to Smithfield Canyon and back. It was a great ride. They stayed for breakfast along with their boys and Ann, and Ky and Brody. Brody was in Logan for a little over 24 hours between selling in Oklahoma and going to Africa for school. Needless to say, Kylee was a happy girl. We then went to the Skeens to ride on their new Polaris RZR. Ky and Brody went with the boys, then Mike and I went with the boys for almost 2 hours while they each got to drive. They were in heaven.

Ky and Brody hung out with Brody's fam the rest of the day, Jake went to work, so Cam got more driving experience by driving me and Mike up Logan Canyon to Tony Grove so we could check out all the snow that is still on the ground there. It was amazing! July 4th, and Cam was sledding and having a snowball fight with his parents! It was incredible. Half the lake still has ice on it!

Today for Ann's birthday, she invited me, Carol, and Jamie to ride over to Liberty with her in the RZR, and have lunch at "Eats of Eden." The first half of the drive was lovely- then it started to rain...and it didn't stop until we were 10 minutes from home several hours later. . . Luckily we stopped at the Liberty house and found some sleeping bags and blankets left in the bunk house so we could bundle up. It's July 5th people! We shouldn't be playing in the snow and having to wear a sleeping bag to go for a drive! Maybe it will warm up by August? I'm really not complaining. I love the diversity that is Cache Valley!

Two surprises and a birthday

2011-06-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been 50 for a whole three days now, and I've decided it's not much different from being 49. Haha. I sure have had a wonderful several days. Last Thursday the 9th, Kylee asked me to get something for her out of the front hall closet, and when I opened the door, there stood Jessica saying "Surprise!" I was completely and totally shocked! She and Brad are living in Houston this summer while he sells security systems for Vivint, so I didn't expect to see her until the end of August. Kylee had picked her up in SLC when she went down for a doctor appointment that afternoon. It was so wonderful having her home, knowing we would be able to spend our birthday together on Monday and keep our streak alive of never being away from each other on June 13. This is the best present she could have given me!

Friday night and Saturday morning I enjoyed spending some time with three of my sisters and Mom. We missed having Janet there. We ate out at Elements, then went to Mom's to look through some old pictures and letters. Saturday morning we went for a walk along the Logan River trail, ate breakfast at our house, then made some cards and gift tags. The girls and I then spent another hour making more gift tags. This is what each of us ended up with. I love having these on hand!

Sunday the 12th, we all (except Kylee who went to Brody's Mom's for dinner- or so I thought. . .) went to Tom and Freda's for dinner. After dinner I was just relaxing and visiting with everyone, minding my own business, when all of the sudden, Mike was putting a blindfold on me and whisking me off to show me something for my birthday "real quick." Everyone seemed in the dark about what he was doing, and told him to hurry back because we were just getting ready to have dessert. . . After driving around for about 30 minutes (I had no idea where we were going, and Mike wasn't dropping any hints) we finally arrived at our destination. After he led me from the car and took off the blindfold, I was totally shocked to see this little scene set up in the park near our home (Ky had been here setting up with the Skeens & Petersens help instead of having dinner at Brody's parents.)

I couldn't believe I had no idea this was happening. All of Mike's family was there except Sadie, Derek and Isaac, and from my side there was Mom, the Skeens, Von, Caspersons, and Petersens. Kylee had been planning it all since February, and in the last few days had help from Mike, Jessica and several others. It was so touching to see all the work and detail she put in to making a fun and memorable surprise for me. Mike was in charge of blowing up 25 balloons and getting helium in the other 25. He typed up a list of 50 things he loves about me, cut them up, and put one in each of the balloons. It was so fun popping them when the party was over and reading them all. It was so sweet. We ate several varieties of cookies, oreo pops, cake and milk. Ky planned two games to see who knew me best- the first one being 25 questions about me with multiple choice answers. Ann won, with Von, Mom and Mike coming in one point behind. Then everyone had to guess the age of me in 25 different photos. Stacie and Mom tied for first. (I don't even think I would have won that one. . .). It was just such a fun surprise! I loved it so much. It was fun to talk about everything Kylee had done to keep it a surprise after we got home that evening.

I love how Kylee took charge of the party, standing up on her platform so everyone could hear her. She put so much time, thought, creativity and effort into this party I just can't get over it. And if that wasn't enough, she also made me this T-shirt quilt, a DVD to music w/ pictures of me and the kids through the years, the birthday banner you see hanging at the party w/ the materials to make one w/ everyone's name on it, and a calendar she made! I'm thinking next year just a card will be more than enough!

The next day, on my actual birthday, I woke up to see these lovely decorations in the front yard. . . Thanks to my friend Janae for garage sign, and cow and signs (aren't they creative?) Ky and Jessica did the sign above the door and the balloons.

The girls and I left at 9:00 to drive to SLC to shop a little at the Gateway and have lunch at Thaifoon. Delicious. The tom kah gai soup was to die for. It's my new favorite food. We dropped Jess off at the airport to fly back to Houston then Ky and I went to the best bakery in SLC called Ruby Snap. It only sells cookies, and they also are TO DIE FOR! They are way better than any I make- if that tells you anything. Ky and I met up with Ann in Ogden to do a little shopping, go for a walk along the bulging Ogden River, and eat dinner at Sanora Grill.

Home at 8 to finally see the boys and Mike for the day (I did see Cam and Mike in the morning before we left) and open a bunch of awesome presents. Mike gave me a Garmin Forerunner which is a watch that tells time, distance, pace, heart rate, calories, and has a GPS. SWEET. I've been wishing for one for awhile. I already mentioned what Ky gave me, Jess gave me the gift of her- flown in from Houston, and the boys gave me a costa vida gift card and candy. I also got great gifts from extended family and a few friends. It was so much fun! I loved everything about the whole weekend, even if it all means that I have to be 50
now. . . Thanks to everyone who contributed in making this the best birthday!

Happy birthday to me!

2011-06-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

I'm turning an age this year that I've been giving a lot of thought to. For quite awhile now. It's kind of freaking me out. But I'm trying hard not to let it. I've been doing a lot of thinking about all that has happened in my life since my last big birthday - which was 10 years ago when I turned 40. That's right, I'm 50 today. AHHH! I've decided to be really positive and happy about being 50 and concentrate on embracing all the wonderful things that come with being this old, and be happy for all the great experiences and life lessons I've learned along the way. I'd especially like to focus on some great events and accomplishments that have happened to me just in the past 10 years. I've broken them down into several categories. . .

PHYSICAL FEATS
* 3 sprint triathlons
* an olympic triathlon
* a 10k, 8k, 5k run
* 2 top of Utah half marathons
* LOTOJA bike race with Mike (I did 50 miles, he did 130)
* 2 biathlons (5 mile run, 16 mile bike)
* 4 Little Red Riding Hood bike rides of varying distances, the longest being 70
* biked around Bear Lake two times (50 miles)
* did many hikes in the valley including: Crimson Trail several times, wind caves, Jardine Juniper, Temple Fork Saw Mill three times, Cherry Peak, Mt. Naomi twice, White Pine twice, Blind Hollow, Green Canyon over to the Wind Caves twice, Saddleback mountain twice, and from Avon to Liberty. Out of the valley: Timp Cave, Stuart falls three times, the "Y" mountain, and Multnomah Falls in Oregon,

VACATIONS
Family Vacations to:
*Camping to Arches, four corners, Colorado
*Mesa 3 times
*Las Vegas
*Bryce Canyon/Zion National Park
*Disneyland
*Camping to Yellowstone
*Camping to Jackson Hole
*NYC & Washington DC, Niagara Falls, Ohio
*Cruise to the Mexican Riviera
*Camping to Provo Canyon
*Bear Lake
*Washington/Oregon

Other Vacations:
*Me to Vegas with Ann & her girls & husbands
*Cruise for me and Mike with my extended family
*Me and Mike to Mesa for his 40th BD
*Me to Mesa for a winter visit 6 times
*NYC for me with Freda, Teresa and Michelle
*LA and Vegas for me with same three girls

BIG EVENTS
* Jake's baptism
* Moving into this house
* Cam's baptism
* Kylee's LHS & USU graduation
* Kylee and Brody's wedding
* Jessica's LHS graduation
* Jessica and Brad's wedding

WORK
LOTS of painting:
*most of the Skeens house in Liberty (and lots of outside work)
*carol's house
*several rooms in Mom's house, Janets house, Lindseys house, Sara and Jamies houses.
*this whole house (including the garage), with every room but Jake's and our master bathroom getting a second painting 5-6 years later
*ky and Brody's basement apartment, and their house on the island

*Job at Prince Gallery for 10 months
*ESL aide at Mount Logan Middle School for 5 years

PHYSICAL CHANGES
*I know these are pictures that cover more than just the past 10 years, but I thought it would be fun to look back over the past 4 decades and see how I've changed. . . lets start with me in 5th grade at age 10. . .

Age 20. Attending Ricks College.

Age 30. Living in Mesa. I'm 5'10", 6'3" with the hair. . . haha

Age 40. Living in our house previous to this one.

Age 50.

WEDDINGS & MISSIONS
We've attended most (if not all) of the weddings and missionary farewells and welcome homes (and or receptions) of many extended family members. It's always a joy to be there and share in the happiness of the day.
*Cody & Sara, Lindsey & Ryan, Jamie & Ryan, Dustin & Daelynn, Nick & Tina, Jordan & Jake, Claire & Rich, Stacie & Rick, Tommy & Jessica, Dave & Courtney and Syd & Adam. I'll add Ky & Brody and Jess & Brad even though they already got mentioned in the big event category. Since they're my own kids, I guess I can mention them twice! I'm so impressed that although these weren't all temple marriages originally, they are now. With missionaries: Jordan, Nick, Dave and Andy.

CALLINGS, TECHNOLOGY & MISC
I've had 4 callings over the past 10 years, and they've all been rather time consuming, and way out of my comfort zone. But I've learned something from each one.
*Counselor in Stake Relief Society Presidency
*Young Women President
*Cub Master
*Secretary in ward RS presidency

In the past 10 years, I've gotten a CELL PHONE (really? That's amazing), digital camera, DVR, and flat screen TV.

Two other highlights I wanted to mention. Mike and I got to attend the Martin's Cove Trek with our stake along with both the girls the summer after Kylee graduated from high school. It was a life changing experience for me, and I have a greater love and appreciation for our pioneer ancestors than ever before.

A couple summers ago, while helping Gary and Nancy with one of the Operas, I had the great opportunity (along with Ann, Trace and my friend Janae) to shake President Thomas S. Monson's hand and talk to him for a short time. What a great blessing that was.

I can't imagine how the next 10 years can be as full and exciting as the past 10 have been, but they just might as we (hopefully) have grandchildren to look forward to, missions, more graduations, weddings, vacations, family time and service opportunities. Thank you all, my wonderful family and friends for everything you do and have done to make my life so wonderful. I love and appreciate you all more than you'll ever know.

Memorial Weekend

2011-05-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

This years Memorial Weekend has been much different than in years past. This one has had a lot more work, and a lot less play. I guess that's not a totally bad thing. . . Friday I helped Jake rearrange his room, something he hasn't wanted to do for several years. He decided he was ready for a change though but this configuration was the only one he would consider, so we had to take the headboard off his bed (because the closet door wouldn't open with it on) and build up the area behind his pillows with old blankets so he can now put his pillow back an extra foot when he sleeps and has more leg room in his bed. We bought him a floor lamp since his night stand wouldn't fit by the side of his bed, and he's all set. He's so excited about it he's flipping out! Haha (hence the trampoline shot. . .) That night Mike and I went with Mom, Jamie and Rachel to my 4th production of Les Miserables. I love that musical, but I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in this one.

Saturday was a work outside day for most of the day for me and Mike. Although since he got to bed so late because of Les Mis, and is coming down with yet another cold, he went back to sleep after getting Cam up for the paper route, and slept til 10:30. He made up for his lazy morning by working until late outside getting the garden planted, lawn edged, volleyball net up, and several other projects.

I got ambitious and cleaned out the garage refrigerator, bought and planted some annuals, and made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Sunday we four went for a lovely 2 mile walk along the Logan River Trail near the Logan River Golf Course. Mike and the boys had never walked along that trail, and they loved it. The river was very full, and overflowing in some areas. It was fun. Came home for milkshakes and a viewing of Kung Fu Panda.

This morning we hosted a breakfast for Mom, Gary, Ann, the Romneys and Searles. It was quite tasty if I do say so myself. We had buttermilk pancakes, sausage, breakfast egg roll, hashbrowns, and granola/yogurt/fresh strawberries. Too bad the weather was freezing (we actually woke up to SNOW) when we went out to Clarkston to the cemetery so we only stayed about 5 minutes. It seems like that's the case most years on Memorial Day. Enjoyed visiting with the Von, Rick and Andy for awhile, then Mike, the boys and I went to Kung Fu Panda 2. Very enjoyable movie. We all really liked it.

Tomorrow the first day of our summer vacation starts! Yee haw!

Everyone's together!

2011-05-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful week all being together the first week of May when Kylee and Brody got into town from Arizona, and before Brody, Jessica and Brad left for the summer to go sell security systems- Brody to Oklahoma, and Jess and Brad to Texas. We managed to coordinate our schedules to get together for an hour to have some family pictures taken. Since it was during finals week for Jess and Brad, and the night before Jake's AP history test, an hour was seriously all they could spare. Luckily Stacie was a pro and we got it done. Thanks Stacie for doing such a great job, and thanks kids for fitting it in to your lives! I'm happy with the way they turned out.

Saturday night we grilled Salmon burgers outside and the kids had fun playing on the trampoline, which we had just set up that day- the latest ever because of the cold, wet spring we've had. The boys left to go hang out with friends, and the 6 adults played a new fun dice game.

(I'm not sure the tramp has recovered from having all 6 kids on it at once!) Earlier in the day, I convinced
everyone (except Jess and Brad who spent the day with Brad's family) to go on a hike with me. I always love getting out in the mountains and getting some good exercise. Although it's too early for the canyon to be very pretty, it was still great to be out and enjoying being together. And finally a day with no rain!

I always look forward to Mother's Day. It's my favorite day of the year. Mike and the kids are at my beck and call all day, and I don't have to lift a finger to do anything! It's great. Thanks Mike and kids for always making my day so wonderful. And you know the best part about it is getting the sweet cards you always give me. We visited Mom and David before going to the Weyerts for dinner and visiting with all of Mike's extended family. It was fun to be with everyone.

(the picture of the girls makes me laugh. If you know Jess at all, you know she's the baby lover, so for anyone else to hold a baby instead of her, she gets a little testy. haha)

This week has been a lot different than last with the absence of Brody, Jess and Brad. Kylee was in SLC for three days having foot surgery, for a pain reliever study. She's back now but has to hobble around in a boot up to her knee for 4 weeks. I live for fun family times, and am so glad we were able to have the week together that we did.

Baseball, Easter, and Arizona

2011-05-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

This spring has been a wet one, and because of that, Cam's baseball games were canceled right and left, leaving him to have about 4-5 games a week to play now. We finally had a warmish day to enjoy on Wednesday as he had a doubleheader at home. It's so much fun watching him play high school baseball!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. After church and a nice FHE, we joined the Ericksons, Skeens, Searles, Petersens and Bundys for a fun progressive dinner. We started at our house for appetizers and a game, then went to Carol's kindergarten class for the main course and games, then to the Skeens for dessert, an Easter egg hunt, and the Royal Egg Joust. It was a great day.

Last weekend, Mike, Jess, Brad and I took a quick trip to Arizona to see Brody receive his MBA from Thunderbird. I'm so glad we went. We had a great time together, with Ky and Brody and with Brody's parents. We flew in late Thursday night (I want to point out Mike's traveling bag of choice in the top right picture. Since we weren't going to check our bags, I told him to use one of the suitcases with wheels. But he thought his duffle bag would be good enough, but he came to regret his decision as he had to carry it like a baby when it got too heavy to carry by the straps. When will he ever learn to listen to me?) and got settled into our motel in Glendale. On Friday, we went to the graduation, then out to lunch, a movie, a diamondback game, then to Ky and Brody's for cake and ice-cream. On Saturday, Brody spent the day with his family, but Ky joined us in Mesa for the day attending the temple (with a fun surprise run-in with Jordan and Jake as they were leaving the temple), visiting our friends the Frosts and Hoffmans, and having lunch with Paul and DeNae at Tia Rosa's. It was a quick trip, but wonderful to see Brody graduate, see our friends and family, and soak in the 80 degrees for a couple days. It was especially great knowing we'd be seeing Ky and Brody in Utah two days later.

Since Ky and Brody are only in Logan together for this week, (Brody's off to sell security systems in Oklahoma for half the summer, then he'll be in Ghana, Africa for the second half finishing up a class for his MBA- Ky will be living with us and working for Mike and at Hamiltons) and Jessica and Brad will be leaving soon to go to Houston for Brad to sell security systems, I wanted to get a family picture taken since we all won't be together again until Thanksgiving. We called on Stacie to do it on short notice, and she did a great job! Here's a peek at how they turned out. I'll post more once they're edited. I love my family and am so proud of them!

April happenings

2011-04-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

For the past several years I've had a lot of fun on April Fool's day playing some creative pranks on the family. This was the year for revenge. The boys rigged up the faucet in the kitchen to completely soak me when I turned it on first thing in the morning. Then, when I came out of work, this is what my car looked like. . . as much as I love BYU, I was completely embarrassed to drive home in it- especially living in Aggie country with BYU haters on every corner. Good job Jake and Cam! You got me!

We love conference weekend. It's so nice to just stay at home and watch church on TV and be inspired by all the wonderful talks. After the Sunday afternoon session ended, some teenager who was right by the camera turned around and pulled a face that is so like the one Jake is always making. And the kid even looked like Jake. Me, Mike and the boys had so much fun for the next half hour rewinding it, and having Jake imitate what the kid was doing. It was hilarious.

Lindsey went to Las Vegas with Emma and Ann for 3 1/2 days, and we had the fun chance to watch Lydia while they were gone. She's such a doll, and we were all so entertained by her. She was VERY easy to take care of, and we were so happy to help out.

The day we took her back to Ogden, we stopped by the Salomon Center and the kids all spent a fun hour at the flowrider. It's become our spring break tradition. This was Brad's first time, and he did great!

We've been enduring some freezing weather this spring, with spring break being no exception. We are definitely ready for some warm weather. This picture was taken on Wednesday, before it snowed another several inches yesterday and today. . . what can you do but be patient knowing warm weather is not too far away?

This and That

2011-03-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

Mike and I have had fun using our snow shoes we got for Christmas, although it's only been two times. The first time we went up Green Canyon by ourselves, then a few weeks ago we went with Trace, Jamie, Ryan, Jess and Brad up Providence Canyon. It is so great to get outside during the winter and enjoy the beautiful winter scenery.

Every spring it's always amazing to me how quickly the snow melts once it warms up a little and we get a few rain storms. I should have documented this better, but this picture was taken about the 3rd week of February after we had three 8-9" snowstorms within about 10 days.

This one was taken on Thursday, March 17th. It just does something to my mental state knowing warm days aren't too far away!

Jake went to his first high school dance (and first date) which was the Jr. Prom last weekend. He didn't like the dance, but had fun at the dinner beforehand, and the after dance party. This was the way his date answered him back on our front porch.

I love making green food for St. Patricks day. For breakfast we had green pancakes, green eggs and ham, and green water or milk. I made molasses cookies with green frosting for friends and neighbors, and green homemade bread and corn chowder for dinner (forgot the green food coloring for that- as I forgot my green St. Patricks day shirt for the first half of the day. . . I must be getting old).

I was ready for a change in the living room with the picture above the couch. I didn't like having to change a out a big family picture every year or so, and I wanted to show more pictures from a photo shoot than just one. So with Ann's help here is what I ended up with: this is before. . .

and here is after. Thanks also to Janet and Von for their input on the windowpane I found at a craft fair in Burley last weekend when me Ann and Von went to visit Janet. I'm so excited with how it turned out!

I discovered something very upsetting in our backyard this week. Someone left our side gate open, and sometime during the winter, we were visited by deer who pooped ALL over the grass, and totally destroyed our arborvitae bushes. I'm SOOOO mad!!!

Jake had his first home lacrosse game this week. It was fun to watch him and be outside in the 41 degree weather. . . can't wait until it's a little warmer than that

Cam turned 15 on Friday! Can it be? He wanted to get his permit, but the office isn't open on Friday's. But I did let him drive around the church parking lot and our neighborhood. He chose his favorite breakfast- waffles with fresh fruit and whip cream, I took him out to eat at Panda and then birthday shopping. He got a new stereo, mini NFL helmets, and a mini-fridge for his room (from both sets of grandparents). He's been wanting one for a few years. He thinks it will be cool to keep cold drinks in there so he won't have to walk all the way upstairs to get a drink. Funny boy. We took him (and Jake) out to eat at Sizzler, then we watched the DVD "Knight and Day." It was a fun day. Tomorrow I'll make one of his favorite meals, manicotti and invite Jess, Brad, Tom and Freda over for dinner.

And last but not least, here is an update on how Cam's scar looks after 3 weeks. He is putting scar guard on it twice a day for two months, then he'll see the plastic surgeon in a year since it will take that long to see how it will look for the rest of his life. I'm amazed at how good it looks already.

Cam's snowboarding accident

2011-02-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

Warning: this post is graphic and shouldn't be viewed by those with a weak stomach. Yesterday at about 1:45, the phone rang and the caller ID said Beaver Mountain. That's never a good thing when you know your kids are skiing/snowboarding for the day. Especially when the kid is Cam and you know his history for accidents and injuries. Sure enough, the ski patrol girl told me that she had Cam there and that he had a gash on his forehead from hitting a tree branch. He had been going down spring trail (backside) and was going to go around a tree and didn't even see the branch that came out of nowhere. She said it went from his eyebrow to his hairline (not quite) and that it was the worst she's ever seen, and that if he had been going any faster, he would have been killed. That got my heart pumping. She said they'd called for an ambulance because of it being a head wound and she thought he could possibly go into shock. So, after trying to stay calm for 40 minutes, me, Mike, Jake, Jessica and Brad headed down to the emergency room (Jess and Brad happened to stop by just as we were leaving and wanted to join us). Here he is being wheeled in from the ambulance. They'd taken every precaution!

I really wasn't prepared for what I saw when the gauze was removed. I had never seen anything as deep or wide as his cut- clear to the bone, and so wide. It is more upsetting to me to look at it now that it was then for some reason. I guess I knew I couldn't be falling apart in front of Cam. He was so brave through it all. He's a tough guy- perhaps from past experience. I couldn't believe it when he told me he hadn't even cried! At this point, Mike had to look away (weak stomach) and didn't even see how it looks in the next picture until he saw the picture later.

He was seen very quickly by the ER doctor and we decided to call in a plastic surgeon for the most minimal scarring. We only had to wait about 30 minutes for Dr. Isom to arrive, then he spent the next hour and 15 minutes with Cam. I liked him so much and thought he was a great doctor. The thing that hurt Cam the most, besides the initial crash was getting the shots. Fortunately he only felt the first 4 (of about 20). I was so proud of how good he was. I wanted so badly to get up on the table and take his place.

He spent a lot of time sterilizing the area and cleaning the wound out. I mean a lot of time and very thorough. I was fascinated by it all and wanted to watch everything. I kinda wanted to be his assistant!

The doctor took such great, gentle care with everything. I had never witnessed anything like it. But then I've never seen anyone getting stitches before. When Cam had his stitches on his chin when he was 5 or 6, I was at girls camp and Mike had to be the one to take care of it. I don't think he's ever recovered (Mike that is. . .). Yesterday, I convinced Mike to leave while we were waiting for Dr. Isom to come since he wouldn't be a lot of help since he couldn't bear to come near Cam when the wound was exposed.

I warned of the graphic nature of this post, remember?

The doctor spent 45 minutes just on the stitches. He ended up with a total of 33- 7 underneath, and 26 on top.

Cam felt pretty good when we left the hospital (2 hours and 15 minutes after arriving), and requested Wendy's for dinner. But of course! I would have taken him to Hamilton's steak and seafood if he'd asked. The next 2 1/2 hours was spent with almost constant visitors and phone calls. My friend Janae came with her son Parker who is one of Cam's best friends. Parker brought a balloon bouquet and some candy. Four other friends came to see him, and about that many of Jake's friends. Freda came with a milkshake and subway gift card. The Larsens and Camdyn next door came by. Michelle, the ski patrol girl who had called me, called to see how he was and said she wanted to stop by with something for Cam. They had cut down the branch that he'd hit, and she wanted to give it to him as a memento. She and her husband came by on their way home to Ogden. I think seeing this branch brought home to me just how serious this whole thing was. That is one sturdy piece of wood, and I can see how easily he could have been injured much worse. The fact that his helmet and goggles weren't damaged at all is remarkable to me. It's also incredible that that much damage was done given that there's really no gap between his helmet and goggles. It's a miracle and a blessing that his eye wasn't damaged. I woke up this morning after 5 hours of sleep quite traumatized by it all- thinking about how much worse it could have been. I'm so grateful that he is going to be OK, even though he'll have a scar the rest of his life. I'm so grateful for the unknown woman who got to him right after it happened and gave him her vest to stop the blood, then went for help. I'm so thankful for all the people who took such good care of him, and for the many concerned family and friends. Thanks so much for your love and support!

Life after the wedding

2011-02-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't been very ambitious about doing a post now that my days consist of the same ole, same ole. There's just not a lot to report on! But now that I've waited a month, I have come up with a few things. Me, Mike and the boys had a fun Valentines Day. I heart attacked the boys' bedroom doors and left some treats on their bed, and did the same to Mike's half of our bathroom. I made a fancy dinner, complete with a traditional heart shaped pizza, then we went bowling and got an ice-cream at sub zero. It was a great day!

The day after Valentines day, Freda turned 65! Can you believe it? Jake commented on what a young grandma she is (that may be because he realizes she could be his other grandma's daughter. . .haha) We celebrated with a dinner the Sunday before at her house that Stacie and I provided, and she was greatly surprised with a visit from her sister Tiny from Oregon. It was great to see the look on her face when she came upstairs (after we had lured her downstairs so Tiny could come in the house and be sitting in the family room) and saw Tiny just sitting on the couch!

After 2 months of practically no new snow (but it mostly stayed on the ground because of how cold it was for the month on January) and then a week of 50-60 degree weather, it was shocking to say the least to get 7-8" on Wednesday night, then another 8-9" on Saturday night. It's kinda tough to take when we get a little taste of spring. Oh well, the groundhog did say it will be an early spring, right?

The snow has been greatly enjoyed at Beaver by the boys and Jess and Brad, so I guess that helps a little. We have loved having Jess and Brad as frequent visitors, and look forward to them stopping by any time. I guess it helps that they enjoy watching a few TV shows with us and so our big screen and DVR may be more of a draw that we are. . . I do have to say however, that being home for the most part with just the two boys and Mike hasn't been as terrible as I'd feared. We actually still have fun and enjoy being together, just the four of us.

The Wedding!

2011-01-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

I am happy to present to you the beautiful wedding pictures of Brad and Jessica! I just want to sit and stare at them all day! They are such a terrific couple, and so happy and in love. It's great to be a witness to! The first 4 collages were taken a month before the wedding by my sweet sister-in-law Jessica. She did such an awesome job! She did some at Hamilton's and some at The American West Heritage Center. Jess and Brad were quite frozen after being outside for 2 hours, but it was all worth it! Thanks again Jessica for doing such a fantastic job!

The rest are from the day of the wedding. These amazing pictures were captured by my niece Lindsey. She did a super awesome job, and I'm so grateful to her for doing it. This day was even more freezing than the month before, so luckily we were only outside for about a half hour. This first collage is of them coming out of the temple and being greeted by brave family and friends who waited in the 12 degree weather for them to come out.

These are some of my favorites! I love them! I thought her bouquet was so beautiful.

These last four collages contain pictures that didn't show up on the memory card for some unknown reason. For several weeks I thought they were lost forever- but a little thought I had in my head wouldn't go away, and that was to take the memory card into Inkleys and see if someone there knew how to recover them. . . and they did!!! I was sooo happy. Even to pay the $40 they charged. Look at what would have been lost w/o me following through on that inspiration.

We had a delicious luncheon at the church prepared by Brad's family. They did such an nice job with the food. Everything was so good. They served a yogurt bar, a crepe bar, scrambled eggs, and breakfast meats. They went to so much work to make it nice. We hurried to get it cleared up and set up for the reception in record time, then had a nice reception from 3-5. I am grateful to the people who took time out of their New Years to come. It was so wonderful to have all my family there except for Paul and DeNae.

I loved Mike and Jessica's dance to "I loved her first." I'm so impressed that non-dancing Mike was on board when I had the idea. I also loved Jess and Brad's country swing dance to "Kiss a girl." It was adorable.

Then the time came for everyone who was still there to see them off- complete with bubbles and cheers. They are so happy and that makes all the effort in preparing a wedding totally worth it. They had a great honeymoon traveling to LA by way of SLC and Vegas to go on a 5 day Mexican cruise, then spent a day at Disneyland. Brad is so taken with the ocean (after seeing it for his first time. . . ya, I know) that somehow he's made it so this summer they'll be living in Florida while he sells for APX. Way to go Brad! Congratulations to the newlyweds- I'm so happy for you, and I love you both so much.

Weekend in Arizona

2011-01-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am going to do this post about my trip to Arizona to visit Kylee before I do the wedding post, because I'm still waiting to get edited photos from the wedding before I do that. But I have the day to myself (Saturday) as Mike took the boys along w/ other YM and leaders to Powder Mountain skiing today. The boys were so excited to go somewhere other than Beaver- the only place they've ever been. I have a long list of projects, cleaning and shopping I want to get done- this being one (and now I'm actually posting this on Sunday- so know that I did get most of my long list of things done, and that's why I didn't get this post done until Sunday morning!)

Since Brody was going to be in Brazil for three weeks for school, I thought I'd go to Arizona and keep Kylee company for a few days. I'm so glad I did! We had a great time together. I arrived Thursday afternoon. We went to the early show of "Tangled" (LOVE it) then made a big salad for dinner, then took Sal on a walk. On Saturday, we spent the day in Mesa visiting family and friends. We had lunch at Nello's with the Frost girls. I loved seeing them and catching up. Aren't they both gorgeous? I hadn't seen Madison since Kylee's wedding as she was on her mission last year when I came for a visit. We then visited Mom, David, Paul and DeNae, and that was enjoyable as well. We then spent several hours with the Hoffmans, going to dinner with Lorene, Alyssa and Haylee (do Alyssa and Haylee look more alike than Ky and Jessica do? And do Kristie and Madison look more like sisters rather than mother/daughter?) We had such a fun time- as always. I can't express how much I miss my Mesa friends.

On Friday, Ky took the day off so we could spend all day together. We first went for a challenging hike to Camelback mountain. It was such a great hike! And such a beautiful day. I loved being outside in my short sleeve shirt enjoying a great hike w/ Ky and Salomon. We then spent several hours shopping, then ate out at a yummy Mexican restaurant (joined by Ky's cute friend Meghann who's husband is also in Brazil) and went to the movie "Country Strong."

We each had some money from Christmas that was burning a hole in our purses that we enjoyed spending. Shopping in a different city from your own is always fun, and shopping with Kylee was extra fun.

On Sunday, we invited Jordan and girls and Dave and Courtney (and Meghann of course) over for dinner. We enjoyed eating, visiting, and playing a quick card came with them while Jordan's girls watched a movie. It's so great for these cousins/siblings to live in the same area as each other. I'm so glad Kylee has some family living close by that she can be around on occasion. Thanks Ky, for the wonderful 3 1/2 days together! I loved every minute of it, and I love you!

Between Christmas and the Wedding. . .

2011-01-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

The week after Christmas was a busy, fun time. In fact, now that all the wedding planning and festivities are over, I'm rather out of sorts with my normal, predictable routine. . . but that's OK- I'm sure I'll get used to it again. On Monday the 27th , my friend Tori came over and helped me, Ky and Jess make about 180 oreo pops to have for the wedding day to serve at the luncheon and reception. It was so much fun to learn how to make them- and since they're TO DIE FOR, I know I'll be making more in the future.

Sorry, but these pictures are out of order. On the 30th, I spent most of the day at the church where the lunch and reception were being held decorating it with the help of the Hatch's, Bundy's, Jessica, Jake, Cam, Ann, Sara, Freda and her friend Nina. I could not have done it w/o everyone's help! So a special thanks to everyone who gave of their time and expertise-especially Lindsey who was the creative genius behind it all. I had so many compliments from everyone on how great everything looked. I have to say it wasn't as stressful as I'd feared- in fact, it was rather fun! Also a big thank you goes to my cupcake making helpers- my friends Janae and Carolyn, Mom, and Freda! Between the 4 of them, they made 517 cupcakes to be served at the reception! If we'd only known we would only need about 200 of them. . . oh well- it was fun to give many away to family and friends the day after the wedding. I'm so glad Mom stayed with us for two days leading up to the wedding so she could be there to help and just join in on the excitement. I hope we didn't wear her out too much!

It was great to receive help from Mike and the boys and Kylee Thursday night as we frosted all but 80 cupcakes. After being in the kitchen 8-9 hours baking cupcakes, we decided to give Mom the rest of the night off! By midnight, I decided we wouldn't possibly need that many- and boy, was I right!

This is the out of order picture. This is on Wednesday, the 30th when Jessica went to the temple to receive her endowments. It was a blizzard that day- and we were all praying that the weather wouldn't be anything like that on Friday! Happily it wasn't! It was great to be joined by Mom, the Hatch's, Bundy's, Ann and Carol for the session and a Mexican Haystacks dinner afterward at our house (we missed Brad's family who had planned to come, but then decided against it at the last minute because of the bad weather.) What a great day to be with another daughter in the temple.

These are the only pictures I'll show of the wedding day until Jessica has a chance to post first. It's only right. . . The bottom right is of hairdresser Stacie working her magic on Jess's hair and makeup. She did a fabulous job- on her, and me! It was a perfect day. I absolutely loved every minute of it. Except maybe the clean up- but even that was fun actually. More details (and lots more collages) to come!

A very memorable Christmas

2010-12-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderful past several days. And now there are only 3 more days until the wedding!!!! I'm so excited for the big day. Needless to say, this will be my last post until the wedding is over. . . I have much to do on my "to do" list, but it's all good and fun.

On the 23rd, the kids all went skiing together and had a great time. There are three snowboarders (Ky, Cam and Brad) and three skiers. On Christmas Eve day, I made red and green french toast for breakfast, then we all (except for Brad who left on the 23rd to spend Christmas with his family) had a fun afternoon playing games and accumulating points to be used towards the prize table later in the evening. Jess was the big winner followed closely by Brody. We played Wyoming Rummy, nic nic, pictureka, look up, dip dip dip, and the clapping game.

We spent an enjoyable Christmas Eve at Tom and Freda's along with every single person in the family except for Brad and Teresa's oldest boy Cameron. It was awesome to all be together. We had a tasty meal, then played several fun games.

We were divided into 5 teams. The first game, we had to be the first to make a person into a "real" looking snowman using one roll of TP. Cam's team got extra points by using a carrot nose. Then we had 10 minutes to make a pinewood derby car using 2 candy canes, a hershey bar, some chocolate coins, lifesavers and 30" of masking tape. Everyone took this task quite seriously. It was fun to watch them race down a slanted table. Our team was victorious! All the kids went in on a flat screen TV for Freda to have in her bedroom. She was surprised and excited- and therefore shed a few tears! No one was surprised. . .

We came home at 10 to play our traditional hide the pickle on the tree game, and family trivia. Ky was the winner on trivia, and Mike on the pickle game. Santa surprised the family on Christmas morning with surround sound for the family room! We can't wait to get it installed and start enjoying it. We had a wonderful time together opening gifts and being together.

Later that morning, we spent several hours at the Skeens with them and Sara and Jaken eating a tasty breakfast and playing 4 square and wall ball in their gym. I love that they have that gym! It was so much fun.

It's hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone. I love this time of the year, and am so grateful that we can pause and take time to reflect on the birth of the Savior. I loved all the family time and think that spending time with loved ones is the best gift of all.

Party!

2010-12-22T22:59:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy the past several days having fun with Kylee and Brody-and lots of other family. It's been awesome! I don't want it to end! I uploaded my pictures backwards, so I'll tell about the most recent activity first. On Tuesday night, Gary and Nancy had a lovely dinner party in honor of Haley who was visiting from D.C. It was great seeing and spending time with her. We enjoyed a sleigh ride, ate a delicious meal, and played several fun games. The six of us entertained ourselves for awhile having fun taking awkward family pictures. It cracks me up looking at them- and it was even funner taking them. Thanks Linny for being our creative photographer!

This one wasn't awkward (right?) but a cute one of everyone.

Kylee, Brody, Jess, Brad and Andy entertained themselves for far too long in the kiddie room at Gary and Nancy's. They had a blast sliding and rolling down this little hill. It was entertaining to watch.

It was nice to visit and catch up on everyone's lives.

Earlier that day, Lindsey gave Jessica a family bridal shower at the Skeen residence. It turned out so great! The theme was "something blue" and so the decorations, some gifts, most people's clothes, and Jessica's hair reflected that! So creative and clever! Good job Linny! We ate, played games, gave marriage advice, and opened presents. They got some great stuff! Thanks ladies for coming and being so supportive. We missed you Carol and girls!

Besides all the DARLING decorations, notice the awesome cake Kylee made! Didn't she do a great job? It was sad to cut it up and eat it- but we have the pictures, so we were able to.

Monday night, Ann organized a sisters cookie exchange. We missed Von and Mom for that, but had fun the 4 of us. We met at Bajio for dinner, then went to Ann's to exchange the dozen cookies we brought for each other. We also made caramels and fudge. It was a fun night.

The Bundy's came over Sunday for dinner and an evening of games, then Lindsey and girls spent the night and Lindsey helped with some wedding stuff on Monday.

We had a blast Sunday night playing candy bar guessing game, Christmas song guessing game, perfection, memory game, dip, dip, dip, clapping game, signs, sardines, and scum.

We also ate a tasty meal.

It won't come as a big surprise to hear- with all the activities and fun I've been having the past 3 days- that I completely forgot to turn in Jess and Brad's information and picture for a wedding announcement to appear in this Sunday's newspaper. AHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm so mad/sad about that. We may do one after the fact- we'll see.

I'm sure I'll have lots more fun and memorable activities to report on in the coming week and a half, then I'm afraid it's back to normal life. . . oh wait- that is after my weekend trip to Arizona the first weekend in January to stay with Kylee while Brody's in Brazil for 3 weeks!

Mike, Jake and Cam's Excellent Adventure

2010-12-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

Mike and the boys had a grand adventure going to the MNFB game between the AZ Cardinals and the San Fran 49ers on November 29th.. The boys went to their first three classes on Monday, then Mike picked them up, they drove to SLC, and flew to Phoenix. Kylee was there to pick them up, take them to Glendale for some lunch at her apartment, then drop them off at the game (which is 10 minutes from her apt.) They loved the game, even though the Cardinals got beat (sad for Jake, happy for Mike and Cam.) They had a great time.

The next day, Kylee took work off so she could spend the day with them. They all went shopping for awhile at a mall and had lunch, then met up with Brody for some rock climbing. That night they had dinner and watched a movie. When I asked Mike what movie it was, he struggled to remember the name of it and came up with "the weather calls for cheeseburgers." I said "do you mean 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs?'" Hahahaha that made me laugh for the rest of the day!

I'm so glad Mike and the boys were able to have this fun time together, and to get to see Kylee and Brody as well. I hope they remember how great this was on Christmas Day when they have a lot less gifts to open!

In other news. . . it's 6 days until Christmas, and 12 days until the wedding! I have to say- getting ready for Christmas and planning for a wedding hasn't been as stressful as I would have thought. So far. There are still a lot of things to cross off on my wedding to-do list, so the tides could change. It's been a joy to do it all, and I wouldn't change a thing. It's wonderful to have Kylee and Brody here now, and to enjoy time together as a family of eight now.

Thanksgiving weekend

2010-11-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

What a great Thanksgiving week we had. It started off on Tuesday with the big 2010 blizzard. School was let out at noon because the storm was predicted to arrive at 3:00. Sure enough, by 3:20, it came, and lasted until about 7:30. Wind, 5" of snow, and white-out conditions made for a fun afternoon! Mike had a hard time getting home from work, but after that, we all enjoyed staying inside and watching a Harry Potter movie.

On Thanksgiving day, we surprised the boys with an early Christmas present. We told them we had to drive to find it, and that they had to be blindfolded (sad for them that they thought we were taking them to pick out a puppy at some breeders house. . .). We then proceeded to drive around aimlessly for 15 minutes, only to end up back at our house! We had wrapped airplane tickets along with tickets to the upcoming MNFB game in Arizona between the Cardinals and 49ers. They were sooo excited! They had a great time at the game last night, and are enjoying a day with the Hatch's today before flying home in the morning.

On the way down to the Weyerts for Thanksgiving dinner, we stopped at the movie theater where Lindsey and Ryan were attending the 12:00 showing of Harry Potter #7 to decorate their jeep for Lindsey's 30th birthday. Since the high for the day was in the teens, we were quick about it!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner with the Weyerts, Weyerts and Nelsons. Mike slaved away all morning making two amazing apple pies! Jake even got into the action by making a tasty key-lime pie. That evening, Jess and Brad went to Willard to be with Brad's family, and me, Mike and the boys came home, put up our tree, and watched Harry Potter 6.

Cam was asked to play in a Thanksgiving tournament in Brigham City on a team of boys a year younger. They had won their game the Saturday before in the rain/sleet/snow, so were happy the day after Thanksgiving that all they had to contend with was the COLD. And I do mean cold- and a frozen playing field. I don't think anyone was too sad that they lost and didn't have to play the next day. .Prior to the game, I did some black Friday shopping by myself, then with the boys for a few hours. After Cam's game, we had leftovers with Tom and Freda, then watched another Harry Potter movie-

Saturday, all 4 of us did some good deep cleaning for most of the morning. It's great to get help from the family and not have it to do all on my own! I attended a nice family bridal shower in Brigham City with Jessica that Brad's family gave her. Then that night, we all 6 went to the new Harry Potter movie! It was great to see it after watching all the movies in past week. It was a great movie, and I'm anticipating part 2 even more now. It snowed most of the day Sunday, and we were left with another 14-16" of snow by Monday morning. It was a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day once the storm passed, and I rather enjoyed seeing all the beauty of winter. It's a great time of year to reflect on my many blessings and the things I'm so very grateful for--- family, the gospel, friends, good health, a free country and so many more.

bargin shopping

2010-11-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

There's not much I love more than getting a good deal at the store. Even the grocery store. This week Smiths had some great deals, and with the addition of a few coupons, I came away with $100 worth of stuff for the amazingly low price of $33.10!!! Can you say WOW? Now granted, most of these items are things we don't really NEED, but when you can get 2 liters of the best soda that's only available during the holidays for 40 cents, wouldn't you get 10 or so of them like I did? I'll hide them in a cooler in the garage, and forget about them, then it will be a nice surprise this summer when I come across them (that's happened before, and it was great!).

I love getting good deals on clothes, household goods, beauty products, sporting good- you name it. This week at Kohls, I had an extra 30% off everything coupon, plus for every $50 you spent, you got $10 back in Kohls cash. I went with all three kids, plus Brad there on Thursday night to get some needed items, plus a few Christmas gifts. When we were ready to check out, I realized I didn't have my jacket which I remembered having about 10 minutes before. So I retraced my steps, but it had vanished. I've been back three times to check in the lost and found and retrace my steps again. I wouldn't be that concerned about a lost jacket (although it's a cool one Kylee brought me from Alaska) BUT, my CELL PHONE was in the pocket. . .AHHHHHH I'm sooo upset. If it was stolen, whoever has it hasn't used the phone, but no one answers when I call it. Where did it go? It's a mystery but I"m not ready to get a replacement phone just yet. I'm still hoping for a miracle.

Engagement and Birthday

2010-11-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

There have been some very exciting things happening at our home the past few days. First off, and most exciting, is JESSICA & BRAD got engaged Saturday night!!! It was so fun to be a part of the planning and surprise. Since they met at a Halloween party a year ago at our house, Brad wanted to propose at a Halloween Party at our house this year. So even though this means they'll only be engaged for exactly TWO MONTHS, I think it's so fun that he waited and did it the way he did. He had her convinced that the ring wouldn't be ready for another 3-4 days, so she was totally surprised. (This picture is a re-enactment since I was downstairs at that special moment)

I love that they're in their Halloween costumes! They were so cute and happy for the rest of the night. It happened while their friends were out on a picture scavenger hunt, so they had fun showing and telling when they all got back.

Jake celebrated his 17th birthday on the 29th. Can it be? We had a nice family dinner along with Grandma Freda and Aunt Stacie, Jaxon and Sidnie. We excused Grandpa Tom since he had the really great excuse of being gone to the WORLD SERIES game in San Francisco! How fun for him! Most of Jake's gifts were candy and gift cards. He also got a PS3 game.

Jessica and Brad gave Jake this picture frame full of funny pictures he has taken on Jessica's Mac computer. That boy can entertain himself for a long time on that thing. If you know Jake very well, you know he loves to make funny faces. We've all had some great laughs over what he comes up with.

I am so thrilled to have Brad as a member of our family. Even though it won't be "official" until December 31st, it's felt like he's been one of us for awhile now. I love how he treats Jessica, how he's easy and fun to talk to and be around, how well he gets along (and tolerates) the boys, how he enjoys doing what we enjoy doing, what a hard worker he is, how even tempered he is, and how polite, kind and funny he is. Good job Jess with finding such a wonderful guy!

Harry Potter Trivia

2010-10-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

I have a love affair with Harry Potter. I've read all 7 books many times. I adore them. Love the movies. Love the characters. Love talking about it with other lovers. When I was a leader in Young Womens, there were times when the first part of my lesson was devoted to talking about the most recent book or movie (because the Laurel class was full of devotees). I have to say as excited as I am about part one of "The Deathly Hallows" coming out in a few short weeks (AHH!!!!), part of me is quite depressed about it because it means after just one more movie, it's over and done. Nothing new to look forward to anymore. So, in honor of the movie coming out in less than a month, I thought I'd share my list of character names that have the same letter for first and last names. I wonder if JK did this many on purpose? Without further adeu, here is my list:

*Manerva McDonagall
*Severus Snape
*Mad-Eye Moody
*Dudley Dursley
*Peeves the Polterguist
*Nearly Headless Nick
*Poppy Pomfry
*Dedalus Diggle
*Pansy Parkinson
*Padma Patil
*Parvati Patil
*Luna Lovegood
*Colin Creevey
*Bloody Baron
*Moaning Myrtyl
*Cho Chang
*Gregory Goyle
*Florean Fortescue
*Ted Tonks
*Salazar Slytherin
*Rowena Ravenclaw
*Godric Griffindor
*Helga Hufflepuff
*Bathilda Bagshot
*Gellert Grindelwald
*Peter Petegrew

Can you think of any I've missed?

Fall Break Weekend

2010-10-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had such a great fall break this past weekend. On Friday, Me, Mike, Jess, Brad and the boys headed down to SLC to walk around beautiful temple square and shop at the Gateway. We then headed down to the Romneys to spend the night and the following day. It was so fun to see their "new" house after their 2 month long remodel. It's amazing! On Saturday morning, Mike and I joined Rick for a grueling hike to the "Y." It was a killer, but I"m so glad I did it as it's something that's been on my bucket list for awhile. We then ate a yummy breakfast in their nice, new dining room, then we all 8 went on another hike to Stewart Falls! This one was much easier, and so beautiful with the fall colors. By the end of that hike, I was ready to rest. But that was not to be, as the Romneys then sponsored a fun fall party joined by the Caspersons and Searles. We had a great time playing kickball, four square, around the world ping-pong, pumpkin carving, and eating a delicious meal.

Thanks, Romneys for planning so many fun activities in a short time! It was fun to be together with everyone! Now back to reality tomorrow. . .

Weekend Fun

2010-10-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Nan and I hiked this gorgeous mountain last week. I was in heaven! It was so beautiful. There's nothing better than being out in nature. It was a strenuous 10 mile hike that took us about 5 hours. I can't wait for our next one.

The day after the hike, I had a wonderful weekend spending time with Mom, Janet, Von and Carol in Yellowstone Park and Jackson Hole. Mom had the brilliant idea of taking a trip down memory lane, since Yellowstone is where we spent our summer vacations growing up. It was so fun go to all the old places and enjoy talking about all the fun times we had. It was neat to stay at the historic 100 year old Old Faithful Inn. The weather couldn't have been better, and it wasn't very crowded anywhere. In Jackson we attended the Bar J Wranglers, and thoroughly enjoyed that. It was a great get-away made possible by Mom. Thanks again Mom! It was so much fun. We missed you Ann.

Yummy produce, fun hike, and good reading

2010-09-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

One of the best features of our house, I feel is our backyard, and in our backyard, my favorite things are our fruit trees. It is sooo divine to take just a few steps, and pick a lovely, delicious piece of fruit to eat. I also love our garden which Mike so lovingly plants and tends. Here are some pictures of what we're enjoying right now. If you're worried that I won't remember you when it comes to giving away the pears and apples, don't be shy to let me know you want some!

Yesterday Jess, Brad, Ann and Trace joined Mike and I on a delightful hike to Temple Fork Saw Mill. The leaves are changing, and I dare say that you won't find a more beautiful sight in very many other places of the world than fall in Logan Canyon. . .

I just finished reading Pride & Prejudice for the first time. I've loved the movie for years, but never attempted the book. Now I'm wishing we all talked more like this. . . "we must stem the tide of malice, and pour into the wounded bosoms of each other the balm of sisterly consolation." or "and though she was not very sanguine in expecting it, the application was a something to look forward to." or "no arguments shall be wanting on my part, that can alleviate so severe a misfortune; or that may comfort you, under a circumstance that must be, of all others, most afflicting to a parent's mind." and lastly, the most eloquent way of putting someone in their place. . . "Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged. You have widely mistaken my character, if you think I can be worked on by such persuasions as these. How far your nephew might approve of your interference in his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg, therefore, to be importuned no further on the subject." Go Elizabeth!!! I love her! And I love, love, love the love story between her and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Labor Day weekend

2010-09-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

We have had a really fun-filled Labor Day weekend. I uploaded my pictures in the wrong order, so I'll start with today and go backwards. This morning, we ate a delicious big breakfast at home, then went on a fun bike ride along the Logan river trail. Jake missed out because he had to work on the last day the Aquatic center was open. He felt really bad about it---- we then joined the Ericksons, Caspersons, Petes and Bundys at the Skeens for lunch and some games and visiting. We dropped by the Griffin farm on the way home to show Brad around, and came away with some good produce from the garden. We stopped for a Zeppe galata on their opening day. We're so excited they're in Providence now.

We had a fun time going swimming to the Logan pool after a hot day of camping/hiking. It was extra fun that Jake was working, especially when he got to catch the little kids coming down the twirly slide.We had a great time camping with everyone we were with today with the addition of Carol, Tanner and Taylor for a few hours. Friday night we ate delicious tin foil dinners, and played ultimate frisbee in the pitch dark. It was a little crazy, but fun. On Saturday, we played more games, and went for a hike to Rosys mine.

We had a never-to-be-forgotten experience seeing a rattlesnake in real life. After our hike on Saturday, we were driving back to our campground, and the kids could hear the snake in the rocks off to the side of the road. We stopped to check it out and take pictures. The camp host came before long with his shovel, and we got to watch while he wacked the snakes head off and buried it, (since the snake can still bite 24 hours after he's been decapitated! Who knew?) then he cut his rattler off and gave it to Caleb. The snake body was still moving for an hour afterwards. It was quite the show! The picture below the kids in the pickup is when we first saw the snake, and the one on top is after he'd been tortured.

After such a great weekend, it will be extra hard to get back in the swing of school and work tomorrow!

Week at a glance

2010-08-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of having this little one come to stay for a day and night this week. She is so good, funny, entertaining, and adorable that we all just adorel her. We miss you Lydia and hope you'll come again soon!

Here's Cam playing in his first high school football game this past Wednesday. He started at cornerback and did a great job. His team killed Bear River 54-14. His number is 1. In the two pictures below, he's the one tackling the guy with the ball.

Jessica returned last Thursday from her 2 months stay in Deleware and NY as a nanny. We're so happy she's home! She had a wonderful experience, but is glad to be home (I think mostly to see Brad, her cute boyfriend)

I've had an excuse to lay around and read, read, read these past few days. I had oral surgery on Thursday to get an implant on a tooth that had to be pulled, and also had a blood blister looking thing removed from my bottom lip. Between getting to go to sleep during the procedure, and the stitches in my mouth and lip, I've been kinda out of it, and in a bit of pain. It's a good thing I haven't had much going on, and I had the latest in the Hunger Game book series to read- Mockingjay. Although I had to reread the previous book, Catching Fire first since it had been 6 months and I'd forgotten much of it. So, two 390 page books read in the past three days makes for some lazy days! It's been great, but I"m ready to get back to normal life now!

Last week with the Hatch's

2010-08-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all went to lava hot springs for the afternoon and had a lot of fun. Here are Cam and Jake plunging off the 33' platform. There are pictures of the rest of us doing the same, but I can't figure out how to get the pictures all together (sorry Ky, I know you showed me but it isn't working. . .)

We four had a good time attending the Bountiful temple Thursday night. We're wanting to attend as many different temples as we can (especially the ones in Utah) so we thought we'd try and squeeze this one in before they left. I'm so glad we did. What a beautiful place! We loved it. We enjoyed visiting with the newly engaged Teresa and Brad afterwards in their awesome home.

We had a fun last week with Kylee and Brody. The four of us (plus Salomon the dog) went on a great hike from Green Canyon ending at the Wind Caves in Logan Canyon. It was a beautiful hike, and a good workout, and fun to spend that time together.

I want credit for jumping off this scary high jump. It wasn't easy, and I only did it to impress the kids. . . I don't think I'd do it again. I was impressed with Ky for doing it

because she was very scared too.

. Today Kylee and Brody loaded up and headed back to Arizona for Brody's last year at Thunderbird. It was so hard for me to see them go after the fun three months we had together. I will miss so many things, I don't think I can name themn all- but I'll name a few. I'll miss Kylee making yummy new recipes for us. I'll miss seeing them both in the living room on their computers. I'll miss being followed around everywhere I go by Salomon (OK- maybe I won't miss that, but I will miss being greeted by him at the door everytime I came home). I'll miss rook games. I'll miss watching TV together. I"ll miss badminton, croquet and beach volleyball. I'll miss hikes and bike rides. I'll miss going for mornings walks with Ky and Sal. I'll miss them being there for extended family fun. I'll miss our good conversations. I'll miss laughing together. I'll miss going out to dinner. I'll miss them doing chores around the house. I'll miss seeing the guest room with all their things in it. I'll miss them coming to church with us. I'll miss their excitement and enthusiasm over everything we did. OK- that's all I can do without making myself even sadder than I already am. Luckily we have Jessica's return to look forward to on Thursday, so we won't be too sad for long. Thanks Ky and Brody for adding so much fun to our summer. It would have been very lonely and boring without you!!! I love you both.

Notice Cam and Jake running after their car. A tradition we copied from the Romneys!

The great outdoors

2010-08-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Warning: I've got a new format for blogging, and I haven't figured it out entirely. It's a work in progress. Don't judge me!

This past week I was able to go on two great hikes. One with my friend Nan, and the other with Kylee. Nan and I went on the most beautiful hike from Blind Hollow to Tony Grove. It was amazing. The scenery was so beautiful. We just couldn't get over it. It was a hike neither of us had ever done, and for part of it we weren't sure if we were on the right path, so when we saw the sign that said Tony Grove, we were pretty stoked. I loved talking with Nan for a solid 4 hours as we hiked in the beauty of Logan Canyon.

Mike and Cam had a grand adventure this past weekend with the young men in our ward. They went to Park City Friday night and camped, then on Saturday they spent most of the day at Deer Valley Ski resort riding mountain bikes. Mike went on a treacherous Black Diamond trail with one of the boys and took a nasty spill landing on his head, shoulder and left hand. Without a helmet it would have been soooo much worse. That ended his fun for the day, and even though his hand is very bruised, he thinks it will be OK. Of course he wasn't wanting to rush right in to the doctor and double check. That night they all attended a REAL soccer game.

This is the hike to White Pine Lake that Kylee and I did on Saturday. That 7 1/2 miles was the longest she's ever hiked, and she did great. We took Salomon the dog along, and we're pretty sure that was the best day of his life. A car ride, running through the wilderness, seeing about 20 horses, a deer, and many other dogs and people, and playing in water along the trail and in a lake at the end. How could a day be any better than that?

Recent activities

2010-07-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

It is too sad for words to think the boys will be back at school and I'll be back at work in less than three weeks! This summer has gone by way too fast- as always. Here are some highlights of the past few weeks.

This sunset was so beautiful I just had to pull off the side of the road to take a picture a few nights ago.
Jake has had a great summer job working at the Logan Aquatic Center as a lifeguard and swim teacher. It's been great for him to be busy and earning money. He likes it pretty well, but wasn't amused when I was there one day discreetly taking a few pictures. . .
A lot of Cam's summer has been full of baseball. He started on a new super league team that plalyed April-June, played city Pony league May-July, played on the high school legion team June & July, and played on an all-star team in July. Whew! That was a lot of hours of watching for Mom and Dad, but we loved every minute of it.

Kylee turned 23 today, so on Sunday we had a little get-together with the Skeens, Bundys and Petersons to celebrate. We ate grilled salmon (yum), played beach volleyball, heard Emma sing "God bless America" dedicated to Kylee, and played ultimate frisbee in the dark at Lundstrom park. It was a very fun evening.
Kylee and I joined Ann, Jamie, Sara and Lindsey and their kids at Bear Lake one Friday. It was so much fun that we went back a week later with. . . all the same people plus a few males-Trace, Ryan, Cody, Jake and Cam. It wasn't quite as fun as the week before, but only because it was very windy.

Every activity we do just isn't quite as fun as it could be because I miss Jessica so much and wish she were there. But she's having a great time in New York, and will be home in 20 days! Not that I'm counting. . .

Birthday, Anniversary and 4th of July

2010-07-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

We've been keeping busy since getting home from our vacation having more fun. We got to attend the 1st birthday party of Miss Lydia, and it was a delight. Lindsey went all out to plan a fun filled evening. The games and food were great, but nothing compared to the DECORATIONS! To die for! So, so cute. I want to redo all my kids first birthdays. What a great memory (on video) that will be for the sweet one.
Mike and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on the 29th. I can't believe it's been that long! It makes me feel old to say we've been married 25 years! We had a fun get-away to the Homestead in Midway. We had such a fun time. We enjoyed relaxing, talking, eating, bike riding, walking around, and sitting in the mineral hot tub. I'm so glad we were able to spend that time together.
On the 4th, we invited the Bundy's and Peterson's over for dinner and games. We ate, played scum, had a tasty chocolate fondue dessert- which everyone went wild for (thanks Jordan for the idea/recipe) and went to Hillcrest Elementary School to play four square and ultimate frisbee in the dark. We came home and did fireworks in the street in front of our house for 1/2 hour. This is the first time ever that we've spent money on fireworks! It was a lot of fun, and we'll probably do it again in the future-much to Cam and Jake's delight.
On Monday the 5th, we spent a fun day together with the Searles, Skeens, Peterson's, Ericksons, Bundy's and Hatch's. We started off the day at the Searles with breakfast, America jepordy, sidewalk chalk masterpieces, and volleyball at a nearby park.
We next journeyed to our neck of the woods to play four square (again), kickball and eat little ceasars pizza.
Our last stop was dinner and games at the Skeens. Trace (as always) had some fun activities planned: skeet shooting, a killer relay race, frisbee golf, and fear factor. It was fun to be all together to celebrate Ann's birthday as well.
I adore that we live close to family and can have fun times together often. The only sad thing about any activity is missing Jessica. She's having a grand time however on her adventure in New York as a nanny. It's a real chore for her having to look at this view everyday from where the family beach home is. . .

Family Vacation

2010-06-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

We got home a few days ago from the most divine family vacation to Washington and Oregon. We had the BEST time. I absolutely loved every minute of the trip. It was great to all be together as a family for the last time in awhile, as Jessica left from Portland to fly back east to nanny for the rest of the summer at the end of our trip, and Ky and Brody will probably be back in Arizona by the time she gets home. There's lots to tell, and many pictures to show, so I'll break it down into days: First off, I have to tell about the incredible home the Lakes bought 6 months ago. It is so fabulous! We stayed in "the loft" above the three car garage. It's a deluxe two bedroom, one bathroom and bonus room that was just perfect for our family (although Jessica slept in little Brody's room and Cam slept in Griffins room). It was so great to have our own space, and to enjoy the comfy, inviting and beautiful home Todd and Stacey have created.

DAY 1
We were so happy to spend the first four days of our vacation with the Lake's in Vancouver. They really rolled out the red carpet for us. They had so many fun activities planned, and great food to go along with it. Stacey and I started off the day with a brisk walk along a gorgeous lake and around a golf course and extremely nice neighborhood. For anyone who knows how fast I like to walk, Stacey is the only person who has ever been a faster walker than me. I was having to jog every 20 or so steps to keep up with her. It was great though. We grabbed Mike, Kylee and Brody and all went back to the same course and beyond on bikes. It was great, and a good warm up for the rest of the day. We loaded 12 bikes up on a trailer behind Todd's truck and headed off to a beautiful park along the Columbia river for a Martha Stewart picnic. Stacey sure knows how to make a normal picnic extraordinary with a few special touches (I got harrassed on our picnic at Cannon beach when we were without the Lakes for not having fresh potted flower centerpieces like Stacey. . .). We spent the next few hours riding our bikes around downtown Portland. It was so great, and a fun way to see the city. When we got back from Portland, even though the temp was only in the 60's, most of the kids jumped in the Lake's unheated pool- but didn't stay in too long. . .

DAY 2
Todd had to work all day, so Stacey joined me, Mike, Kylee and Brody on a 6 hour adventure in Portland. Jessica stayed behind to take care of the kids. We stopped for 45 short minutes at the most awesome antique store ever called Monticello. You really need 2 or 3 hours there to see all there is to see. We then went to the beautiful Portland temple. It was breathtaking.

After the temple, we headed to Saturday market- mostly to get an "elephant ear" something that Lindsey said her dreams are made of. I can see why now. It was a HUGE (Ky and I shared) piece of sugar/cinnamon covered scone for the bargin price of $3.50. We walked around the market for 45 minutes before heading back to the Lakes. Ky and I each bought a cute purse.
That evening we had yet another delicious meal and played some fun games. I started sewing some curtains for Stacey to go in her living room.

DAY 3
Father's Day. The only day of rain on our whole trip. We (all 13 of us) still went on a beautiful short hike near their house, then came back for a big breakfast and church at 1:00. After a yummy Sunday dinner, we played more games, then I did more sewing.
DAY 4
Everyone but the three littlest Lake kids went on the most gorgeous, breathtaking, spectacular hike I've ever been on to Multnomah Falls. It was amazing. I just couldn't take it all in. I loved every step of the 5 miles. Todd and Mike took all the kids boating when we got home, and I hung out with Stacey and the Brody's and did mending and hemming. I'm so happy I could be useful and do something for Stacey that she didn't want to do for herself (not that she couldn't have. . .) That evening we had some tasty s'mores in their backyard.

Day 5
We left the Lakes on Tuesday morning for three days on our own. We stopped by the ROSE GARDEN's in Portland on our way to Cannon Beach. They were so gorgeous. It was a feast for the eyes, that's for sure. I'm so glad we made this detour.

When we got to Cannon Beach, we had a picnic lunch at Ecola State Park, then hung out on Indian Beach for about 3 hours. The weather was beautiful, and we all enjoyed playing around the water looking for sea creatures, climbing over rocks, playing in the sand, playing frisbee, and playing in the water (only Cam and Jake were brave enough).

We got checked into our cute little cottage, then walked a block down to the beach near haystack rock and played some more before heading out to dinner at Mo's. It was a great setting for a restaurant and we enjoyed our meal very much.

After dinner, we made a fire on the beach and had s'mores. It was great! The weather was perfect, and we really enjoyed sitting on our log eating and talking until well after dark. What a perfect setting for such a fun activity.

DAY 6
Before checking out at noon, we spent a bit more time on the beach. We all played frisbee and the four kids got up to their necks in the freezing ocean and had a great time.

We then walked around the main street of Cannon beach for several hours shopping, eating lunch, and doing a fun scavenger hunt Stacey planned for us. It was a perfect day. Drove to Seattle at stayed the night at a motel. Went out to eat at Chipotle and walked around a cool outdoor mall.

DAY 7
Spent about 6 hours walking around Seattle. Saw the spaceneedle, walked through the Seattle Aquarium and Pikes Place Market. Ate a delicious seafood lunch at Ivors. A tiring, but fun day. Got back to the Lakes that night at 9, and left the next morning for home.

It was sad to leave for home without Jessica, but I know she'll have a wonderful experience being on her own for two months. I loved being with my family 24/7. I have some very cherished memories of our time together. Thanks so much to the Lakes for being such fun hosts. We had such a great time with you.

2010-06-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

Jessica and I had a fun day yesterday celebrating our birthdays. My best birthday present ever, without question, was 20 years ago when Jessica was born the day I turned 29. It has been so much fun celebrating each birthday together every year.

We didn't think of taking this picture until several pieces of cake had already been served. . .

Kylee and Brody (with some help from Mike) slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon preparing our yummy meal of shisk-a-bobs, special potatoes, kung pow soy beans, rolls, and strawberry glaze cake. It was a great day. I loved receiving phone calls, voice messages, texts, and facebook wishes from many family and friends.

And now, on a totally unrelated topic, I'll bet you'll be surprised to hear that both Mike and I are running for the U.S. Senate. I know, you didn't think we were that politically minded. It's true, but we just decided it was time for us to do our part. We've had fun campaigning together, and feel like we have quite a bit of support. We encourage you to check out our platform, and see if we're the right fit for you. Please vote for us!

Haha. We couldn't pass it up!

Jakes Eagle Project

2010-06-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jake's almost three month long Eagle Project came to an end on Thursday. It was so fulfilling to see how it turned out and to have been a part of it from the start. I'm proud of Jake and how hard he worked on it and how willing (for the most part) he was to do what he needed to. He wasn't afraid to talk to people, make phone calls, and do whatever else Mike told him to do. Mike did a great job working with him on almost every little detail, and keeping it all going. Jake lined up 4 pickups and two trailers to deliver the 61 bikes to the apartments buildings where the Burmese people live. It was so cool to arrive there to see probably about 100 people waiting there for them. The lady he had worked with (and who suggested this project to our bishop, who is the President of the Rotary club in Logan) at the English Learning Center had lined up the Herald Journal to come and do a story about it. It was great to see Jake being interviewed and photographed, and to hear him talk to the crowd of people (through an interpreter) to explain why he had done this project and where the bikes had come from. It was also really neat to see the happy looks on the faces of the adults and kids who got bikes as they picked out the one they wanted and then rode it around. It was a happy day for them. And for me to arrive home and be able to park my car in the garage after not being able to for the past two weeks as that's where we've been storing the bikes that had been fixed up. Way to go Jake! And good job Mike on spending many, many hours with Jake on this project.

An article about it appeared in the newspaper today. To check it out, click here.

Vindicated!

2010-06-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

I've been dreaming for the past 6 months or so that someday I would be writing this post. Many, many times I feared I would not. But I'm thrilled to say today is the day. . .

This story started almost 9 months ago on a lovely fall evening. Jessica and two friends were driving the Chrysler Cirrus home from a Logan High Football game. They were going west on 400 north through a green light, when a guy going east and turning left on 100 west didn't yield to her, and the two cars collided. Happily no one was injured (there was just a lot of screaming on the part of the three girls) and I hurried down after getting that phone call no one wants to get "Mom. . . I've been in a crash. . . but it wasn't my fault!" Our car was towed away, and we learned several days later that it was totaled. We were just hoping to get a fair price on the car, collect the money, and buy another car for Jess and Jake to drive. That was not to be. The guys insurance company came to the conclusion, after speaking to Jessica and the other driver (but not after reading the police report that states that the other driver said it was all his fault, and he was cited for failing to yield) that she was 40% at fault because "she could have stopped, thereby avoiding the collision." Don't you think if she could have stopped, she would have??? Duh. So, instead of paying us $5000 for the value of the car, they were offering $3000. I'm sure they have experience where if they make it difficult enough, people will eventually give up, collect what they can and move on with their lives. They kept encouraging us to just file with our insurance company to collect the other $2000. We could have done that, BUT, we would have had to pay our $500 deductable, plus have our premiums go up by up to $50 a month because of Jessica's prior crash and two speeding tickets. So, we REALLY didn't want to do that. After much time spent talking to the insurance lady back east, and to several attorneys, Mike decided to take it to small claims court. To make a LONG story a little shorter, after countless hours and much frustration, and 4-5 trips to small claims court, we found out several weeks ago that the judge found Jessica 0% at fault, and today WE GOT THE CHECK IN THE MAIL from the guys insurance company for the whole $5000. Woo hoo

It will be so great to pay off the Mazda Protege that we bought in October, and finally have that headache over and done. I'm so grateful to Mike for the time, effort, energy, patience, and smarts it took to stick with this project. The moral to this story is: sometimes good guys do finish first!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun-filled Memorial weekend. On Saturday night, we had a welcome home party for Kylee and Brody with some of my extended family. Sunday we went to the cemetery in Clarkston then visited with the Romneys. Monday we started the day with a big breakfast outside on the patio. We all then went on a bike ride along the Bonneville Shoreline above our house

with a little detour to climb up to Castle Rock.

We then proceeded on bike to the Logan cemetery where we enjoyed riding around checking out the graves and seeing a bunch of balloons released with messages to loved ones.

Home to clean up and play a little croquet before heading out to the Searles for a BBQ.

Home again- walked over to Lundstrom Park to do a variety of things: slack line, baseball, frisbee, and catch with Sal. It was great fun.

We finished off the day with popcorn and a DVD- National Treasure 2. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Second half of May

2010-05-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

The second half of this month has sure been a lot more busy and fun-filled than the first half. And that is mostly because of the return of Kylee and Brody for the summer. I have absolutely loved having them around, and look forward to the whole summer being one fun activity after another. Everything is just not fun and games however. They've both been a great help around the house and yard. Kylee has been motivated (after watching the food network in Europe- since that was the only thing in English) to try new recipes, so she's been busy in the kitchen making some delicious meals and treats for us. It's been awesome! I love coming home from a hard days work (haha) to find her (and sometimes Brody) slaving away in the kitchen. I could really get used to this. Brody's been great to help with a few odd projects- including assembling a new canopy in the backyard and helping repair some bikes for Jake's Eagle project.

We had a fun family party at Tom and Freda's the weekend Ky and Brody got home. They had gone to a lot of work to plan Survivor/Fear Factor/Amazing race type games. We first did an obstacle course at the park which was easy enough, so to make it more fun, we had to wear some funny animal noses. Next we had to try and keep 3 balloons in the air for 1 minute while staying in a confined space. Then each team had to race to a store and buy some type of dessert and come the closest to $5 that we could. And last, but certainly not least were two fear factor activities: one being putting a netting over your head for a minute containing 25 live crickets, AND, eating a bit each of pickled pigs feet, smoked herring, vienna sausage, and liver. No thank you. It was quite entertaining watching most everyone else do it though. I was very impressed with everyone who did it- esp Ky with the crickets because she was FREAKED out, but did it anyway. It was a fun night.

For Jake's Eagle project, he's been collecting bicycles over the past few months to donate to some Burmese refugees here in Logan who have no form of transportation besides the bus. He's rounded up over 60 bikes! He had some friends, leaders, and all of us help him two different times to get them cleaned, oiled, and tires repaired and, for about 15 others, a lot more than that. It's been a great project, and he's done a terrific job of taking the lead and doing what he's needed to to make it happen. Mike has also spent hours helping and encouraging him. Tomorrow is the day we deliver them to the apartments where most of the people live. I can't wait!

I LOVE MY NEW LIVING ROOM! It's been so nice to have some new, nice couches and to totally change the look of the room. If ever you're looking for furniture in Cache Valley, may I recommend Ashley Furniture? They have great prices if you pick up the furniture yourself instead of having it delivered.

I'm still waiting patiently for spring to arrive and stay around for more than a couple of days. I really don't mind the rain, because it makes everything so green, and I know before long we'll be sweating it in 90 degree weather. It will be nice to wash my car and know it will stay clean for more than two days, to leave the house w/o a jacket, and to sit outside and feel the warm sun on my face.

And finally, Jessica has started a blog! Check it out at jessicanjensen.blogspot.com

The Best day of the Year!

2010-05-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

My favorite day of the year has come and gone, and as always, it was the best! The top 5 reasons why I love Mothers Day so much: #1. I don't lift a finger all day. I'm waited on hand and foot- no cooking or dishes! #2. If there gets to be the beginnings of anything I don't love (fighting, knuckle cracking- or any other annoying repetitive noise) all I have to say is "it's mothers day" and it immediately stops. #3. My kids and Mike (and even Freda and Mom) all write me the sweetest, kindest, most loving cards and tell me why they love me. #4. Gifts! I always get spoiled by Mike and the kids, and by Freda, and lately my mom! It's great. #5. I feel like a queen all day long and I love it!

Here we are having our first cookout of the year, and actually being able to spend the afternoon outside enjoying the WARMTH. It's been in short supply this spring (it was great to have Jessica's boyfriend Brad join in the festivities).

The only thing missing this year (and this was a BIG miss) was having Kylee and Brody with us. Talking to them on SKYPE was the next best thing. . . and also knowing I'd be seeing them in three short days!

We had a great, competitive game of croquet with it coming down to me and Brad in a shoot out with me being the loser. He didn't take my pleading that it was mothers day seriously enough!

Thanks family for making my day so wonderful! I love you all so much.

This and That

2010-05-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Jessica took a country swing dance this past semester at USU and enjoyed going country dancing most Monday and Wednesday nights at the fun park. Here she is with her friend Jason showing off her moves.

Jakes last lacrosse game was today. It was played on the football field at LHS. Too bad it was raining and freezing cold for the spectators. . .

The other day I was at Lee's Marketplace and saw this Lee's plumbing truck park in front of the store so I just had to take a picture of the three Lee's. haha

And finally, what you've all been waiting for. . . pictures of Jessica's newly decorated bedroom. It was so fun to put together with much help and suggestions from Lindsey. I really appreciate all her time and great ideas. I love how it turned out.

Tune in next time for pictures of my newly remodeled living room!

recap on last week

2010-04-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Beware: this post contains quite a few pictures. I can't remember how to do a collages on picasa, so you'll have to look at these pictures one by one. . .

This past week has been a busy, productive one. After 14 years, our trampoline mat finally wore out, so we had to buy a new one the next day since all the kids love it so much.

I have Cam's new room about done. I just need to get some curtains to go on the rod- with Freda's help. And that is to say- with Freda doing all the work. . . I love how his room turned out, and I especially loved that I didn't have to paint the room. It's nice that Cam has a lot more space now.

Last Saturday we had a garage sale here with the Skeens. It was a big success, with 10-30 people there straight from 7:30-9:30. We made $250 and the Skeens raked in $500. Sweet! I was so ready to get rid of the pile of "stuff" I'd been collecting for the past 6 weeks.

Salomon the dog came to hang out with us Sunday- Thursday. He kept us entertained with his funny ways. He's so like a toddler who just wants to be played with non-stop. When Emma came on Thursday, they made a great pair playing outside together for about an hour.

I feel such guilt when Sal looks at me with those sad eyes. He just wants to be played with! What also brings the guilt is when he goes outside and gets a ball and brings in inside and drops it at my feet. . .

Lydia loved playing with Sal through the window

She didn't love getting stuck under the table so much

Emma could tell Sal to do whatever she wanted to, and he usually did it. She even got him to try a piece of a leaf.

I don't think he fell for this bowl of sticks, leaves and mud however. . .

Sal LOVES to play catch with this ball. We all love to throw it because you use that little handle, then you don't have to touch the wet, slobbery ball!

Brad helping Jess fly. . .

And of course, Emma had to try too.

Friday night Mike and I drove to Bountiful with Tom and Freda to attend Jakes lacrosse game against Bountiful- the high school Derek Raymond plalys for. It was fun to meet up with Teresa and kids, and Brad and kids and watch the game and eat subway. We also all tried real hard not to freeze to death. It was fun for the cousins to play against each other, and funner for Jake in the end as Logan won by one point. Luckily, this morning watching Cam's two baseball games in Providence, the wind wasn't blowing, the sun was out, and it warmed up from 41 degrees when we started at 9:30, to 62 degrees when we finished at 1:45. We then, along with about 30 other family members, spent the next three hours at the Skeens listening to Andy tell about his mission to Mongolia. It was very interesting and educational. It's wonderful to see a returned missionary so in love with the country and people he served for two years. His parents went to pick him up and were able to tour around his mission for 10 days. Here's a pictures of a contortionist that they saw when then attended a production one night. Amazing! Her bum is resting on her head!

Yummy. . . for dinner we ate one of my favorite dishes- hawaiian haystacks.

Who is Cam texting???

This gym in the Skeens basement is da bomb!

All 7 siblings and Mom together! That doesn't happen very often. I think the last time it did was at Mom's 80th birthday celebration in '06.

Next post I promise pictures of Jessica's new room!

Redecoration, Easter, Spring break

2010-04-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

So, lots has been happening the past few weeks. Cam thought it was time for him to have a bedroom and bathroom downstairs with Jake, so for the 3rd time in 4 years, Jessica has changed rooms (she and Cam switched). In the summer of '06 when Kylee went to Alaska, Jess moved out of her room into the big room at the bottom of the stairs as the priviledge of the oldest in the family. She enjoyed that room for 2 years until she graduated and it was Jakes turn to have it. He decided he didn't want to change rooms, so we made the big bedroom the game room and Jess got moved back into her original room. Two years later, and she's being moved again, this time upstairs into Cam's old room. It is the smallest bedroom in the house, but as she's hardly ever home, and when she is, she isn't in her room, she went along with the plan very willingly. And a bonus- she gets a bathroom all to herself! So, for the past 2-3 weeks, we've all worked hard to get the rooms changed, and redecorated in the process- including a new look for the bathroom upstairs. The messiest job was stripping the wallpaper and boarder off in Cam's room. Luckily it only went from the ceiling 1/4 way down the wall. But still. Hopefully I won't have to do that again anytime soon. . . Neither room is totally done, so I'm offering a sneak peak of Jessica's- with more to come of her's and Cam's (and sorry the picts aren't in the right order. . . ). We enjoyed a visit from the Bundy girls this weekend. We all love having them around, and especially loved Lindsey's decorating expertise with Jessica's room. She was a huge help and I so appreciate her! Below is Cam's old room being transformed.

I'm loving the change in here! Before it was gold and navy.

A peek into Jessica's new bedroom.

My friend Janae and I took our two boys to SLC for two days during spring break. We all had a great time! We stopped at the Soloman Center in Ogden on the way down for the boys to ride the flowrider. The boys went to the comic book store while Janae and I chilled at the SLC public library (very cool place) then we all ate out at the Pie Pizzarea near the Uof U. We saw a couple shows at the Clark Planetarium, and spent quite a bit of time at the Gateway mall. It was a fun get-away.

We enjoyed a nice Easter dinner at the Weyerts along with most of the rest of Mike's family. As always, Freda prepared a feast that we all very much enjoyed. It was fun to see and visit with everyone- and as an added bonus, we all talked to Kylee and Brody on Skype. It was awesome!

Cam looking like there's no way he can decide what to eat- there's so many options!

Jessica W. made these adorable bunny cupcakes. So creative!

Sadly, tomorrow it's back to the ole school/work routine. The boys are pretty bummed. They've enjoyed a week of staying up late, hanging out with friends, and sleeping in a fort in the game room. Reality is a hard pill to swallow! Wish us luck :)

2010-04-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

On Friday after driving Mom to the airport in
SLC to fly back to AZ after her week in Utah, I stopped at the new Walmart in Providence to get a few things. I was totally amazed at all the people lined up to eat lunch at the nearby Rumbi Grill that had just opened that day. Who would do that? Is the food good enough to warrant an hour wait in the cold? I don't get it.

Recently I came across a book of mine I hadn't looked through for awhile. It's called "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy. Here are some of my favorite. They are soooo random.

*When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.

*If you're a cowboy, and you're dragging a guy behind your horse, I bet it would make you mad if you looked back and the guy was reading a magazine.

*If you go to a costume party at your boss's house, wouldn't you think a good costume would be to dress up like the boss's wife? Trust me, it's not.

*Most of the time it was probably real bad being stuck down in a dungeon. But some days, when there was a bad storm outside, you'd look out your little window and think, "Boy, I'm glad I'm not out in that."

*If you were an ancient barbarian, I bet a real embarrassing thing would be if you were sacking Rome and your cape got caught on something and you couldn't get it unhooked, and you had to ask another barbarian to unhook it for you.

*Instead of putting a quarter under a kid's pillow, how about a pine cone? That way, he learns that "wishing" isn't going to save our national forests.

*Somebody told me how frightening it was how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared.

*I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo!, I'd have all my money back.

Anyway- that's it for today. Sometimes they seem funnier than other times. I guess it's just my mood. Hope you enjoyed them!

Pranks

2010-04-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

This picture doesn't really go with this post, but this is the one picture I took on Sunday that I couldn't figure out how to find on my new computer when I did my last post. So here it is! Four of my nieces, two great-nieces, Jessica, and Jake with his dorky smile in the background.

I haven't downloaded the program I used to have that let me rearrange my photos once I've put them on the post, and I also can't figure out how to copy and paste my explanation of this post, so it's inbetween the pictures. I could do it on my old computer- and I'm sure anyone else in the house knows how and could tell me, but they're not around right now, and I want to post this and get to bed, so sorry- it's not perfect!

I've had such a fun day today. I've been thinking up different April Fools jokes I could do on the kids and Mike for awhile. It was shocking to wake up to Mother Nature's April fools joke on us however with 4-5 inches of new snow. It's always hard to take in the spring when all the winter snow has melted. Hopefully it will melt quickly. Last night I planted about 25 ping pong balls in the cupboard the boys get in every morning to get their paper route supplies. . . and they all came tumbling out as soon as Jake opened the door. Good one! I sewed together Cam's hat he wears on his route, as well as his snow pants. I put food in the toe of the boys boots. Jake had a great idea that I went along with (and felt bad about it all day!) involving his friend Corey. It was Jakes turn to drive to school, but I went to pick Corey up in the Pilot with Jake hiding behind the back seat. I told him that Jake was running late, so I was saving him a few minutes by coming to get him and taking him to our house. On the 2 block drive over, I told Corey that I thought he was a bad influence on Jake, that I could see negative changes in Jake that I attributed to Corey, so I didn't want them hanging out as much. Sad! It was hard to do w/o laughing, and even harder to keep up when I saw the look on his face. I can't believe I did it! After 15 seconds of awkward silence, Jake busted out of the back laughing his head off. Corey was very relieved, and hopefully he will still like coming over to our house! I went to the high school later this morning to move Jake's car in a different parking spot, and fill the front seats with about 50 balloons. Lastly, I shoveled all the snow on the driveway onto the side where Jake would have to drive to park his car in the garage. Seems like most of my pranks were targeted at Jake, and that's because he's the one who tries to fake me out most often with little stories, so I figured he deserved it. He was a good sport about everything. I'm already thinking about what I can do next year :)

2010-03-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great day Sunday traveling down to Orem to see my nephew Andy report his mission to Mongolia. I was so impressed with his testimony and strong love for the Mongolian people. What a great missionary! I took my camera and had plans to take lots of pictures to post, but sadly after taking only 1 picture, my battery died, and since giving my spare battery to Kylee in January, I haven't taken the time to buy a replacement one for me- and I'm having issues with my new computer and can't get it on at this time. I loved seeing and talking to many extended family members for several hours after church at the Romneys. On our way home, we stopped by the new Skeen residence in Paradise for a tasty dinner along with the Petersens, Mom and Janet. Having the Skeens living in the same valley as me is a dream I've had for the past 20 years, ever since they moved from Mesa when we were living there. I have loved helping them get settled and absolutely love their house. It is a touch of Paradise, which is fitting.

Out with the old,

There wasn't much painting that needed to be done, but I was there to help with what did.

And in with the new! I LOVE this house.

Happenings

2010-03-25T21:20:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to finally be able to do some long awaited posts! We've had a nightmare of a time with our computer- it's a long story and I won't bore you with the details- but after weeks of our old computer having one virus after another and finally dying, and then getting and figuring out a new computer, monitor and printer, I'm finally set loose to upload pictures and get some posts going. Tonight I'm only taking time for a few pictures, but in the coming week, I have several more over-due posts to do.

Cam celebrated turning 14 a week ago today. We always enjoy celebrating with the Weyerts as Grandpa Tom's birthday is on the same day. We had gone there for dinner with the whole extended family a few days before, then on Cam's actual birthday, he enjoyed having me do his paper route, then make his choice for breakfast (german pancakes, hash browns, scrambled eggs, sausage, and toaster strudels). I picked him up for lunch and took him to Panda Express, then that night, Mike and I took him out to Hamiltons. Tom and Freda joined us after that for presents, cake, and a card game. It was a fun day.

Kylee and Brody are doing great in Europe. They've been there 2 weeks, and I've loved talking to them every few days on Skype. What a great invention! It's so fun to see them and hear in person what they're up to. This weekend they're taking the train to Germany, then next week they're flying to London. Check out her blog on my sidebar if you haven't already. She's doing a great job of documenting their awesome adventure. We miss them, but are so excited for this great opportunity they have. I love this picture I took of them the night before they left.

This year I found these cool $4 St. Patricks Day shirts at Walmart. The kids enjoyed wearing them, and hopefully will get another years use out of them.

The day before turning 14, Cam got his braces off (after wearing them for 22 months). He was so excited, and thought it would be fun not to tell anyone and see how quickly people noticed. Jake and Jess noticed right away, but Mike hadn't after several days (and I was sure he wouldn't for a long time) so Cam finally told him. He got his retainers today which he has to wear day and night for three months, and he's not happy about that. Hopefully he'll get used to them and not complain about them every 5 minutes like he has today :)

Doesn't he look so much older suddenly? I hate it.

Goodbye Kylee and Brody

2010-03-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

We were happy we got to see Kylee and Brody for almost a whole 24 hours when they drove to Utah to drop Salomon off to be taken care of by Brody's mom (mostly) and us while they're in Europe for 2 months. The Bundy's came for the evening, and we enjoyed a yummy meal of Mexican haystacks (my new favorite), lots of visiting, and a fun game of sardines. Two and a half hours after we all went to bed, Brody, Kylee and I were up to head off to SLC to the airport. Unfortunately for Kylee, she was feeling sick, and I had to pull over three times for her to take care of business off the side of the road. Sad! That's not the way you want to feel when you have an 18 hour travel day ahead of you. Happily, after a wonderful blessing from Brody as we arrived at the airport, she started feeling better and was able to enjoy the journey. Ironically, Brody started feeling sick just as she started feeling better, and had to make haste to the bathroom a couple times on the plane from SLC to Minneapolis. That just adds to the fun of the adventure, right? I was so happy to hear from them when they arrived safely in Prague.

Here's the two cute Bundy girls just happy to be here.

The boys love to play this game with Sal. I call it tormenting him, but it is pretty funny to watch. They get out their red lazer light and flash it around the room causing him to run wild in circles trying to catch it.

Whenever we're all 7 together and Lindsey is closeby with her camera, I love her to take some family pictures. You can never have enough of them, right? (even though most in my family would disagree. . .)

Here's the cute couple on the curb at the airport. Does Kylee look more apprehensive, excited or just sick and tired? It's hard to tell. I'm sure she was feeling all those things. I've been able to talk to her (through their computer) several times since they arrived on Friday, and it's been great to hear what they've been doing. Today they enjoyed attending the branch in Prague and hearing a talk from the daughter-in-law of one of my friends in our ward here. Her son and family live there. Small world! We miss and love you Ky and Brody, and think of you often.

Valentines Day

2010-02-15T21:38:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful surprise from Mike a few days ago. My first delivered flowers of our marriage (Mike is too practical to think the delivery charge is worth it) and they're so beautiful. Glenn Beck gave him the idea to use pro flowers, and I'm grateful. I've really enjoyed them.
Instead of decorating the kids room with hearts hanging from their ceiling, and taped to their door and treats strewn across their bed, this year I took the easy way out and just sent them on a treasure hunt throughout the house (going up and down the stairs about 8 times) to find their Valentines treats. They had fun, but asked why I didn't do the hearts in their rooms. Old traditions are hard to replace!

This had been the view from our driveway for most of the winter, it seems. It gets old. Real old.

It's a happy day when this is what I see when looking towards the mountains. It just makes my whole day brighter.

Arizona trip

2010-02-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

I had an awesome weekend trip to the land of the sun. I absolutely loved being around family and friends while soaking up some sunshine and enjoying the blue sky. It really rejuvenated me! I think I can survive the rest of the Cache Valley winter now! I loved staying with Ann and Trace one last time as they've sold their winter home in Mesa. It was great seeing Mom and David, Paul and DeNae, and my great friends Lorene and Kristie and their families.

I enjoyed helping Lorene celebrate turning 50 earlier in the week by going to our favorite restaurant for breakfast- the Farmhouse. Love that place! We then shopped a little, and went to the movie Leap Year. That afternoon, Kylee and Brody came to spend the rest of the weekend with me and the Skeens in Mesa. That evening, we grabbed some KFC and went on a beautiful dessert hike. We ate our dinner around a campfire while watching the full moon rise over the superstition mountains, and hearing a pack of coyotes howling. It was pretty exciting. We played "hearts" back at the Skeens winter quarters, then went hot tubbing.

On Saturday, I enjoyed an early morning walk with Kristie, talking non-stop, then we all, plus Paul biked either to or from Saguaro Lake (Paul and Trace went both ways). It was so beautiful! I loved it so much. We enjoyed a tasty lunch at a restaurant on the lake. So much fun!

Kylee, Brody and I then met up with Mom at her trailer park to go shuffleboarding. We're big fans of the sport ever since our cruise last year. Mom and I had a thrilling come from behind win (I think this is the only game of the whole weekend that Brody didn't win. . . that boy is either so lucky, or ridiciously good at every thing he tries). Ann helped Ky and I make a cute Valentine craft, we went out to eat with Mom and David, then played another fun card game. Trace planned a really fun WalMart scavenger hunt that Ann, Ky, Brody and I had fun doing. Ann and I only lost by one point.

I loved spending time with my two wonderful friends whom I miss so much. They have enriched my life for the past 20 years, and I'm so grateful for their love and influence in my life. They're the best.

It was great to be home, and see Mike and the kids, and I have to say I even thought this scene through Sardine Canyon was beautiful! Afterall, there's no place like home!

This and That

2010-01-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent happenings at the Jensen household. . . A week ago today, the inversion FINALLY lifted on Cache Valley, and this is the sight we were treated to! Awesome! I loved the beauty of the frosted trees and plants. It was almost worth the weeks and weeks of not seeing the sun. Almost.
I got a short cut and color this week from Stacie. She always does an awesome job. I was ready for a change, and she did exactly what I told her to do, but I don't think I love it this short. Thoughts, feelings anyone???

Below this picture (I can't separate them for some reason) is proof that the dreaded day has come. When one of my children are the same height as me. Does this mean Jake and I should start seeing eye-to-eye on more things? Haha- It's crazy that I don't look down on him anymore!

We had a great time having the Bundys come to stay last weekend. Ryan spent Monday in Logan working, and was doing some work on his little work laptop when he got back here. I thought it was cute so had to take a picture. Also one of his short hair which is a result of his crazy 80's hairstyle he did for our New Years Eve party.

Whenever they come, Lindsey always volunteers to make us dinner. She still does it, even though she's learned that I always let her! We always love eating her yummy concoctions.
It cracks me up that Lydia is big enough now to sit up and be fed a cracker! What a big girl. As always, Emma is great to play with herself and her "friends."

Cam, Linny, Emma and I enjoyed going to first dam to feed the ducks three loaves of bread. Those were some hungry ducks! We had almost every duck on the dam huddled around our pier by the time we were done. I loved it. It was a fun way to pretend it's not the middle of winter still.

Slammin 80's photos, and snowshoeing

2010-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

I had to show these hilarious up-close photos from our New Years Eve party. Dressing up from the 80's was so much fun. We awarded prizes for the winners (everyone voted) and Cody (with the mullet) got first, Bundy (in pink with z shaped beard) got 2nd, and Kylee and Jessica tied for third. It was fun to see what everyone came up with.

This morning I went on my first snowshoeing adventure since Ricks college. It was so much fun, and great to be out in the beauty of nature. I went with my friends Nan and Janae, and we hiked for several hours on Blind Hollow trail near Temple Fork in Logan Canyon. It was so great to leave the gloom and doom of Logan (otherwise known as the inversion that never ends) and see the blue skies and sunshine! It was so beautiful. I had a great time, and think I may have to invest in a pair of snowshoes of my own.

Christmas/New Years festivities

2010-01-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know how we're all going to go back to life as usual tomorrow after all the fun times we've had the past two weeks. It's going to be tough. No one is looking forward to it. Kylee, Brody and Sal left last night to drive back to Arizona through the night. It was sad seeing them go. I am so happy they were able to be here for two weeks and enjoy all the fun time we had together. Here are some collage highlights:

I love decorating for Christmas and love seeing reminders of the reason for the season all around me. It really helps me get into the spirit of Christmas to see decorations, lights, and to hear wonderful Christmas music.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Evening at the Weyerts. We enjoyed an incredible meal Christmas Eve, several fun games, then more fun Christmas evening. It was fun to be with the Nelsons and Teresa and her boyfriend Brad-and of course Tom and Freda.

Christmas morning and afternoon were spent opening presents with just the five of us, eating a tasty breakfast, and playing "ticket to ride" a fun game given to me and Mike by Jessica. Ky and Brody joined us about 2:30, and we enjoyed opening gifts with them, then going to the Weyerts for presents, leftovers, and several fun games.

We had a lot of laughs over the week Kylee and Brody stayed with us, and enjoyed having Madi and Makayla over for dinner one evening, and the Bundys for several days after New Years.

We had a blast on New Years Eve with the Hatchs, Bundys, Caspersons and Petersens. We ate a yummy meal (if I don't say so myself. . .) did a fun picture scavenger hunt, played some 80's trivia games, and several other fun games. Lindsey had the great idea to have an 80's theme, and everyone enjoyed dressing up- esp Cody as he won the grand prize for the best outfit. I'll post better pictures of everyone later when Lindsey had edited them. Notice the awesome, creative cake Lindsey made. I'm so glad everyone could come and enjoy being together.

The best part about the Holidays, besides celebrating the birth of the Savior, is spending time together with loved ones. I'm so happy Ky and Brody were here to enjoy everything with us. It was wonderful to be with so many extended family members on both sides.

Great surprise

2009-12-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas came early today when Kylee and Brody surprised us by coming home for Christmas 5 days earlier than anticipated! Me, Mike, Jess, Jake and Cam had been on a mini-family reunion overnighter with Ann, Carol and their families at Sherwood Hills in Sardine Canyon. We all had a great time, and we loved being together and enjoying good food, company and fun and entertaining games. When we got home today (with the Bundy's along who came to spend the rest of the day with us- or so we thought- turns out they were in on the surprise so wanted to come and see the Hatch's and our reaction) Kylee and Brody were in the house waiting for us. We were expecting the house to look like we left it the night before even though we knew our friends doing the boys paper routes for us would have been in the house that morning folding and preparing the papers- but the house wasn't as we left it- several lights were on, there was music playing, a candle was lit, and several nutcrackers were sitting in the middle of the living room floor. We all stood in the entry of the house puzzling over who would have done that--- was it our friends playing a joke on us after they'd done the route? Just then Kylee comes running down the hall yelling surprise! It was so unexpected and fun, that of course I was a bit verclempt and totally speechless! It was so exciting, and now it feels like Christmas is truly here.

The most wonderful time of the year

2009-12-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Christmas time! Even though beginning right after Thanksgiving, I'm unable to sleep in past 4-5:00 because of the business and anticipation, I wouldn't change a thing. It's so fun deciding on, and shopping for the kids. It's fulfilling to do things for others. It's so festive to look at Christmas lights and the decorations in our home. It's great to spend more time with family and just relax and enjoy the season. And, it's great to watch snow falling outside and appreciate the beauty of nature. It snowed most of the day yesterday and the temperature was a balmy 33 degrees (after a week of below zero, it felt like spring) so Mike and I went on a lovely 2 mile walk last night. It was so fun to wade through snow- as most people hadn't shoveled the 6-8" yet. Then this morning, I helped the boys with their routes (why not, I'm awake anyway. . .) and again was struck by the beauty of the season. If you don't live in a climate where you enjoy snow, I'm sad for you. At least for the month of December (after that you can be sad for me) when it's such a fitting scene for the Christmas season. To those of you who are used to snow in winter and don't have it now and are missing it greatly, don't worry- you'll be home soon-and we have lots waiting for you to enjoy :)

I wish I could say this is my new Christmas tree, but alas, it is my friend's Lorene. Isn't it divine?

Thanksgiving in Arizona

2009-12-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

We had the most amazingly fun trip to Glendale and Mesa for Thanksgiving this year. I'm so glad we were able to go and do so many fun things! The the best part about the trip was seeing Kylee and Brody after missing them for three long months. Ok, Ok, it was fun to see Sal the dog too. We were on the go the entire time for the three days we were there. Here are some of the highlights:

We did an awesome 3 mile hike Thanksgiving morning. The weather was divine, the scenery different than what I'm used to when hiking (but still pretty) and the company was the best.

The girls and I prepared a tasty Thanksgiving feast in an amazingly short amount of time while the boys watched "Up." It was great to have Mom join us for dinner and a fun card game she taught us. We enjoyed seeing Jord and Jake and their darling girls that evening for some pie and ice-cream in their lovely home.

We had fun playing rounds of Scum and Wyoming Rummy our two nights in Glendale.The girls and I had a great time going shopping on Black Friday for 4 hours. The boys had a great time sleeping in, then going to check out the Cardinal's stadium. I'm amazing that all the stuff I bought was able to fit in the car for the drive home. But when you have a seriously amazing packer and organizer like Jessica with you, it can be done!

It was a real treat on Friday to enjoy another delicious Thanksgiving dinner- this time at Mom and David's, joined by the Griffins and Robertsons. We had a nice time visiting, eating, enjoying the awesome weather, and playing shuffleboard.

What trip to Mesa would be complete without a trip to Rosa's Mexican Restaurant? The food is incredible, and the atmosphere (especially at Christmas with all their fun decorations) is so fun. We loved the matinee afterwards of "The Blind Side." True stories about football players? It doesn't get any better for our family!

We loved being able to stay for two nights at the Skeens Winter Quarters. I'm sad beyond words that they're selling it, and this will be the last time we'll all stay there.

We loved spending some time with the Hoffmans. It was so exciting watching BYU pull out a win against the Utes with them, then just as fun for the girls (me and Lorene) to be victorious against the boys in two matches of ROOK! Woo hoo! The boys have all sorts of excuses, but that's just what they are. Better luck next time guys. It was so cool to see the next generation getting into the game just like their parents. I'm so glad we were able to spend time with our great friends, and only wished we could have seen the Frost's this trip as well- but they were out of town for the holiday.

It was sad to say goodbye to the Hatch's on Sunday- and incidentally Brody's 25th birthday- but I'm happy knowing this goodbye is only for a month- then they'll be home for 10 days for Christmas.

Thanks to everyone for their hospitality and for all the fun times. We'll never forget Thanksgiving 2009!