You Make My Heart Happy

7 days until Thanksgiving and stupid teeth...

2011-11-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

Everyone is posting what they are thankful for on FB, the evil time consuming black hole of social gossip, which I am compelled to check at least once a day, sick I know. I have been thinking a lot about what I am grateful for. I feel like I am clouded with self doubt, frustrations that are totally beyond my control, lack of faith, gratitude and helplessness. I have been fighting this for over a year now, maybe going on two. It's not all the time, just sometimes and when it is "those sometimes" its frustrating, the rest of my life is happy, fun, beautiful and amazing. Neither "sometimes" would I trade for anything. I just need to learn to deal with my "ghosts" if you will. So back to the gratefulness... My list of things I am grateful for is so long I can't even begin to list it here on my little insignificant blog. SO....(I've used that word twice at the beginning of a sentence, not the greatest grammar, and I care? No.) I decided since it is a week before Thanksgiving, I would post, here, a list of things I am grateful for. Today, I am grateful for modern heath and dental care. My teeth like to get angry around holidays, the lady at the specialists office said she thinks it is because I get too stressed out, probably. I am grateful for the knowledge the Dr.s have to actually figure out what is wrong with my stupid teeth and get them fixed, and stop the pain. With no dental insurance this costs us an arm and a leg, which I feel completely guilty over. If I had my choice I would pull all my teeth and drink milk shakes for the rest of my life...but no, not gonna happen. Sorry, got side tracked. I am grateful for the ability, although it is very difficult, frustrating, maddening and so on, to pay for such procedures. I hate the stress and craze it puts on my hubby, but what can I do about it? It's not like I enjoy this myself. I am grateful for the friend I called crying to this morning who listened to everything I had to say, and lifted me up, as she always does. So, (yes, so again...) today that is what I am grateful for, among other things. Happy week before Thanksgiving.

July 4th & 24th 2011

2011-10-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the parade!

Stephannie and her kids

Parade...it was hot...

Star gazing! We found Saturn and could see the rings and moons! It was awesome!

Mor Mor & Shey watching the fireworks

Oh...still in love....

and a little more crazy...

My Beautiful Sister and her husband Rob

Don't you just wonder what he is thinking....?

She already looks like a teenager....ahhh!

We enjoyed our 4th and 24th this year! We went to the usual parade, got way too much candy-well, I thought it was too much, the kids were in heaven! We loved the fireworks this year since we could buy the "big ones" the kids called them. They were a "blast" hehehe! We had a BBQ, and celebrated our babies 3rd birthday-what a great 24th! We ended the night watching the stars-

Fuzzies, Dazies, Crazies, and Doritos

2011-09-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Obsession 1. The state of being obsessed with someone or

something

2. An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or

intrudes on a person's mind

I'm obsessed with some things. My husband, my kids, doing

laundry, keeping my house clean, spiders, being fatter than

I would like, food, smells, reading, hot weather (I don't like being hot),

bottling , chocolate, my kids practicing piano (this is true even though Erin, my dear friend and kids piano teacher, may not believe me...). There are others but this gives you a good idea of some of the things I am obsessed about. I am a distracted or intruded upon person and I think I am distracted because of my obsession with so many things...there isn't much room left in my blonde brain for anything else, and, yes, I'm proud to be a natural blonde.

"Bonito Dorito" "Stupid mosquitoes like me doritos" Random to put in my blog about obsessions, you say? I disagree. I am simply making a very valid point. I am NOT as obsessed about all the things I have to obsess about as the man I sat next to at the REAL game, he likes Doritos, I think he may even have a love thing going on there. Every thing he yelled, and he yelled a lot was about Doritos. Now, I don't go around yelling, "clean your room, chocolate!" so I think MAYBE I'm okay...at least compared to Dorito Man. I hate to even say this because it still makes me throw-up a little...he even smelled like Doritos...blah.... Other than the fact that he smelled wrong, and had his love obsession with Doritos, I considered him quite a creative person, he was able to work the word “Dorito” into EVERYTHING he said, and I am really NOT kidding. That is something I couldn't have done. Way to go Dorito Man!

So, more about this Salt Lake REAL game. Doug got Maren

4 tickets to this game for her Birthday! We were right down

in the front in the middle of the field, awesome seats! Doug,

Maren, her little friend B and I all went to the game

Wednesday night. It was a new experience...

It was a record breaking night. Rio Tinto seats 20,000 people, and there were more than 20,000 people at the game, they announced the exact number but I was distracted by Dorito Man. It was packed, like crazy packed. I like the Bees games, they aren't as nuts, this was nuts. We went the wrong way around the stadium to our seats, following the lava like flow of people pushing their way through. I think people forget that they aren't the only one in the world. We got to our section, got the girls huge snow cones and made our way down.

Doug went in first, we had our strategic plan all made out, the girls would be in between us, as to avoid werdies near our girls, like this was even possible to avoid.... He sat by Screaming Boy (I say Boy, obviously, he was not yet a man-though he thought himself to be), I sat next to Dorito Man. People like to scream. Not yell, scream, at soccer games. That I figured out in the first 2 minutes. It's all good to get into the game, but really....?

The game had started. The REAL team did something. The man in yellow, kind of like a hornet, blew his authoritative whistle. Everyone stopped, looked, then started chanting "Bull Shit" yes, you read it correct. Over and Over and Over and Over. Now, I would have laughed if it were just Doug and I, (well I did a little, in total shock) but no, we have two innocent 8 year olds sitting there saying "what are they saying?" This was in the first 5 minutes of the game...what had we done?

Then the bugs started falling....yes, well maybe suicide diving at people. The boy and his dad in front of us were attacked a few times, maybe they were aiming for Dorito Man. A huge, not friendly bug landed on the boy, I swatted it away. He turned and looked at me like I had just hit him with a hammer. I explained that I was swatting a bug, he still stared at me with that 10ish year old, "why are you talking to me?" stare. A minute later we saw the bug on the chair next to him on it's back spinning as if it were trying to win a race but going nowhere. I told him, "there is the bug that fell on you." Again, 10ish year old, "why are you talking to me?" stare. Oh well. I tried. Then the other bugs started falling. This bug must have been the leader, or the idiot that got pushed out first. They would dive-bomb at someone, then flip on their back and spin around like this was their purpose in life. I don't like bugs. Dorito Man tried to catch them a few times. I wonder if he had caught one..."I caught a bug-hetio Dorito!"

There was also Dandruff Man. A quiet man, in a dark shirt. Shouldn't have worn a dark shirt. I have never seen dandruff like this before. He needed help. It was as if it had snowed, just on him. Throw-up a little again...icky.

Yelling Boy, I would say was the loudest in the crowd. He liked to yell. Yelling doesn't make anything more possible. I wanted to tell Yelling Boy this. No matter how loud he yelled, no matter how red in the face he got, no matter how he flung his hands in the air...it wasn't going to help REAL win this game. And a point that many needed to consider, yelling at the ref from their seats was in vain, he can't hear them, and even if he could, he doesn't care. However, sometimes I like to yell...it does seem to release internal pressure. I would assume their internal pressure was much greater than mine. Especially Yelling Boy's. Dorito Man liked to yell too. He even danced a bit. Really, everyone liked to yell. Except Dandruff Man, I don't think he said a word.

There were the "chic’s" that thought they were the hottest thing since rice pudding in individual containers-and that is hot, they weren't. They liked to swing their beer around, you know that makes anyone look hotter....not. My girl made the brilliant observation, "those girls aren't being smart. They are drinking beer and aren't modest." That’s our girl!

It really was the worst refereed game I have ever seen. We think he was paid off to make them lose. Morales came back-much cheering. I think even the back-spinning bugs liked that. REAL didn't win. It was sad. An interesting experience. But fun. It took us about 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot.

A perfect description of our Wednesday night, In the wise words of Dr. Seuss "When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle bottle paddle battle..." may I add my own words to this, " when you like dorito dancing crazies and dandruff covered fuzzies, yelling, screaming boyzies, and beer drinking dazies, swearing, chanting fanzies suicide, spinning buggzies...go to a REAL game."

Oh, and don't forget the man who ran out and made it to the ref after the game-rock on drunk man!

아주 좋은 (Good Job)

2011-09-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

Our boy earned another belt up in his Taekwando! We really are so proud of him. He is now a brown belt! Only 8 or belts left and he will be a black belt!

A day out!

2011-07-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

We decided to take an afternoon and just hang out! It was great. Picnic, laughing, playing. A perfect, beautiful day together as a family. I'm so grateful my little family can be together forever!

What always runs, but never gets tired?

2011-07-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

A river!

Since there has been so much talk about the flooding and crazy rivers, we went on a nice little drive to Weber Canyon and Farmington Canyon. Farmington Canyon was closed, landslides, but we got to watch the river up the Weber Canyon! Let the pictures do the talking.

Up Farmington Canyon

Farmington Canyon

A little hike!

Weber Canyon, had to have a hike in our flip flops!

Emily and Matthew made it almost all the way up!

Waterfall

Kids and me by waterfall

Weber Canyon

The water was high, so loud and fast. It was beautiful!

Fun in the sun!

2011-07-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Spinning, beautiful bubbles!

Crazy Girl!

Maren and Bekah, her best friend, caught a bunch of potato bugs! They kept saying that there were pregnant potato bugs and one was having a baby right then! Katie went running outside "We are having babies right now!" Two neighbors asked if everything was okay, no I'm not prego, just chubby. Katie said, they are pregnant and having babies, Matthew walked in, blushed a bright red and said "you don't even want to know how that happens." and walked out!

That's our girl!

Sweet baby girl!

I love my hubby, he is the best daddy! He has to be, with 4 little girls!

Nap Time!

Swing batter, swing!

2011-07-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

This year was Matthew's first attempt at baseball. He suddenly had the desire to be an all star player! Go figure! So we put him in baseball, of course, being the amazing parents we are...hahahaha! It was a fun season!

The Royals

Crash!

Our Boy!

Run!

We also had tickets to see several Bee's games this year. We took each of the kids to have a Mom and Dad night out, it was so fun! I got pictures of the other kids too, but had some kind of camera error and lost lots of pictures :( Here are the one's we saved!

Bumbled signed her Pooh Bear! She was so excited!

Blue cotton candy smile!

Cotton candy smile!

Love these girls!

Duck, Duck, Goose...nope, still a duck! (catch-up #9)

2011-07-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning...I got up early to clean the house. We had had a party Saturday night and I was too tired to get things put away. I had cleaned it all, I know, not the best activity for Sunday, but it had to be done. I got everyone else up, Doug got ready and went to his meetings. The kids all showered and were ready to go. I got myself ready. It was a bit of a rainy cool morning. Just the mornings I love. Doug got home in time to pick us up for church. Somewhere in between us leaving and me brushing my hair, everyone ended up outside yelling for me to hurry and "come see." I hurried. Matthew had come in the house a few minutes earlier and told Doug there were ducks in the back yard. Doug didn't think it was actually ducks, sure enough, it was. Momma Duck, which our 2 year old lovingly named Duck Duck, and her 6 beautiful new baby ducks.

Duck Duck and her 6 babies!

He says he hates animals...bu the gave the ducks water . They were very thirsty, it was so cute!

We spend the next 3 hours outside keeping the nasty neighborhood cats away from these sweet little ducklings. We called animal control to see what they would suggest, a couple hours later a lady from animal control came and we got to capture the ducks. We each got to hold and pet a baby duck. They are fast little things! She said she was taking them to Farmington Pond, so we would know where to go and visit them that afternoon.

After all of the Ducky excitement we remembered we were watching the Bishops dog, Mac. He and his family were out of town. We love Mac and were feeling pretty bad he hand't been let out yet. Doug and I were getting things ready to actually go to the end of church when the kids came running in after letting Mac out...they had locked themselves out of the Bishops house, and Mac hadn't gone out yet. Doug went to investigate, yup, we were locked out. So a few minutes later Doug and I went back to the Bishops house and broke into their house. It's nice to have a husband who can break in when necessary! Poor Mac, he was very excited to get out. By the time we got back home we had missed church but decided that Heavenly Father loved each of these little ducks too, and we were so lucky to get to watch them and have them in our yard, and of course he loves Mac the dog.

We found Duck Duck and her babies at Farmington pond! Very happy and swimming around! The geese were hungry too....

So, to sum up the day. I cleaned on the day of rest, we missed church for some ducks, and broke into the bishops house....rebels without a cause, well a good cause, 7 little ducks and a dog named Mac. So to any neighbors who saw us standing in the rain, looking at the ground instead of going to church that morning, that is what we were doing, duck-sitting!

(Later we heard that Duck Duck had made a nest in a neighbors yard, once her babies hatched she started their journey to water. If they hadn't stopped to visit us, they wouldn't have made it.)

A ducky update, a week later, Duck Duck and her babies are still swimming happily at Farmington pond. Anyone local, if you see those little ducks at the pond, now you know their story and how they got to be where they are!

Activity Days! (catch-up #8)

2011-07-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know if my calling is the Activity Day or Achievement Day leader, not that it matters. I get the opportunity twice a month to meet with the 8-11 year old girls in our neighborhood. Help them reach goals, learn new skills, have fun and laugh. It's a great calling! I just love these girls, most of the time :) They really are wonderful, I think I learn more from them then they do for me. During the summer we have one big activity, the sweet lady who was my partner in crime was just released due to health problems, so I was on my own. Well, that isn't true, they called another sweet sister to help me out, just the week or so before our big event. So, I was still kind of on my own. Anyway, this year the girls wanted to do a kids carnival! So we planned it, made the fliers, I bought everything for it, under $60, thank you very much, and got all set up. It was a blast, we invited every kid 7 and younger to come and enjoy. They had booths, activities and treats! It turned out amazing! So proud of the girls for their hard work!

Happy Summer!

I love this Man! (catch-up #7)

2011-07-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Caught him sleeping...oh fer cutes! Gotta love the pink blanky he is snuggled up in!

He's not perfect, neither am I. But together we make a great pair. I have given him my whole heart and soul, I do it again each day, in return he has given me his. I'm so proud of him and who he is, what he does for me, and for our kids. There is no one else in this world I would want to spend each day with, my life on earth and our eternity with. He is my hero!

Eye

The point of this blog isn't to confess my love to Doug, he already knows it. And much to the dismay of those who really know me, know it too! Oh, the things you all have to put up with. No, it is to congratulate Doug for getting into the MBA program, he is now a Colorado State Ram! Or something like that.

He decided he wanted to go back, the U is so expensive, and he has to work and support a family, working full time and in his own business. He found out about Colorado Sate through an old co-worker, who just graduated with her MBA. It is less money than the U, and he can do it all online. It isn't a distance degree either, it's a full MBA, which is just perfect for us now. We will only go to Colorado once, when he graduates! So here is to another 2 years of being a "single" mom, and two ships passing in the night. I love you Doug, and support you 1000%! It will be good! I should get some kind of honorary degree, don't you think? :)

From Green to Blue! (catch-up #6)

2011-07-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Great Job Matthew!! We are so Proud of you!

High-Five from Master Kim!

Awarded his new belt

The honor!

Old toilet today, new toilet tomorrow...(catch-up #5)

2011-07-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever do one of those things that you wish you didn't do? I do, all the time. Our bathroom down stairs had a problem, it would keep filling. So because of this little problem, it was very normal for me to lift the lid to put down the stopper and let the tank fill. On this day, picture this: we woke up late, very late. No lunches were made, were almost late for school so I was going to drive the kids, phone kept ringing, I had extra kids over that morning and of course the toilet kept running. I made my way over to lift the lid and make it stop...well, it slipped. The lid slipped. Into the tank. Broke it. Really broke it. Water everywhere. Kids screaming, me screaming. Awesome. I stood there and held the little thingy up to stop the water from running all over the floor, already standing in a good inch or so. Yelled for someone to bring me a phone to call Doug. I called Doug. Explained to him what was going on. It got quiet. Then he just busted up laughing at me. I wasn't laughing yet. He left work and spent the rest of the day fixing my one little slip up. It also happens to be that this old toilet wasn't a standard toilet, it was only the 10 inch, meaning 10 inches away from the wall, so we couldn't get the standard 12 inch toilet, we had to spend $200 to get a 10 inch toilet. Of course. The one good thing that came out of this day was the fact that Doug giggled and laughed at what I had done all day. I love this man!

The hole.

Doug instead on a picture of me with the toiled I broke. Thanks dear.

Doug trying not to laugh at me.

Keep smiling...

New toilet

Look how nice it looks! And I cleaned that bathroom so good, it has never been so clean!

Katie and Becca holding the rest of the house up, just in case.

Last Days of School 2011... WOW!!! (catch-up #4 :)

2011-07-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

4th Grade....

The 4th graders did a program about Utah! It was so fun, great songs, funny! Loved it! It was fun to see Matthew show off all they have learned this year. He's not the singing dancing type, but that is what they did! It was great!

Yes, this is Matthew yawning! Typical boy! Well my boy!!

Dancing! They did the Virginia Wheel dance! It was great! Do girls still have cooties? If so , these boys have them now! Love it!

Matthew didn't want a picture with his teacher, you know, too old for that kind of stuff. He had a great year. Straight 3's. Wish they would go back to the A, B,C scale, less confusing for us oldies! What a great kid!

1st Grade.....

Maren finished 1st grade! Straight 3's of course! Learning more and more Chinese, it's really an amazing program. We love it, especially since she and Em can talk back and forth now. The 1st graders did a program, it was darling. Maren loves school, she is very social! Last year, the last day, her whole class was crying, sobbing. This year it happened again. They were all crying, even the boys. It was hard not to laugh, because you know these kids are just so sweet and innocent. She has had the most amazing teachers both years, and has been so worried she won't see them again.

1st Grade Program...isn't she a cutie!

Mrs. Mullins! This woman deserves the teacher of the year award! She is the best teacher we have ever had!

Yao Lao Shi and Maren. It isn't easy learning a second language, but she sure loves her teachers!

Kindergarten.....

I can't believe our little Em is done with Kindergarten. She is such a great, sweet, fun little girl. She has just blossomed this year, and does so well, straight 3's too. I never have to ask her to get any school work done, she is just so smart.

Emily with Mrs. Christensen and Yao Lao Shi. Two amazing women! Their love for Emily and all the kids was amazing. They truly have put their heart and soul into these kids.

Preschool....

Last but not least! Katie graduated form Miss Kamile's Preschool!!! She has had two years with Miss Kamile. Nothing remarkable about that. Only about Miss Kamile! I can't say enough good and wonderful things about this woman. First of all, she has done this preschool for about 7 kids, for two years, for free. Never asking for anything from us. She has done the most amazing, creative things for these kids. It has been the highlight of Katie's last two years to spend that time with Miss Kamile. As I was getting this blog ready Katie said, "Oh, there's Miss Kamile! I love her. She is so kind. She loves me too. Mom, can Miss Kamile come live with us?" Now, I don't think Miss Kamile would want to live with us but the nice thing to know is that we can just walk up the street a few houses and go to visit any time we want! Katie will still have one more year of preschool, she is an October girl and misses the cut off for this year. She will be going to Miss Kellie's this year, and is so excited to start. I'm so grateful for these wonderful women who influence our children, and show so much love for them. What a sweet blessing!

Our little graduate!

I think here they were butterflies! This was their preschool program! It was wonderful!

Katie and two of her best friends! India and Saylor!

Miss Kamile's Class of 2011

Miss Kamile and Katie

We love you Miss Kamile!

Dilly Bars at the park on the last day of school!

Time for summer!!!!

Fun with cousins! (catch-up blog #3)

2011-07-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to have Sina and Luci stay a few days with us! We had lots of fun! What wonderful, sweet girls to have around. I had some sort of camera malfunction...lost lots of cute pictures of their week with us. These are what survived. This was Luci's first time at the Zoo!

Thanks Miss Erin! ( another catch up blog!)

2011-07-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul."

Maren and Matthew had their first piano recital . I wasn't able to go because of sick kids, but Doug went and said they did great, they were very nervous. Thanks to our amazing piano teacher and my friend Erin! If anyone needs an awesome teacher, she is the one!!!

Happy Birthmay!

2011-07-05T00:14:00.000-07:00

(I'm a few months behind in blogs...this is the first of many!)
My aunt, my husband and my son! May is a great month to be born in! It's so much fun to celebrate the lives of 3 of my favorite people!

May 3, 2011! Happy Birthday Shey!

May 19th! Happy 10th Birhday Matthew!

Matthew and Shey!

Matthew and MorMor!

Can't believe we have a 10 year old! 10 of the best years of my life. Love this kid!

May 27th! Happy Birthday Baby!

"The most constant thing is change." President Thomas S. Monson

2011-07-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was told by a friend that I haven't updated my blog in a while. It's kind of frustrating, I want to blog-I don't know why, I don't really think anyone reads it but I have this hope in the back of my mind that someday I will print it off and have a story book of our lives. Will that happen? I have no idea. I really don't have time to blog. When I do write a blog, I will save it and read it over and over, just to see if I really want to post it. Some I do, but not many. I think I will post this one.
I need to explain the title of this blog. I really wanted to name it something else, "Week from Hell" was a thought, something more along those lines (sorry for those who are offended by my choice of words, I don't take it back, and I would say it again) I had a few other ideas but they are even worse, so won't go there. I am trying to change my attitude about life, which isn't easy at times-especially when you are in a fuddle-but the reality is I need to just push away all the bad and count the many blessings we have received, which are many. Change makes us stronger. I am the Hulk.

Where to start on our little adventure. At the top, where else? Yes, a new roof. We don't have a big house, about 3,100 sq feet which makes the roof about 2,500 or so, with the carport and covered deck. No biggy, right? We began a few weeks ago getting bids for the roof, $11,000, or more was what we were coming back with. I don't know about you, but $11,000...um...no. Knowing we had to rip off the old, 2 layers of shingles, blah, blah, blah. We looked into it and found we could do it ourselves for half, or a little more than half, sounded great to us! We also realized that because of doing the new roof we would have to take off the swamp cooler. This meant a new a\c unit. Which because our heater was 25 years old, a new heater, since it couldn't support the a\c. Which meant a new water heater, since it had to come out and was put in in 1982 and wouldn't survive the moving out and in for the new heater. Doug has an amazing Dad and brothers and brother-in-law, who unbeknownst to them at the time, and us, volunteered to help us "do-it-ourselves." So here it begins.

Thursday 6am: Husband still stick. Removal of roof. Husband's feet blistered, burned through his shoes. Several trips to store. Trips to dump: 6 tons worth. Messy house. Very messy yard. Fed about 20 people dinner. Consumed lots of Pepsi. Bored kids. Gratefulness. Bed 1amish.

Friday 5am: Continued removal of roof. Husband has lost voice. Bleeding feet. Trips to dump. Trips to store. Got on roof, twice. Couldn't get down twice. Hate heights. Freaked out father-in-law and brother-in-laws going to fall to death and will be responsible for their families. People who said they would help didn't show. Very, Very behind schedule. Shingles delivered, not ready for shingles. Relieved aunt took kids swimming. Consumed even more Pepsi. Fed several people dinner. House messier. Yard disaster. Toothache. Guilt, frustration, gratefulness. Bed, wait, did we even go to bed?

Saturday 5am: Men back on roof. Lots of pounding. 4 year old getting sick. Trips to store. Totally broke. Have no money left for food. Toothache. Husband has no voice, still. Blisters scabbing over. People who said they would come didn't. People driving by "Wow...what are you doing?" Um...really? Is there a yard under all that mess? Lots of stepping on nails. Hope everyone has tetanus shots. House 92 degrees before 3pm. Messy house. Still behind with roof. I'm hot. I don't like being hot. Men on roof hotter. Shouldn't complain. Kids to Mom and Aunts. Grateful. Got on roof again. Couldn't get off again. Wish I wasn't hot. Went to dump with husband-highlight of day. Fed people dinner. Toothache. Beat personal record for consumed Pepsi. Massive guilt. Don't recall going to bed at all...skip to Sunday morning.

Sunday 11am: We woke up. Skipped church. Couldn't move. 10 year old getting sick. Husband can't walk on blistered feet, or talk. Heat stroke. We are pathetic. Father-in-law went to church. Guilt. No Pepsi. Massive headache from no Pepsi. Cried when realized we weren't done.

Monday 6am: Husband gone to work early. Father-in-law, and Brother-in-laws on roof. Nail gun, compressor, loud. Father-in-law on roof all day. Husband got home early to get on roof. He can walk now, kind of. Still no voice. Trips to store. More broke than before. Very hot house. Sick 10 year old and 4 year old. Toothache. Lost count oz. of Pepsi consumed. Still want more. Grateful sister-in-law brought taco meat for dinner. Fed lots of people. House out of control. House very hot. I hate being hot. Yard? I think it is lost. Still behind. Bed sometime before 5am Tuesday, but not much before. Humbled. Much prayer.

It's Hot. Very Hot.

Adorable nephew Eli

The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins!

Poor Kate. Not feeling well.

Becca and Eli

Tuesday 6am: Husband gone to work early. Father-in-law, and Brother-in-laws on roof. Guilt. Nail gun, compressor, loud. Father-in-law on roof all day. Guilt. Husband got home early to get on roof. Bored and sick kids. Very hot house. Very messy house. Husband's voice coming back. Wishing we could give up. Wishing I could run away. Sick and tired of stupid comments made by people driving by. Get out and help, or take a picture, but move on. More stepping on nails. Hit by shingles flying off roof. Fun. Personal crisis. Cried a lot. Continued crying. Cried some more. Can't figure out how to deal with it. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. Sure people are thinking I'm loosing my mind. Everyone being very nice to me. Guilt. Telling me they are almost done. A lie. Guilt. Not even what I'm crying about. Nice of them to care. Guilt. Wish we could burn house down and start over. Guilt. Grateful Mother-in-law made spaghetti dinner. Guilt. Fed several people. Bed 3am. Guilt. Frustration. Crying. Stupid.

Wednesday 6am: Husband stayed home from work. Wind blowing. Father-in-law, and Brother-in-laws on roof. Guilt. Nail gun, compressor, loud. Not as hot on roof. Still hot in house. Trips to store. Don't know how I'm paying for stuff from store. 10 year old feeling better. 4 year old coughing a lot. 2 year old getting sick. Husband has voice. Continued personal crisis. Not sure how to deal. Don't like acting like a 4 year old. Can't seem to get grip. House total disaster. Yard total, complete disaster. Shingles starting to look like roof. Husband has inspector, inspecting house across street ask for his card. He said he needed his roof done, and our roof was the best job he has ever seen. Husband laughed. They couldn't afford husband to do their roof. Husband felt good about quality of roof and effort. Smile. Severe storm warning. Pepsi. Lots of Pepsi. Wind blowing harder. Down pour. Cold. Nice relief. Roof wet. Not good. Husband and father-in-law stuck on roof in down pour. Massive wind. Me chasing debris down street in down pour and massive wind. I like the rain. Smile. Pepsi. Dance in rain. Husband laughed at me. Husband thinks it's cold. Crazy boy. Got hot again. Very humid. I don't like hot. Forgot what the word "sleep" meant.

Thursday 6am: Husband to work early. Forgot about 10 year old Scout camp at 7am. Call from Scout leaders. Woke 10 year old up, who went to bed about 2am, up. Got him ready and out door in 10 minutes. He was confused. Father-in-law on roof. Guilt. Brother-in-law here to rip out old water heater. Guilt. Old water heater has fan on it. Price went from $300 to over $1000. Will have to borrow money from Father-in-law. Massive guilt. Frustration. Broke. Heating and a\c guy here to install. No power no water. Complete loss of control over house. Grateful neighbor took girls to play. Had another mental break down. Nothing new. 4 year old coughing. Lots. 2 year old has red eyes, but acting okay. Yard now looks like a dumping ground. Don't care about house. 90 in house. I'm hot. Bought a Pepsi and ice cream. Guilt that I eat when I'm stressed. Guilt I spent $3 on Pepsi and ice cream. Thought more about personal crisis. Know I'm being selfish and unrealistic. Can't help it. Don't know how to solve problem. Cried. Ate ice cream. Cried again. Husband home to work on roof. 10 year old home from scout camp. Asked how it went, he said he didn't remember. He went and played video games. He is still confused. Girls home. Brother-in-law back to put in new water heater. Guilt. Grateful. Have to rip out wall in wash room to make room for new water heater. Cry. Husband hanging on by end of rope. Wish I wasn't a cause of his stress. Wish I was a strength and help to him. Brother-in-law fries freaky bug with blow torch. Gross, but funny. Wish I had a blow torch for bugs. Wall gone. Water heater in. House=internal tornado. 2am we have hot water. Guilt for taking brother-in-law from wife and kids. Helpless. Bed, forget it. Toothache. Prayer. Humbled, very humbled.

Friday 6am: Husband leaves early for work. Father-in-law on roof. Last nail in roof. Joy. Roof looks great. Grateful. Humbled. Husband gets home very early. Heating and a\c guy finishes. Cold air blowing in 83 degree house. Joy. Humbled. Cried. Helped husband load, old fridge, heater, water heater, swamp cooler onto trailer. Smash fingers. Several times. Ouch. Hot outside. I don't like being hot. Want to sit on cold air vent in house. A\C blowing for hours, trying to cool off house. A\C leaking. Husband upset. Cleaning up outside. Cleaning up inside. Still cleaning. Catching up on laundry. Massive amounts of laundry. Still hot. Cleaned until 9:30pm. Realized no one had eaten dinner. Went to store to get T.V. dinners. Yes, still broke. But very desperate for something fast. 10pm. Home, open box to make first dinner. Microwave doesn't work. Tried it in several plugs. Husband leaves to go buy new microwave. Frustration. Guilt. Sad. Prayer. Move microwave to dining room. Plug it in. It works. Caught husband before he bought new microwave. Made T.V. dinners on floor in dining room. Kids thought it was cool. Husband wonders if we blew a breaker in fuse box. Goes out side on deck to fuse box. Sparks and popping noise from breaker box. Not good. Stare at it for a while. Stare longer. Husband wonders what heating and a\c guy did when he rewired the a\c and heater units. Concern. 11pm. Call Brother-in-law. Poor man. Poor wife. Guilt. He comes at 12pm. Stare at box. He has concern that I will spray him with fire extinguisher. I promise to only squirt him if he is on fire. He doesn't believe me. Husband frustrated. I give up. Find broke little black box, fix it. Didn't have to squirt brother-in-law with fire extinguisher. He was relieved. Went to bed. I think.

Saturday 7am: Got bountiful basket. Yummy stuff. Like bountiful baskets. Had time to think about personal crisis, alone. Still not sure what to do. Sick of crying about it. Sick of being weak. 4 year old coughing. Whiny. 2 year old pink-eye. I can't keep my eyes open. 2 year old freaks out screaming. Eyes hurt. She won't open them for 6 hours. Slept a little, but kept crying about it. I start to really get worried. Call nurse hot line. They say to take her to ER. Freak out knowing we don't have insurance to do that. We are broke. Will do anything for kids. Talk to insurance people to find out best way to do this. 2 year old still freaking out. Lots of prayer. Husband takes truck and trailer to dump. Kids make house messy. Still can't keep eyes open. 2 year old wakes up. I got her to open here eyes. Prayer answered. Her eyes still hurt but getting better. Miracle happened. Husband falls at dump while unloading fridge, alone. Twists foot. Looks like deformed eggplant. Figure we are going to ER again. More prayer. Foot sore, but seems to be okay. Grateful. Humbled. Didn't have to go to ER. Want to hide in a dark hole for several days.

Blessings Counted:
We have a new roof. Should't have to put second layer of shingles on for 30 years. Learned lesson, will hire a company to do that next time. Relieved knowing we will never put a new roof on house again. We will be dead by the time it has to be ripped off again. That is joy.

Completely overwhelmed and humbled by the help of our family. Everyone just came together to get this done for us. They were always happy, smiling and willing to work themselves to the bone. They will never really know how much it meant to us to have this help. They will never really know how they touched our lives through this. Hope and pray they understand that we would and will do the same for them. Countless hours went into getting things done around here. Sacrificed time away from home, family, work. Money spent that we will probably never know about. Encouragement, hope and faith. There is no doubt in my mind that our Heavenly Father has been watching out over these men as they worked in and on our house. A million thanks to them, forever.

One of my favorite quotes is, "Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle." Thomas S. Monson. My husband, and our sweet, wonderful family have been a miracle. I know without a doubt that our Heavenly Father watches over us, he puts challenges in our way to strengthen us, build us up. Sometimes we don't understand the challenge, pray for strength, for courage and understanding. He will answer.

I don't know that this is all over, who knows what bugs are going to be worked out over the next few days. I do know that I have many blessings to count, many people to be grateful to and for.

I have also learned that if I take 2 aspirin and 2 ibuprofen every 4 hours my tooth is bearable. Will have to do this until November when we have dental again. Hope the stomach can handle it.

My life!

2011-05-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

This is an older picture, but it just captures the moment so well!

They are the dance I didn’t dance, they are the thin body I don’t have, they are the big house and fancy cars, they are my vacations to far away places. They, each one, so unique, so precious a gift from God, a priceless sacrifice. They represent the dreams I once had, only to become my fondest dreams, the hopes I let go, only to become my greatest desire. I have given myself to them, willingly, prayerfully. I will always be here to wipe away the tears, to tickle away the frown, I will always be here to hold them while they sleep, to love them unconditionally. I will be their friend, their support. I am put on this earth for them, that is my purpose, my dream, my hope. There is no greater blessing, then to be their Mother.

ZOOriffic Day - Elephants Away!

2011-05-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Schools around here have the tradition of taking the kindergarteners (my spell check doesn't like this word-much apologies to the more educated) to the Zoo. I have done it three times now. They look forward to this day all year long, just waiting with intense anticipation, "we get to ride the bus, go to the Zoo with our friends, WOW!" Highlight of their little 5-6 year old kindergarten experience. I have a, maybe irrational, fear of our children going to the Zoo without me, it's just too far and I just don't trust anyone else to watch them, have you seen how many wild unruly children there are running around there, and how many parents too busy talking on the phone to notice their children trying to squeeze through the bars to jump in the pond with the ducks? Well, I have. Actually saw a kid jump in with the ducks once. His mom didn't even notice...um...hello? Overprotective you say, um well, I carried them for 9 months inside my body, up to that point I have watched them grow, cared for them, loved them unconditionally, cleaned up their puke, poop, various other bodily fluids, kissed their boo-boos, held them while they slept, stared at wonderment at the gift I have have been given to be their Mother, for 6 years. So back off buddy, I'm not about to let them go and get ran over by the train, eaten by a tiger, or pooped on by a bird with out me being there to watch.

So the adventure began early morning at the school. The buses all lined up, the eager children waiting impatiently for their turn to get on the bus with raised voices of excitement and anticipation of all the fun they are about to have. We are taken in, we meaning us crazy parental volunteers, given our list of kids, name tags, wipes. Told to get our group together. I did as I was told. Having done this before, I kind of knew the drill, it chances a bit each year, but the concept is the same. I was given our daughter, and three other delightful little girls. I really mean that too-last year was a doosy, came away from that Zoo visit in quite the fuddle. This year I had well behaved, cuties. I was ready to go, so were they! We named ourselves the "Elephants". I went over safety, and my rules for walking around. Stuffed their lunch bags into my back pack, then we were off to find our seats on the bus.

I don't much like a school bus ride. It is bumpy and I feel totally out of control, and it's hot, way hot. It's also like being in a tin can with 100 very loud, high-pitched little voices, oh wait-it is a tin can with 100 very loud, high-pitched little voices. I loved seeing our little girl so happy and excited-love that girl!

We made it to the Zoo, so did about 20 other school buses! It was CrAzY! We got to sit in said hot tin can with 100 very loud, high-pitched little voices while we waited our turn to exit the bus. Once we got off the buss I called my little elephants together and we made a choo-choo train. I like making choo-choo trains, we are all hooked together, and it makes everyone responsible for someone else, works well for me. Another mother and I decided to go around together-2 is better than one!

There is a lot of construction going on at the Zoo, I guess they are putting in a whole new area, sounds fun to me! We got stuck in many dead ends but eventually found our way around to see all the animals.

Since our school is a Chinese Immersion School, this group is the second to go through learning Chinese! Our oldest daughter was the first group last year, so we have 2 Chinese speakers up and coming, two more to go! I love this program, it was amazing to hear the kids naming all the animals in Chinese and the different colors. We walked around and saw everything we could, played at the park-I even renewed our Zoo pass!

"The Elephants"

Where are the life jackets?

Watch Out! Don't get eaten by the dinosaurs! The Zoo is starting some prehistoric thing this year, there were dinos all over just waiting to be put in their final home! They liked this one the best!

The big python was gone-the girls were bummed.

This was her favorite!! She said it was the spider from Harry Potter-her favorite show!

The giraffe was entertaining today. He was licking the wall...huge long purple tongue! The kids that that was great!

What a fun day at the Zoo! It's so fun to go with our kids each kindergarten year! We all made it back to the school save and sound. Next year I have a break from kindergarten :) Then two in a row again! They are growing up way too fast!

EGG-strava-ganza!

2011-05-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

So...what do you think this post is about? Strawberries? Gatorade? Nope...EGGS! Colored eggs actually, well, the process of coloring the eggs, and finding them. You know...Easter Eggs! We had so much fun this year coloring our Easter eggs, how grateful I am we have a deck....egg dye can stain, just in case you wondered. My cousins adorable girls came and spent the night with us Friday before Easter. We just love these girls-I call them my nieces, so don't be confused. (When you don't have your own siblings, your cousins become your siblings, and I have the best cousins there could ever be!) Anywho...let the coloring-craze begin! Picture this, 7 kids (well, 6 kids- a 14 year old isn't really a kid-she was more like a super-amazing mommy helper-love you girl!) something like 24 cups full of different colored dye, a freezing cold day, and almost 7 dozen eggs. Recipie for disaster, or a silly, giggle filled morning! We had the latter! Let the pictures tell the story!

Then that crazy Easter Bunny hid some eggs in the yard Sunday morning....the following are events that took place after the hiding of the eggs...

Although Easter isn't about the Easter Bunny, the eggs and the sugar rush, we do have a good time making fun memories and being silly! Hoppy Easter!

Easter Bragging Page

2011-05-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well, since everyone else did it. Now, you ask the question, "If someone told you to jump off a cliff would you do it?" The answer to that question is, No. I have an extreme fear of heights, although years, and pounds ago, I enjoyed the rides at Lagoon. Now, the fat jiggles way too much for my enjoyment. Thank you, I know. This has nothing to do with heights, nor Easter. Back to my post.

I made my little girls dresses this year! All by myself, (I will pause for applause.) And yes, Sara's blog ,http://thebsbunch.blogspot.com/2011/04/curse-you-for-inspiring-me.html, was about me. Just thought I would add that in for kicks and giggles!

I started out with a brilliant idea that I would be saving money if I made the dresses. We all have moments of complete stupidity, this was one of mine. Actually, I have many-another post, another day. Thanks to my amazing-as-always Mom and Aunt, they went with me to pick the pattern, and fabric. I called Doug from home and had him ask the girls what colors they wanted. I could have guessed and been spot on, but we all like a little control in our lives. Yellow, purple, pink and pink-it was settled. I wanted happy, bright colors, but simple designs. Hence the finished product.

Let's be very clear here, I'm not a seamstress. There is the word "stress" in that description for a reason. I have fought with my sewing machine for years. I really mean fought. I think it hated me. Like in Transformers where all the electrical appliances come alive....that is my machine. It scared me. I knew however that sewing was something I knew I had to give a valiant try to. I'm actually pretty good at it (please see title of blog: Easter Bragging Page), and just so you all sleep better at night, my machine and I have made friends. They are all lined dresses, so if you decide to try a sewing project of your own-and haven't really sewn much other than pj bottoms, since Jr. High-unless you like challenges-go with a simpler pattern (just some friendly advice). But, as you read a bit earlier, I am actually quite good at sewing, so I made it through-once again refer to post title.

So these dresses, well, much sewing, unpicking, an amazing visit to an amazing woman in my Stake who sews like the angles-she taught me how to put in a hidden zipper. I don't advise doing this on your own. You will get hurt. Much bleeding, swearing, then-finally the finished product. (please see pictures below, or above, or wherever they end up on the page.-I'm computer stupid.)

We had a lovely Easter! The week before we focused on Christ, each night we talked about different aspects of what Christ did for US. I'm not going to post that all here, since this is the "bragging page", I will say, it was beautiful to see our children understand, and learn the sacrifice and love our Savior has for each of us.

So, next I will put the pictures of the amazing dresses I made for our little girls into the post, the reality is, these girls of ours could wear a potato sack and look beautiful, we are very blessed! Not to mention the very handsome not-so-little boy, he didn't want a dress(not that I offered)...thank heavens! I have very high hopes they make it in the right-side-up, if not tilt your head or move your screen-I did the best I could :0)

I don't know why the arms are up... rejoicing I suppose. Yes, the girls had to have them to the ground...that's how princess dress are, you know.

"My name IS NOT Keith Peterson, have a good day."

2011-04-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

The conversation went like this: (my part will be represented in the color green, in hope of convincing spring that it must come, before I go nuts.)
(sound effects) ring....ring....ring....ring...

"Hello"

(insert spanish\polynesian accent here) "Hello, Keith Peterson?"

"No, I'm sorry, you have the wrong number."

"Okay, I speak to Keith." (this was said as a statement, not a question.)

"No, there isn't anyone here by that name, I'm sorry."

"This is Bountiful?"

"No it isn't"

"This, Bountiful number."

"No, it isn't, sorry."

"I got number from your neighbor. I need to speak to Keith."

"Right, you didn't speak to my neighbor and get this number for Keith, because this isn't Keith's number. You have the wrong number. There isn't anyone here by the name of Keith, nor has there ever been."

"But this is Bountiful."

"No, it isn't Bountiful."

"I talked to your neighbor, went to house of neighbor, got this number for Keith."
"That is a wonderful accomplishment for you, however, you didn't go to my neighbor, you went to Keith's, in Bountiful, I assume. They gave you the wrong number. This isn't Keith's number."
"Why?"

"I don't know."

"You need to be nice."
"I don't know how else to tell you nicely that you have the wrong number, I'm trying to be nice by not just hanging up on you. This isn't Keith Peterson's phone number. It hasn't been for at least two years. I don't know where Keith Peterson lives, who he is, or what his number is."
"I just want to talk to Keith Peterson about doing the work for him."
"That is very noble of you. I suggest you go back to Keith Peterson's neighborhood in Bountiful, find his house, and knock on the door. If he isn't there, go back to the neighbor and tell them they gave you the wrong number. If they give you this number again, don't call it. It isn't the right number."
Click. (End of conversation)

This isn't the only call we have had for Keith Peterson. Apprentely, the IRS is trying to audit him, his time share is due. His great aunt died, and his family wondering if the gifts for his daughters wedding arrived, and the cards for his sons graduation. He is also very behind on his bills, and the bill collectors would like to talk to him. Grandma Peterson is very concerned because Keith didn't call her back last week, and she has left him lots of messages. There is something making a strange noise in her basement.

Please, for Grandma Peterson's sake, if anyone knows Keith Peterson, ask him to call her. I don't want the strange noise to bother her anymore.

For those of you who want to talk to Keith Peterson. I am NOT Keith Peterson. Please don't call us. Have a good day.

To blog or not to blog....and need of advise

2011-02-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. I find it very difficult to find time to blog. Is this not making time for it, or not caring enough, or just the reality of not enough time in a day? I really don't know and I don't want to take the time to evaluate my blogging habits.
Realizing that very few people will even read my prattle, and that not really being an issue, here I sit, blogging. My dear husband is catching up on some much needed sleep, our kids are coloring and playing wii. So why the heck not waste some time in blogger land.
Now, for those few of you reading this, I need some advise or opinions, if you will. Our son really wants to continue his taekwondo, he is really good. After many discussions we decided that the environment where he was taking, was a very derogatory place. He his a very sensitive boy, very, fragile self esteem, not too different from many 9 year old boys. A good kid, very good kid. He needs a place where they lift him, encourage him and praise him. So after talking about it, we went to him and asked him how he felt. His response was, "well, when I go I feel like a million dollars (everything is about money...) when I leave I feel like a penny, a squashed penny." That was all we needed to know that this wasn't the right place for him. I have been doing some research in our area and found a few martial arts studios. He has found one that he loves, met the instructors, went to a free class. He wants to do it. It's $80 a month. Not to go into our financial situation, but we don't really have $80 just sitting around every month. Then on a side line, one wants to do soccer, they want to do swimming lessons, already doing piano, one wants baseball, one wants dance, preschool coming up, hubby going back to school, still paying off student loans. I will just stop there.
So, I came up with the thought that maybe I needed to go and get a part time job, 12 hours a week at the local grocery store, nights when he would be home to be with the kids. We could pay for all the things the kids want to do and get out of debt in less than 18 months. I don't want to work, horrified of working actually. But, I also felt like maybe this is a time when I need to step up and help out for a few months. He said no. He doesn't like it at all, my place is in the home, end of story. How grateful I am to have him as a husband, I love this man more than anything I can put into words. He is an amazing provider for us, and we are comfortable. Just digging out from school, and it doesn't help that we have to still pay mortgage insurance, when we shouldn't be...another story, another time.
So, what do I do. I'm sick about it all, I can't sleep, all I do is think about it. We have been counseled to get out of debt, I want to give our kids the opportunity to do everything they want to do, at least try it and see if it works for them. I want to be able to let them succeed in something they really are good at and want to continue. But I don't want to do something that will hurt our family, or relationship. Are there any real work from home jobs? How to make it work....
any advice, suggestions....?

2010-07-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have found, much to the dismay of all of my readers...(hahaha!) I don't have the time I want to have to blog. As much as Doug insists that I have bent the time-space continuum, the time to blog, isn't there. I am busy. Busy, maybe just isn't quite a word with enough power behind it, I know the perfect word, I am MOM!

Summer has been full of fun! Before school ended, and I was about at the end of the short rope I cling desperately too, my mother and I talked about how this summer I would be able to sit under a tree in the shade, knit, read, enjoy watching the kids play. Relax, and refocus my lifes ambitions...NOT. Hasn’t happened, we laugh now thinking that it would have been a possibility. What was I thinking, I am the girlfriend to my husband, mother to 5 very busy, energetic, children, daughter, niece, cousin, sister...blah, blah. I won't continue to bore with my resume; MOM sums it up enough for now. I though however, for the overwhelming enjoyment of my many fans out there I would give a brief synopsis of the happenings of the Bailey family for the last, oh, eight weeks or so.

Bear Lake: Now, for those of you who know my sweet husband know he isn't the spontaneous type, which is one of the things I love about him. I can predict him well, and since I am a planner and a bit on the OCD side, that is a most helpful trait of his. Well, he decided to break the mold. Wednesday evening he came home from work and said, "Friday we are going to Bear Lake." Ok...I thought, this was going to be fun, and a nice little get away. I cleaned the house (my OCD speaking), shopped, packed (side note: packing with five children, even though it is only one night isn't normal packing. It is essentially the whole house minus the kitchen sink, and if I could fit that in our little van, it would be nestled in there also) We left early Friday morning, after filling the van to its maximum, and scraping on the driveway on the way out, you know that horrible sound...but we were off. No campground reserved, which isn't like our usual know where we are going, what we are doing vacations. We drove by a few campgrounds up Logan canyon, but decided to keep going. We ended up staying in a great little shady spot in Idaho. Spent the day at the lake, freezing. But it was fun, had our famous raspberry shake and headed home. Here's to spontaneity! Maybe we will try it more often...

Fun with Family and Friends: I thought we would have more time for relaxing, and play dates, as previously mentioned. In spite of the fact that we haven't had one second of down time we have squeezed in a few afternoons of fun with family and friends.

Swim lessons: We do swimming lessons each year with an amazing woman! She has made my children swim and swim well, I can't thank her enough! Emily is done with floats in the water and is swimming beautifully, her teacher told me she has great potential and that she moves very naturally in the water, way to go Emmy! Maren and Matthew can dive, really dive. I was always afraid to dive until my aunt taught me when I was about 10, and I did okay, but these kids are really good! And Kate is the master bubble blower in her class! The beauty of taking swimming from Jeri is that Becca and the other kids can swim when it isn't their lesson time, as long as they stay in the deep. Our little monkey Becca was right there swimming around with the big kids, with arm floats of course, our 1 year old fish!

Weddings: My cousins daughter got married this summer! It was a beautiful day to spend at the SLC Temple! The ceremony was insightful and inspirational, I cried through the whole thing, it was a wonderful reminder of the covenants Doug and I made together 12 years ago, and the joy and blessings that have come from that. We spent that evening at their reception, the kids had a blast! I am the youngest of my cousins, so I am closer in age to my 2nd cousins, I grew up playing with those kids, and have a deep love for each of them. Now the tables have turned and they are playing with my kids...It does my heart good to watch them play together and have fun! I feel so blessed to have these people to call my family!

Our Becca: Our little bubbly girl turned two!!! I just can't believe it, it has gone by so fast, she is a full of life, fun, lovely girly girl! She speaks another language, Becclish, literally she has made a langue that she speaks, and now we do too! She got a whee (stroller) for her dolls, toys to play in the sand and Mir (water), and a WahWah (dog) in a purse. She was one happy little girl. I sat and held her that night and marveled at the beauty I was holding, that was ours to love, cherish, and guide. What a tremendous blessing these little valiant spirits are!

(Mom hiding from the camera!)

The last two pictures here are Aunt Staci and I jumping on the tramp with the 3 oldest! We broke a spring, but it was a total blast! The second one is Uncle Josh (aka: "the way coolest uncle") playing video games with the kids!

Oh, I can't forget the fire on our mountain...if you don't think that was fun...

Well, we still have almost a month of summer left, and a lot more fun to behold! I'm sure you are as done reading this as I am done typing it!

TahTah for now...

This girl has got the right idea...party till you drop!