My life as a Princess in a house full of Knights

Today...

2012-02-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

...has been another busy day. Like usual. I'm starting to get tired. This pregnancy is making me slow down. And I DON'T WANT TO! :) I don't have time to slow down. The children will start taking over and all (you know what) will start to happen! :)

While getting sick in the kitchen sink this morning my darling sweet Brigham is standing right behind me making dry heaving noises. Thanks for that little buddy!

I taught an aerobic class yesterday am and I am still sore EVERYWHERE! I really need to work out more, but man I am so tired! It was a fun class. It was my last class until after the baby comes. I need to do a re cert of group x and want to wait until after the babe comes.

I started a new job this week. I am a crossing guard at a local elementary school. It's super easy and pays $30 an hour. I cross in the am for 30 minutes and cross in the pm for 15 (but get paid for the full time!) A little extra cash is always welcomed!

Gavin has started reading and doing really well at it. He'll choose a book and read it over and over like 25 times (until he has it memorized!) It's cute to see him growing into the next stage of his life.

I was able to take a 45 minute nap today, which was heaven...until I went downstairs to see what the kids had done while I wasn't looking! In all fairness it wasn't really their fault, this time! Brig's was playing in the sink, but there was a leak under the sink and our entire kitchen flooded. 7 beach towels later...And our Home Teachers help in repairing it.

Time for bed!GOOD NIGHT!!

DEEP

2012-02-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

This weeks photog word was DEEP. It was hard for me to find anything that fit for this word, but then I remember a picture I had already taken that I loved. I try to shoot a new photo for the photog group, but I've had a squirrely

week!

Alta

2012-01-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I took advantage of ski free after 3 at Alta on Friday. It was pretty busy, but man was it beautiful! I am so surprised how much I have been enjoying skiing! It's so beautiful out there and so much fun, especially when I can go with some of my boys! It was so beautiful out there, it had just dumped several feet. Breathtaking!

Gavin's first time!

2012-01-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

Gavin has been begging me to take him skiing, so last Monday we went for the first time and he loved it! We borrowed his equipment from some good friends and we headed to Alta ski free after 3pm. Gavin stood between my legs and we skied down together. It was a lot of fun!

COLOR

2012-01-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

This week the word in our Photog group was COLOR. All these came out real nice! I have sure enjoyed being part of this photography group!

Stroke

2012-01-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday late afternoon I received a call from my moms husband, Bill, that my mom had had a stroke. What?! Such unbelieving words, I couldn't totally understand what he was telling me. My mom's left arm went totally numb. Then, the left side of her face started to droop and then she started talking gibberish. Bill rushed her to the ER. Thank goodness he acted quickly. When I received the call the ER doctor thought it may be a TIA (which is a mini stroke and a lot better that a real stroke!!) After many testes and hours later the specialists changed her diagnosis back to a stroke. She had to stay the night for additional observation and in the morning had a MRI done to find the location of the stroke. I am glad to report my mom is home, doing so much better. She is on medication and is suppose to make a full recovery. It was real scary and gave me a major stress headache for 2 days straight. I hated being so far away. I felt helpless. I am so thankful for so many wonderful family members and close friends who were there at the hospital for my mom. She too is thankful for all the love and support!

ELEGANT

2012-01-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last weeks word was ELEGANT. Here are what the ladies and I came up with. Next week's word is COLOR. Last night I kept dreaming of the shot I would capture with that word. Hopefully, tonight, I will sleep better!

7

2012-01-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Lucky number 7 will be joining our little family in July! We've been trying for a while and it's been a frustrating at times, but thrilled to report that 7 is doing great and kicking away!

We started telling people on Facebook this afternoon and it's been funny to see some of the comments. I'd love to have a boy. I'd love to have a girl. Honestly, I feel no preference one way or the other. But, most of my family and friends are having a prayer feast for a girl. It's cute!

I went shopping at the outlets in Park City this afternoon with Brig's and Gavin. I bought one newborn girl outfit and one newborn boy outfit. Then, I called Scott. He has predicted the last 6 boys and is sure this one is a girl. I trust him, but I can't allow myself to buy lots of cute girl things and then find out I'm having a boy. I would then be disappointed. I've never been disappointed in an ultra sound before! I will find out the gender of 7 in 3 weeks. That will fly by and I will no longer call the baby 7.

Boys names (are still and have been for the past several years)
Preston or Camden
Girl names
Katelyn (I've loved since HS)or Emma (I've loved for several years)
But, who knows?

Sledding...Finally!

2012-01-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday it snowed...finally! So we all went sledding! We were there for almost 3 hours and had a blast!

Tyler and Gavin snow boarded and did a great job!

This is one way to sled down a hill!

Gavin and Brigham are at the top of the hill. Gavin is trying to teach Brig's how to board. Too cute!

BELIEVE

2012-01-08T20:08:00.001-07:00

This week's word was BELIEVE and here are the photos the group came up with...Pretty creative!
Next week's word is Elegant....I have no idea what I'll do for that one...

Will's Relection Ceremony

2012-01-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

(Earlier in the day I was messing around with my new FABULOUS camera and changing the settings and forgot to turn everything back...So unfortunately I only got these two half decent shots of him at his awards assembly! Boo!!)

Will had his Reflections award assembly on Friday night. Only two people from Evergreen Jr. High went on to Regional! (Last year Will went to state!)
Way to go WILL!!!

Gavin's Reflections Ceremony

2012-01-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening was the awards ceremony for Reflections. It was held at our school, which was nice because it was super close to our house. Gavin's photograph went on to the Regional level!! After Gavin's picture went on from the first level (just school wide) he was entered in with 14 other elementary schools!!

He received a cute mini Pillow Pet and a certificate of completion!
WAY TO GO GAVIN!!

A new PHOTOG group is in the making!!

2012-01-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was part of a photog group a couple of years ago and LOVED it! Teresa was the leader and would choose a random word each week. We'd have to take a picture of what that word meant to us. The group came up with some great shots! I miss that photog group, so I am starting a new one! If you're interested email or FB me!!
Here are some pictures of the last group I was in.

A whole new year...already!

2012-01-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Happy New year's!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's! It sure has been quit busy, but loads of fun, around here!!
Scott had 11 days off and we spent every moment together as a family! My mom and Bill were in town for a few days for Christmas, which was a lot of fun having them here. We went skiing a couple of times, out to dinner, to the zoo (in 55 degree weather!!), to Trafalga(miniature golfing, laser tag, rock wall, video games), to see the temple lights, slept in many days, went to the park, hung out with family...
New Year's eve was Scott's birthday. We had a delicious meal and played games for a couple of hours. I made strawberry cupcake's and we went to a neighbors house (with about 50 other people) to watch 2012 fireworks! It was awesome!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY Scott! I hope you had a great day, we sure did!!
On New Year's day we started church a little earlier, which was great! We got a new bishop and Brigham started Sunbeams!
There are a lot of WONDERFUL things planned for this new year. I hope your 2012 will be as great as ours!!

7 Stitches

2011-12-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

While playing outside Brigham jumped off a small dirt mound and landed on his face, on a sharp rock and sliced his cute little nose open. Scott applied pressure as we drove straight to Primary Children's Hospital ER.

They gave him a IV in his hand so he could receive some sleepy medicine. After a few minutes he started giggling and calling for me, "Lori, Lori..." So funny!

They had to flush out the jagged wound before stitches. Cute Scott helped the MD with a new trick to sucher up stitches. (And BTW, the only reason Scott didn't do it himself was because it was so jagged Brigham needed to be seen by the Plastic's department!)

7 stitches later...He was a little groggy last night but slept great. Today, he has been acting like nothing ever happened to him. Such a strong kid. He has enjoyed showing people his stitches, and loves the attention!
Thanks Bubbles for the Popsicles! He's already eaten half of them!

The Canyons

2011-12-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

We went skiing again on Wednesday, and it was fantastic! It was 50 degrees and so beautiful at the Canyons resort! Unfortunately there isn't much snow, half the runs are closed due to so little snowfall. But that ok for me because I only ski on greens and a selected few blues!

We were there all day and had a blast together! Will and Jackson have both been there before and they showed me around. Our last run run Will and I went down a blue hill and it was a little scary at first, but then it became my favorite hill! It was a blast! Will kept yelling to me "Pizza mom, pizza!!" So cute!!
I am really surprised how much I am enjoying skiing. It is so much FUN! I can't wait for the boys to get a little older and we can all go skiing together. It's an expensive activity, but worth it!

Christmas Morning!!

2011-12-31T12:16:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful Christmas it was this year! We are so blessed with wonderful family that lives so close and comes to visit often, good health and lots of great presents!!

Cute Nathan received lots and lots of Mickey mouse stuff. Plush, games, books, a blanket...He was in heaven. His favorite gift was a huge box of large Lego's! Thanks Nana!!

I gave my mom several pieces of jewelry this year. I made her some earrings, and I had a friend of mine make her a necklace and also a bracelet. The bracelet was made out of sea glass we collected last summer in Santa Barbara!

Will mad out like a fat rat this year...what's new! He got a phone, an X-Box, a kindle and tickets to see Myth Busters later in January.

I found this HUGE Reese's and knew I had to get it for Scott. He loved it!

An amazing art set from Nana!

Yes, Will is crying that he got the X-Box from Nana. I told him earlier i would NOT buy him that game. :) Worked like a charm! He was so surprised!

My Utes and Jets fans!! Tyler also received a U of U fleece blanket.

The three big boys all received Kindles! I am thrilled about that because every night they're using MINE and now I'm behind on my reading goal!

THOR hammers!!

Tons and tons of movies...Thanks Mom!!

AND the little ones received that flying shark thing. They were over the moon excited about it! Those two have been talking about this toy for months!
I also had a great Christmas!! I received new pots and pans, other fun kitchen tools, bubbles baths and lotions, some jewelry, an I-Pad ( I took that back and bought myself a camera!! A Canon T2i with an extra wide lens 18-135mm!!!) SCORE!!
As tradition, we made a prime rib roast for dinner with garlic Parmesan smashed potatoes, brown sugar buttered carrots, Martinelli's and a homemade Red Velvet cake! YUM!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Violin Performance

2011-12-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

Gavin had a special opportunity to play with several other children in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building a couple days before Christmas. They played 8 songs total, but Gavin only participated in two songs, Jingle Bells and The Carol of the Bells. He did great!

It sounded great in the JSMB, the music echoed beautifully throughout the room! Nana and Papa flew in a little early so they could attend the performance, which also made it extra special!

JSMB

2011-12-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

We headed to the JSMB (Joseph Smith Memorial Building) downtown yesterday for a violin performance for Gavin. The building is so beautiful. The tree was breath taking and everything was decorated so nicely. We were there a little early so we walked around and took it all in. As we were walking around I saw one of President Hinckley's sons. I asked if he was Kathy's brother and he quickly said yes! I introduced myself "My name is Lori Thompson and Richard Walker is my uncle. Richard's first wife, Margene is my mom's sister." (My uncle married Kathy Hinckley). He said he had just spoken to them both this morning. (Richard and Kathy are living in England serving a mission for the church as the MTC President!) I am sorry to say i can't remember his name, but he looks just like the prophet and was incredibly nice to us.

Even the ceilings are gorgeous!

What a FUN morning we had together!

Santa in the Parking Lot

2011-12-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

We headed downtown yesterday and were able to park under the KSL/LDS Business building (because Scott works there) and as we were walking out there was Santa getting into his car! (He was just interviewed on KSL) He was so nice and came right over to the boys and was cheery and nice. He talked to each of them and called them "My boys". What a nice Santa!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS SANTA!!!

Neighbor Gifts

2011-12-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Another great idea from Pinterest!! We made Chocolate covered spoon for hot chocolate. We hand dipped 80 spoons in chocolate or white chocolate and then they boys helped to add on crushed candy cane, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and red and green sprinkles. After they all dried we put them in small baggies and tied with curling ribbon. We walked around the neighborhood and handed them out as the boys sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". We also drove to other friends and family homes to hand theirs out.

We also made carmel and chocolate dipped pretzels. But, we never handed these out. We ate them all instead! They were SUPER good!!

Preschool Party With Santa

2011-12-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Looks like someone is super excited to see Santa!!

All the children were called up one at a time to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Brigham asked for a bike (check!) and the remote control shark (check!).

Santa gave the kids a coloring book and a candy cane. Brigham was thrilled!

Nathan was fine walking up to Santa, but then the teacher picked him up and placed Nathan on Santa's lap. AWW! He freaked out! BUT...Let's see if he warmed up to him...

...nope! Later Nathan did walked up to him and give him a high five, that was pretty good!

Christmas Program

2011-12-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday was the Christmas singing program at Rosecrest Elementary school. After, was all the class parties. It was a fun busy day for the boys. The program started at 10 am with the Kindergarten class kicking things off. They sang a couple songs and were adorable!

Up next was Tyler's class and the other 3rd grade class singing "Santa's too Fat for the Chimney" and "I love Mrs. Santa Clause" So funny and cute!
The 5th graders sang "Nuttin' For Christmas" and "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas". They all sang beautifully.
There were so many songs I had never heard of I was surprised! All the kids were adorable!

Church Puzzles

2011-12-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Another great find on Pinterest!! I found some church pictures and already had a ton on tongue dispensers and came up with this cute craft for the kids to assemble on Sunday's during church. I Mod Podged the paper and sticks together, then modged the other side as well.

After it had dried I took an exacto knife and cut along the side of the sticks to make up puzzle pieces. I only made two (so far) and the kids loved them. They kept putting them together over and over so many times. Gavin and Brigham were even able to piece them together correctly!

I will admit it was a little strange cutting up pictures of Jesus, I just kept in mind what the main purpose was!

Skiing with Tyler

2011-12-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago I took Tyler skiing for the FIRST TIME!! He struggled a ton going down the the bunny run. It took him about 35 minutes to go down the first time. But the next time it only took him about 10 minutes. Tyler got better and better each time!

Will came with us and snow boarder, he's getting pretty good!

The brothers taking the lift up together!

It was a lot of fun, but it was about 20 degrees...very cold. We didn't bring anything to protect our faces! Man were we getting cold! We stayed for about 4 hours and then stopped off at 7-11 for some hot chocolate!

Jewelry Making

2011-12-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched the show Project Runway.... LOVE IT! Have you ever seen the show Project Accessory, where they design accessories like hats, earrings, rings, shoes, handbags, necklaces, bracelets... LOVE THAT ONE TOO!

In fact, this last episode, they had a designer who was making metal earrings and a metal cuff, and it inspired me to try it myself. Here is what I came up with. What do you think?

Here is my new cool wrap-around ring and earrings I made.

LTdesigns is now in effect :) Let me know if you want me to make you something as well... I am having so much fun with this!

I love you...

2011-12-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

...This much!! Another CUTE craft on Pinterest I found for Gavin to make. We traced out his hands on this beautiful green cardstock, cut them out and also folded another piece of paper to link the hands together. Super easy and adorable. Someone will love this for a Christmas present!!

"Look what I made!!"

2011-12-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

One of my cute friends ordered this from me and I (finally) completed it for her. She has a cute little guy in Kindergarten and wanted a vinyl board to display some of his artwork and accomplishments from school. After cutting, sanding and routing the board, I painted it and sanded a little more. I glued on those sturdy medal clips and voila!!

100%

2011-12-16T15:05:00.000-07:00

Will has always been the spelling bee of the family, after Scott that is! But Jackson is slowly coming into his own and scoring 100's on his last 3 spelling tests! GREAT JOB JACKSON!!

His handwriting is pretty sloppy, but some of those words are tricky! We're very proud of you Jack!

Card Holders

2011-12-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

Our family loves playing card games. Every time we have company over or my mom and Bill are in town we play games. It's so fun. Papa Bill enjoys playing card games, but it's hard for him to hold a bunch of cards in his hand because he only has 3 fingers. So, I saw this adorable idea on Pinterest and thought of Papa! This will help him to hold a bunch of cards while playing various games.

I found a set of two at Walgreen's for $2.99, perfect! Then I cut out some craft paper and modge podged it on to the clip. After it dried I used those letter stickers for his name. Each side has different colored paper and different colored letters.
An easy, cute gift!

The treeS are up!

2011-12-16T14:20:00.001-07:00

Every year I decorate the tree differently. I've done a bear tree, an Americana tree, a red theme tree, a Santa tree....This year it was a candy tree. I bought most of the ornaments at Target last year for 75% off! Screaming deal! It turned out pretty good. The tree itself is gorgeous! It is literally the most perfect tree. It smells great and is so fresh we have to water it every day with 2 huge glasses of water. The needles haven't even started to fall off, it's that fresh! LOVE IT!! After we sawed it down we cut another 3 feet off to fit into our living room.

I allowed the boys to go through some of my non-breakable ornaments to decorate their tree with. It was cute to watch them choose their own theme for their tree.

Here is the other boys tree. Both turned out adorable!

Great job boys!

Cutting down the TREE

2011-12-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

We went with some family and friends from Santa Barbara to cut down our Christmas tree this year up near Park City, UT. It was such a FUN morning, very cold (12 degrees), but fun! We drove past Park City, up through Kamas and went another 20 miles up in the wilderness to find the perfect spot. We would of stopped much earlier, but we were following the Kimball family and they knew where the perfect spot was located!

After parking, the kids played in the snow while some of the adults went hiking deeper into the forest to find the perfect tree. And we did! Scott found it and sawed it down. We all helped drag it back to the car. I wanted this one, but it was a tad too small. :)

Here are the Boyce's cutting down their perfect tree!

Here is everyone (over 50 people) with all our beautiful trees. They had a chain saw to trim the trees down a bit and a huge trailer to haul them back to Provo. We tied ours to the suburban. We ate donuts and drank hot chocolate and the kids still sledded and played.

The boys found a few other smaller trees they wanted for their rooms. Looks like a Charlie Brown tree, sad little thing.
It was fun and hard but worth it.

THANK YOU Kimball family for all the help!!

Fabric Galore!

2011-11-29T19:22:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love shopping on Black Friday! I almost forgot about the flannel sale at JoAnn's! I had Tyler, Gavin and Brigham and wanted to just "run in" real quick. An hour and a half later I was finally done. So. Worth. It. Check out what I picked up for less than $1 a yard!

Different Turkey Recipe...YUMMMMM!!!!

2011-11-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

I always make my turkey different each year. I like to try new things and they always turn out great and look good. Can you make a bad turkey? This year I combined 2 different recipes into one! I had fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram) and chopped them up. Added salt and pepper and melted butter. I brushed that all over the bird and under the skin. I placed bacon stripes on the top of the bird as well. We basted the bird every 3o minutes for 3.5 hours. We basted her with apple juice, and then next time would be a brown sugar and maple syrup mixture, then back to the apple juice.

The turkey came out delicious!! Very earthy with all the herbs yet savory with the bacon.
Of course we had homemade rolls with homemade jams and jelly's, Margene's homemade stuffing, twice baked potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy....My mouth is watering...

Skiing!!

2011-11-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Jackson and I went skiing at Snowbird. It was so much fun! We bought a bunch of gear last season when it was all on clearance! We bought Jackson a 5th grade ski pass for $20.00 which allows him to ski 4x at each resort in Utah! Great deal! There was a Groupon to rent all our equipment for 50% off the entire season!! Skiing and snowboarding are an expensive sport!

Jackson did great! He kept beating me down the hill and would ride the lift alone to try and beat me again! I haven't gone skiing since 9th grade! It has been too long. I am so glad I finally went again. I LOVED it! It was so fun!

You like my PINK goggles, and headband? Scott picked that out for me...perfect!

Will came a little later and boarded the rest of the day with us. He was very frustrated at first then got the hand of it. He's loves it now too!

Reading away...

2011-11-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

I've never been an avid reader, but lately I can't get through a book fast enough to start another one! I love reading! I read every chance I get! I am still reading from my kindle, which I LOVE!!! (I've seen some black Friday ads and the kindles are cheap! YOU SHOULD GET ONE!! We're getting one for Will and Jackson for Christmas!)

Here is a list of books I've been reading lately...I think last I blogged about books I was in the middle of "Borrowed Light" It was cute, it was easy, it was an LDS romance novel. ****

Breaking Dawn- The last few chapters. I intentionally didn't finished this book because I wanted to see the movie. But, as the movie fast approached I became inpatient and read the ending. WOWZA! Can't wait to watch the movie! ****

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich. Number 4 was a little racier, I loved it! I read and reread a certain part several times to Scott, Angie, Bubbles and other friends! It was so good! ****

The Last Olympian, a Percy Jackson #5 book written by Rick Riordan. I read the others as my boys read them and we watched the movie together. They're easy, mythical, and a fun read to read with your kids or as a family! ****

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Allan. Not an LDS novel, but could be. A nicely written novel about friends family and secrets. ****

The Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. Umm, honestly I didn't finished this book. It was recommend to me from a few different friends, but I just couldn't get into it. I'll try to finish it later, maybe when they movie is about to come out! :) **

Foggy with a Chance of Murder by G.G. Vandagriff, an LDS romantic mystery. It was interesting. It wasn't the norm LDS fiction, so I liked it. Even Scott reads it after me! ****

Captive Heart by Michele Paige Holmes. Another cute LDS romance novel. It was cute and easy to read, but it's really the same story with different character names. ***

The Help by Kathrine Stockett. I needed a non-LDS book about now and this was the perfect pick! I LOVED this book. A deep message with endearing characters that tug at your heart strings. Just last Saturday Scott, Bubbles, Greg, Meghan, Kristen, Nicole, Angie and went to see it. It was well done! (more on this later!) ****

Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall. I blogged about this already, incredible! Great read for anyone, everyone. Even if you hate to run! Very informative and inspiring! ****

The Wanderer (Shadows of Brierly #1 by Anita Stansfield. This is set in the lush highlands of nineteenth-century Scotland. Filled with past regrets and new beginnings, this volume is an journey toward faith and peace—a sweeping emotional experience from start to finish. Because it was written with character from Scotland I too talked like them while I wasn't reading! My kids think I'm a little coo-coo! ****

Man, these are a lot of books!

Not My Type by Melanie Jacobson. SUPER cute! An older gal, who broke off her engagement, decides she wants to be a writer. She has no interest in dating or guys for that matter, but is hired to write a dating article! ****

The Perfect Fit by Michele Bell. This is the third book in a series, which I figure out half way through! Woops! The first half the main gal is on a dating show, like The Bachelor. The second half someone is trying to kill her. I enjoyed the first half, last part was weird. Ended too quickly. ***

The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander. This isn't usually a book I'd chose, but it was intriguing! It's fascinating story of the final days of Nicholas and Alexandra as seen through the eyes of the Romanovs young kitchen boy, Leonka. It also tells of a strong love and bond between a family. Highly recommend! ****

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Another incredible story about a fictitious family in a real event that took place that sadly I never knew about! I just requested this movie from the library! Can't wait to see it! ****

The book I started last night is High Five by Janet Evanovich. I was missing Stephanie and all her shenanigans!

Itty Bitty Basketball

2011-11-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

All the fall sports are coming to an end, part of me is relived and part of me wishes it cam continue. I signed up Brigs for a three month three sport activity at the Lion's Club. September he played T-ball, October he played soccer and November he's been playing basketball. It's funny to watch these 3 year old's "play" basketball! They have fun drills to help kids at that age!

Throwing a balloon up in the air and catching it is one of the stations.

Passing a ball back and forth is another station. I love this picture. Look closely how Gavin knows I'm snapping shots and he's smiling away as he keeps passing the ball back and forth. Now, look at Brigham. Nice nickel slot!

It's adorable to see how low the hoop was and the kids still hardly made it in! Brigham held his own considering he's a literally a head above the other kids!

Pine Wood Derby

2011-11-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we raced in the Pine Wood derby! The boys did a great job on their cars! They designed them, sanded them, painted them... It was a FUN evening! Out of over 20 kids Jackson came in THIRD and Tyler came in FIFTH!

GREAT JOB BOYS!!

First Snow!

2011-11-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

We sure had fun these past few days playing outside, building snowman, having snow ball fights and sledding!

Falling Leafs

2011-11-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Around our neighborhood, like yours, falling leafs are everywhere. I just love it! The cooler weather, the colors changing. I heart fall! My most favorite time of year! We don't have any large trees in our yard, so thank you neighbors for allowing us to play in yours!

Fall Festival and HUGE pumpkins!

2011-11-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

There is a large park near our home and they hold an annual fall festival full of fun activities for the kids. The very last thing is the pumpkin drop that the fire fighters do. It was so fun to watch!

Cute Brig's leavin his preschool Halloween party. They made these adorable cereal box candy holders. They covered the box with orange construction paper and added a face for a pumpkin.

Later that night the YM and YW made different Halloween inspired dishes. His group made eye ball dessert and that nasty looking worm thing. (Pork roast wrapped in bacon and then they placed tiny pasta inside for the teeth) They did a great job, it just looked discusting!

8 of the boys started wrestling Scott. I was pretty impressed...Scott held his own! The boys get a long great with Scott as their Scout Master. He loves the calling too!

We were driving around running errands and this is what we saw! A large pick-up truck with this HUGE pumpkin inside! We followed them until they parked at a local park for a pumpkin contest. They said this pumpkin weighed 1,186 lbs!!!

On our way to another Halloween party! What a fun time of year!

Cell Phone Pictures

2011-11-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

Some of this is repetition, but I wanted to include some of the shots off my cell phone. Above and below are some shots for Nightmare on 13th for Tyler birthday. He was so excited about going, super scared inside, but after was happy he went!

My garden was incredible this year! Tons and tons of tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, corn, peppers, onions...Delicious! I am already excited to plant in the spring!

Craft night with my fabulous cousins! I love them all! We had a blast crafting and chatting!

We headed to the zoo with some family and friends and it was a perfect day! The weather was great and the company was too!

Train ride! Our passes include unlimited train and carousal rides! Nice!

Here are most of the kids in our group! My cousin Bubbles brought two of hers, I have 6 and Michelle brought her 4! Fun day!

Crazy hair day at school for Red Ribbon Week!

Check out these HUGE carrots! These are crazy big! We ate some and they are so goog! We had so much fun pulling them out. We had to use a shovel on a few of them!

Naters cruisin' up and down our long driveway! He's chillin'!

Will and I headed to Old Navy a few days ago when they had their huge sale. Winter clothes for all of us! He's such a cool kid and was a huge help trying to find different sizes for all the boys!

Winner!

2011-11-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

All of kids enter in the Walgreen's coloring contest. The winner received a $20.00 gift card, and Tyler won!!

CONGRATULATIONS TYLER!!!

Random Happenings

2011-11-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

Cute Nathan loves talking on the phone with his Nana. It's cute to watch how excited he gets when the phone rings and he hears her voice! He still isn't speaking much, but loves to babble gibberish.

For Tyler's Birthday he wanted to go to Nightmare on 13th Street here in SLC. So we did and it was a blast!

One of my callings in the ward is Mid-Week activities Coordinator. We held a craft night with several different craft the sisters could choose from. We had over 50 sisters in attendance. It was a great turn-out and a FUN evening!

The boys love putting Scott's clothes on and stuffing pillows inside. They are such funny sumo wrestlers!

One of my dear friends, Stacy, came to SLC for a visit. We went shopping and here we are taking a little break.

A huge deer in the front yard of my cousins home! She gets a ton of deer that come through her yard all year long!

Scott's new calling is the Scout Master. He loves it. They have already gone out on several camp outs and participated in many different activities.

We bought season passes to the water park and it was such a great idea! We went every week, sometimes twice! We'd meet friends and family there all the time. Here is our last visit, with lots of cousins. This is Brynnlee, love this picture! And Tyler went down this scary ride too!

DATE NIGHT!!! With some awesome cousins!

For the BIG GAME (BYU vs. U of U) we all dressed up and had a little party. Too bad that game SUCKED!!

It's FALL!!!!!!!!!! My most favorite time of year. These colors are magnificent!

Kelsey's BIG day!

2011-11-03T13:23:00.000-06:00

Here is beautiful Kelsey and her new husband Colten on their BIG day!!

Kelsey's Papa is in England serving a mission and wasn't able to attend, but this web cam was great!

This is where Kel gets her good looks from, her mom Angie!

Brynnlee, her older sister, and boyfriend Zac. They too make a great lookin' couple!

Later that night at the reception!

The Boyce's and good friends with Alex Boye! He didn't only come, he DJ'd and sang. It was a party!

Congratulations Kelsey! We love you!

Reflections- Diversity Means...

2011-11-03T13:11:00.000-06:00

This year the theme for Reflection was/is "Diversity Means..." It was fun searching different ideas with the boys. I had each of the boys choose two categories to submit. Here is every ones photography.
Tyler took the above photo of Gavin holding colorful M&M's.

Here is Jackson's photos of apples, my favorite by the way!

Here is Gavin's photo (with a little help from Will!)

Here is Will's photo of the eggs. Below is another photo Will took of one of our chickens. It's not part of the Reflections entries, but it was a beautiful shot!

Those are the photographs they each took and they also had to choose another category as well. Will wrote up an article. Jackson made this cool material pattern, Tyler drew his hands in all different colors and Gavin drew lines with many different colors. (I'll take pictures of those and show you later!)The younger boys already found out who made it onto the next level. Gavin's BYU/U photo, and Jackson's material collage. YEAH! Great job boys! Will's deadline is next week...so we'll see!

Craftin' Away...

2011-10-24T13:54:00.000-06:00

It was a long 4 day weekend (YEAH!!) and the family and I spent most of the time having fun! We went to the movies, the zoo, some went camping, working on Reflection entrees (more on that later), reading and crafting. I made that cute witch (above) which was a lot of fun. My friend in the ward cuts wood out. I panted it, sanded it and stained it. (It's missing a cute crescent shape for the hat...darn kids!)

These two (cut out by the same friend) were made last week in a Relief Society craft night activity. Easy and fun!

I also made this cute board over the long weekend. Again, it was simple to make and fun!

I haven't had much time lately to craft, so this was a rare occasion. I have a few more Halloween things to do and several Christmas ones I want to complete this season. Cross your fingers I can get to them all!!

Blockbuster Express Movie Codes!!

2011-10-21T22:13:00.000-06:00

There are a bunch of FREE codes for Blockbuster Express! You'll need to hurry they all expire soon!

Codes That Expire 10/24/11:

72MAYB3
27ABDP7
72KRFT8
73WHZS7
82KJRD3
49BPSP4
77JRTW4
27JBHG5
48SGLM2
28KWMR9
82CDJS9

Code Expires 10/31/11:
DAMON

We rented 4 cute kid videos today. The little boys just loved to choose their own movie!

Thanks Melissa for this great info!!

Gymnastics Training Center

2011-10-21T15:17:00.000-06:00

(Please excuse the terrible pictures! My camera has been giving me trouble and unfortunately I don't have any great shots from the awesome party!! UGH!)

For Tyler and Jackson's birthday party we rented out the gymnastics Training Center right by our house. It was super fun! We had 45 kids and 25 adults in attendance!! Here is Tyler jumping of the mats into the foam pit. The most popular activity at the center.

I jumped in a handful of times, which was really fun. It took forever to claw myself out of it though!

Here's Greg jumping! The kids and adults had a BLAST!!

Cute Nathan and his cousin John were the biggest dare devils of them all! They both would jump in over and over and over again! They were so cute to watch!

Here's my mom even trying it!

Thanks everyone for coming and spending this special evening with us!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER and JACKSON!!!

Tyler's Baptism

2011-10-21T15:05:00.000-06:00

My sweet Tyler had a birthday and turned a magical number, 8. This is a big deal in our family, like many of yours. Tyler has been excited for months about the opportunity he has to be baptized. It was such a wonderful event filled with happiness and love.

Right before the event took place we were able to get some shots of him with Scott in front of the font.

On Tyler's special day we had a lot of friends and family in attendance. The kids from his primary class came, grandma and grandpa, Nana and Papa, cousins from out of town, friends from Provo and lots of family in SLC.
THANKS everyone for making this day a little bit more special for him!

SwagBucks

2011-10-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a link to sign up for SwagBucks if you are interested! This is an awesome web search engine that you can use to earn extra points and redeem for Amazon Gift Cards.

If you want to know more, let me know!!!

Sun Flowers!

2011-10-14T12:48:00.001-06:00

I planted a bunch of sun flowers all over the yard in the springtime. Most of them I have picked and I am starting to dry them out. The heads on these are HUGE! A couple of my neighbors said they've never been able to grow them so large before...Cool!

There are so many of them and about 5 others I need to cut down soon!

Dried Apples

2011-10-14T11:06:00.001-06:00

Our neighbors are huge gardeners around here. I LOVE it! We barter some of our produce to each other and give a bunch of it away. The neighbor across the street has peaches and pear trees. I bottled a ton of pears and made pear sauce with it. YUM! One of my neighbors next door had a ton of extra apples. I made a bunch of canned applesauce and we decided to dry the rest of them. It took only a couple of hours and it was a fun project. All the kids were involved!

One of my other neighbors made this dehydrater many, many years ago. We borrowed it to dehydrate the apples. It took about 20 hours and we ended up with 2 huge zip lock bags FULL of apples! YUM!

Basketball!

2011-10-14T10:53:00.001-06:00

Jackson, Tyler and Gavin started basketball a few weeks ago. They have practice once a week and games every Saturday. They all seem to enjoy playing and practicing at home. Scott and I bought them each a basketball to practice drills and shooting.

Tyler usually scores 3-4 times each game! He's a maniac out there!

Gavin's team does a lot of drills and teaching them the fundamentals of the game. The kid he's practicing with looks waaay too big to be playing in Gavin's league!

During the games the other brothers get a little bored! They enjoy playing on my phone...

Scott co-coaches Jackson's team. (Surprise, surprise Jackson's team doesn't have a coach! EVERY sport Jack plays he NEVER has a couch and Scott always has to step up and fill in! What is with that?!?!)
Jackson enjoys playing, he just doesn't have the enthusiasm like the other brothers.

There are 4 more weeks of this season and then another basketball season begins. Not sure if the boys are wanting to play more or be on swim team again. We'll see!

Rosecrest Produce Co-op

2011-10-14T10:34:00.019-06:00

The produce co-op I started in the summer time with 12 ladies every other week has now grown to 50 ladies (with 3 on the on-call list) every week! It's been awesome!

Every week I order different fruits and veggies from the wholesale grocer in my area. They have been great to work with. I make the order on Tuesday morning and they deliver it all to my home early Wednesday morning. I put out the baskets (with Scott's help!) and load up all the food! It's only $16.50 a basket! GREAT deal! It's not a business for me, but I do get my basket for free though! My boys devour all the yummy fruits and (some) of the vegetables that we get!

If you're interested in starting your own, let me know and I'll fill you in on the details!

Second Preschool For Brigs

2011-10-14T10:04:00.001-06:00

Brigham attends the preschool right next door in Miss Dana's basement only 2 days a week. He started that a few weeks ago. Well, he wants to go more often. But, he's only 3 and can't. So we decided to have him attend the 3 year old preschool at Rosecrest (the boys elementary school) where Gavin went last year. Brigs goes to that school 2 times a week as well, and LOVES them both!

His first day of Rosecrest preschool was last Monday. He did great.

Right away he knew where to hang his backpack, find his name badge and cubby. He also knows both of the teachers real well and of course, where all the toys and books are located in the room! Such a good, happy kid! Sure love him!

Zoo Passes...Finally!

2011-10-14T09:39:00.001-06:00

We FINALLY bought our zoo passes for the year! The Hogle Zoo came out with a new policy where you can combine families on your passes! So, one of my cousins and I bought our passes together! Each card gets in 6 kids and 2 visitors, unlimited train and unlimited carousel rides!!

The last time we went to the zoo was almost a year ago and cute Nathan didn't remember it at all. He was so cute to watch. He got so excited to see all the animals! He's checking out the cute baby elephant.

This guy is a little bit freaky! I had to give him/it a double take...but then figured out it was two giraffes standing in a peculiar place! Weird!

After riding the carousel numerous times, playing in the playground and walking around the entire zoo...The kids were beat. It was a fun day!

PS thanks Will for helping me tremendously that afternoon! I am so proud of Will in how he (usually) steps up and helps me out!! Love you bud!

Last Cross Country Meet

2011-10-14T09:28:00.001-06:00

Will was on the cross country team at Evergreen Jr High and had a great, short, season. Every morning he'd wake up super early and go running. They would either run 1.5 miles or 2 miles. Here he is at his last meet of the season. He improved every time and did fantastic! At every meet they run 1.5 miles. His best time was at his last meet. 12:41!!!

Great job Will!!

Kelsey's Bridals

2011-10-04T20:47:00.000-06:00

One of my beautiful cousin's Kelsey is getting hitch in a few days! We sure are excited for her and Colten to start their lives together. What a great lookin' couple they make! Well, she had some bridals taken and wasn't totally in love with them so I told her I'd take a few. They all turned out great, she is so photogenic! Here a re a few of the top ones we all loved!

Kelsey makes a BEAUTIFUL bride! I can't wait for her special day! (October the 7th!!)

Suzuki Violin

2011-10-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

Gavin has been playing the violin for several months now. He started last spring, took the summer off (his teacher had a baby and moved!) and just started back up again in September. Gavin is doing great! He really enjoys practicing and his teacher is incredible!

TWO years old!!

2011-09-29T10:34:00.000-06:00

Last night we started the Birthday celebrations for Naters! (Scott has to work ALL day today, so we ate the Mickey Mouse cookies and cupcakes last night!)

Nathan LOVES Mickey Mouse! Like LOVES him! I found these adorable, and easy, Mickey cookies and cupcakes on Pinterest a while back and I knew they'd be perfect for Nathan's party!

Today, the 29th, is his real TWO year birthday! WOWZA! My sweet baby doll is already 2? Time flies! We walked around the yard snapping some cute birthday shots. He's not much of a smiler, but loves looking at his picture after I take one.

Happy, happy birthday to my little man, Nathan! I hope you have a wonderful day!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Aaronic Priesthood

2011-09-19T10:08:00.001-06:00

On Will's Birthday night he received the Aaronic Priesthood. It was a very special evening and we had many wonderful friends and family in attendance!

The brethren that stood in were Scott, Harley, the Bishop, Ben, Chris, Dave, Jordan and Jackson. THANK you all for being great examples to Will and sharing with us this special event. Also to other family and friends who were in attendance. (Mom, Bill, Bubbles, Angie, Kelsey, Colten, Tricia, Nicole and the 10 Deacons in Will's class!!)

Will wanted fresh strawberry cupcakes. I made a test run earlier in the week and they came out great! They really were terrific cupcakes! Happy birthday Will! I am so proud of you for being worthy and having a desire for the priesthood!!

Strawberry Cupcakes

2 3/4 C flour

1/2 C cake flour

1 T baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 C. Butter (room temp)

2 1/4 C sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 large eggs and 1 egg white

1 C milk

2 C finely chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350*. Sift together both flours, baking powder and salt.

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. until fluffy. Add whole eggs and white one at a time. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk. Fold in chopped strawberries. Cook 25-30 minutes. Let completely cool.

For the frosting I made a cream cheese frosting but I added finely chopped strawberries to that too. Will didn't want fluffy frosting, so I made it a little different. They turned out great!!

10 years old!!

2011-09-19T09:48:00.000-06:00

Happy, Happy Birthday Jackson!! His birthday was on Saturday and it sure was a fun-filled day!! In the morning we had a special breakfast, opened presents and went to basketball practice. During the breaks from basketball we did a little geocaching. Went to a special lunch and got a dip cone.

After lunch we headed on a family hike to Donut Falls. It was a beautiful day and it was fun spending the entire day with the family!

All the big boys and Scott climbed all the way to the top! (Brigham, Gavin and Jackson's first time!!) It's so beautiful up there.

Here is a shot of all the boys climbing to the falls. Steep and slippery, but really fun!!

After, we headed home ate his favorite dinner and watched the BYU vs. U game. That was a terrible game!! But it was fun watching it as a family!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!!

Boden Family

2011-09-12T16:55:00.000-06:00

While in Santa Barbara over the summer I was able to take family portraits of the Boden and Mann family. Here are a few of the Boden's. Such a good-looking family! Such a wonderful, fun family!
Love you guys!!

Fat Cats party

2011-09-11T15:00:00.000-06:00

After the meet, after snow cones, after running errands...We headed to Fat Cats to celebrate Will's 12th birthday. He invited a couple of friends and we also met Grandma and Grandpa there. We had the whole place to ourselves! We played a ton of games and collected tickets to exchange for small dumb toys. They boys loved it!

After all the playing we ate pizza and salads on the back patio! A very fun evening with family and friends!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!!!

Last time this season!

2011-09-11T14:49:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite snow cone stands is officially closed for the season, but right before it shut down we took Nana and Papa there for a treat! Will got his for free because it was his birthday!!

We all enjoyed the cool treat.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!!!

Cross Country Meet

2011-09-11T14:45:00.000-06:00

Will is on the Evergreen Cross Country team and had his first meet on the 8th, his birthday!! My mom and Bill flew in earlier that morning and they were there for this special event. It was a mile and a half run. He placed 90th out of 130 7th, 8th and 9th graders.

We were all very proud of him! Here are 2 of his friends from school and the ward. One lives across the street and the other right next door!

Great job Will! And Happy Birthday!!

Quotes

2011-09-07T17:24:00.000-06:00

Have you been on Pinterest? Oh my! It's the most wonderful (time-sucking) site ever! It gives you all these great ideas of decorating, recipes, pictures, books, quotes....I've been collecting some of my favorite inspirational quotes for a while and FINALLY got busy and printed them up. The above one Scott and I have been working on for sometime. A couple of my friends had one like this, but with a few different words. We finally chose those words that describe our family perfectly. I love the way it came out! The quotes below I found off of Pinterest. LOVE THEM ALL!!

I made the above one on a little scrap piece of wood (3x6)and it sits on my desk next to all my material.

This is 8" tall over our french doors in the master bedroom.

I've had this photograph of our dear Prophet for sometime and wasn't sure how or where to use it. Then I came across this wonderful quote from him. LOVE how it turned out!

Can't see this as easily and it's missing a dot over the "i". UGH! I'm glad I own my own plotter (vinyl machine). We have been talking a lot with the boys about doing hard things and why we do them. This will be a subtle reminder!

T-ball

2011-09-07T17:10:00.000-06:00

Brig's started t-ball yesterday through The Lions Club. He had so much fun and it was very enjoyable watching him.

They put the kids into three different groups. A hitting station (which he hit the ball the farthest!!)

A running station. They learned which bases to run to and when. (well, kinda!)

And third was a throwing station. He kept chucking his ball way past his partner.

At the end, all the kids did a little cheer and had a snack. Brig's did great! And he had fun!

preschool

2011-09-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

This morning was Brig's first day of preschool! He attends Miss Dana's preschool right next door to our house. Super close, super easy! Dana Anderson is in our ward and she is wonderful! We've been counting down this day for a looooong time!

Walking down into her basement where they built a little preschool room.

They had their picture taken and painted their bags they will use for the rest of the school year.

The kids ate snacks while Miss Dana went over schedule, upcoming activities and other parent stuff.

"Born to Run"

2011-08-31T08:57:00.001-06:00

A few of my friends and I headed down to Orem to take this running class that teaches you different techniques. (My cousin went there and I already wrote about her experience here) The class was great and we had a fun time.

Here are the main points I learned:

Stride length does not mean speed. Light, soft, quick. (relax!)
Run with your chest lifted just a bit, being proud.
Thumbs up hands relaxed and don't let your elbows go in front of your waist. No twisting.
Run barefoot, that is almost a perfect form. Try to incorporate that style with shoes on.
Time yourself. In 20 seconds your right foot should take 30 steps. Go to Motiontracks.com and download your music to be 180 beats and run to that.

The next morning I started "Born to Run". WOWZA!! The first part of the book is great, the middle goes off on a few tangents, but then the end is awesome. My running class talked about the same things as the book. But the book gave more examples and was so helpful.

Here are the main parts of the book that jumped out to me:

(pg. 203)

Tie a rope around your waist while someone holds on and you take off, then he let's go. That helps your chest stay lifted (pride posture)
Keep your feet under your body, your hips driving straight ahead, and your heels out of the picture.
Everyone is built for running. (We run when we're excited. We run towards something. We run when were afraid. We run away from things.)
Should you cut some weight before you run...? No your diet will change all by yourself after you run.

(pg. 204)

Watch kids at a playground running around. Their feet land right underneath and they push back. perfect form.
180 beats in a minute (30 steps in 20 seconds)
Easy, light, smooth.

(pg. 207)

Train your body to burn fat instead of sugar. The longer your limited sugar tank is going to last.
The way to activate your fat-burning furnace is by staying below your aerobic threshold-your hard breathing point.
Occasionally breath with your mouth closed.

(pg. 208)

The faster you can run comfortably the less energy you'll need.
Speed means less time on your feet.
Get strong while getting lean.

(pg.210-211)

Salad for breakfast. (I know it sounds totally weird! BUT, it seems spot-on as you learn why!!)
If you get leafy greens in your body first thing in the morning (it fills you up but you can still run right after. It also has a lot of water to help hydrate your body) you'll lose a lot of weight.
Back straight (pride), knees bent and driving forward.

I injured my knee a few weeks ago and could hardly walk, seriously so painful. It was right when I started in to this running thing. I wanted to start running, but I couldn't. I went to Education Week at BYU and wobbled around the campus in so much pain. A week after that was the running class. We had to run around the building 3 times and they video taped up. Oh man I thought I was going to faint with pain.

Then, I finished the book, "Born to Run" and was excited to get out there on the road and RUN! So last night Scott and mapped out a 2 mile loop and off we went. I ran down my street, remembering all the little techniques, over to the other street and then I stopped running. My knee was hurting pretty bad, again. BOO! I was so mad! All I want to do is RUN and I can't! Scott kept running and I finally caught up to him at the top of the next street. (Way to go Scott!!) We changed our route to just a mile (A stupid little mile!!!) On the way back down our street, Scott was almost home, and I decided to take my shoes off. I ran all the way home. Without stopping. Without pain. In the correct form, (well, as correct as I could holding my shoes!) WOW! I felt great. I wanted to keep running all night. I use to HATE running!! After the class (Runnerscorner.com in Orem. $5 bucks for 2 hours of great info!!!) and after reading "Born to Run" and after what happened last night, I AM A RUNNER! I LOVE RUNNING! I will LOVE WHAT IT DOES TO MY BODY!

If you're experienced or a beginner, read "Born to Run"! So much great information!

The big hill

2011-08-31T08:19:00.000-06:00

Our neighbors, two houses down, knocked their house down to rebuild. They moved all the dirt to his backyard, which has now become the most favorite place to play in the neighborhood. It's a HUGE mound of dirt. The kids love climbing up and running and jumping down.

So FUN!!

Sunsets and Gardens

2011-08-29T15:59:00.000-06:00

One of things I LOVED about Arizona are their magnificent sunsets. Truly breathtaking! When I moved to Utah I was wonderfully surprised that the sunsets here are fantastic as well...All three of these shots were taken just this week. I know a lot of scenic photos can get mundane and boring, but these shots are beautiful (and don't really give the sunset justice!) Our house is a little taller than anyone around us, so we can walk out on our deck and bask in the beauty of nature.
The other shot is of my garden. I love, love love gardening. It was extremely hard in Arizona to grow anything. At my new location the soil and weather are terrific. (I do have a sloped garden, which has been hard to manage...)I've already harvested all my spinach and lettuce. I re-planted peas and more cabbage in that same location. I already have harvested several (huge) zucchini's, tomatoes, corn, peas and carrots. It been fun to head out in the garden with the boys and talk and eat out there. Just this afternoon Will and I were out there snacking as he told me about his first Cross Country practice. A wonderful experience. There is still more corn, peas, tomatoes, onions, tomatillos, pumpkins, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce out there still growing! YUM!

Kindergarten!!

2011-08-29T08:51:00.000-06:00

Today is Gavin's first day of Kindergarten! FINALLY! He has been super excited about heading off to Kindergarten. When I woke up this morning he was already dressed and ready downstairs. Adorable!

We arrived a little early so I could take some shots of him. So we headed outside and played for a bit on the playground.

Time to line-up and head on in to class!

Some parents were crying...Umm weird! They only go to Kindergarten for 3 hours! I wish it was full day...I know he'll have a blast and learn a ton!
I love you Gavin!!

Fresh Lemonade...and Snow Cones!!

2011-08-25T13:53:00.000-06:00

During the summer the boys sold lemonade a few times. Each time they'd make a little over $20.00. One of my cousins in California told us to sell snow cones too. We have a snow cone machine and thought that was a great idea! The boys would work together and sell lemonade and snow cones and their money almost doubled! Way to go boys!!

Across the street they'd wave their arms and a sign to attract more attention to the stand. They all worked together and had a fun time. We made the cute lemonade stand for them, but we need to attach an umbrella to it. It gets mighty hot sitting out there in the sun!

Seven Peaks

2011-08-25T13:38:00.002-06:00

We bought season passes to Seven Peaks water park this last year. They came with arena football passes, hockey, and soccer. During the summer we went every Tuesday and Thursday and it was a blast! We'd always meet up with friends and family. Every time we'd go we would try a new ride or do something we've never done before. It was super fun! Now that school has started the hours have changed a bit, but we're planning on heading there again this Saturday! It's still in the 90's here (which is waaaay too hot!!)

Re-Purposing Pants into Shorts!

2011-08-25T13:29:00.000-06:00

I have been collecting pants and jeans with holes in them for sometime now. Usually I'll toss them out but when I found this it gave great directions on how to re-purpose the boys pants into shorts. As you know, I have 6 BOYS, who go through clothes faster than I can buy them. I had about 10 pairs of holey pants and cranked them all out one afternoon. I saved some of the cut off part and made cute pockets. I also did a cute stitch at the bottom of the helm to add a nice rugged look.

Thank you Make it and Love it!!

Recital

2011-08-25T13:20:00.000-06:00

Right after school was released the boys had their first piano recital. A few of the neighborhood kids also receive lessons. It was fun to have friends there for the big event. Each of my boys played 3 songs. Tyler had 2 of the 3 memorized. Jackson had all three memorized, and so did Will. They played beautifully!

Michael and Kyrra's BIG day!

2011-08-22T09:04:00.001-06:00

My cousin, Michael, was sealed in the Bountiful temple a couple Saturday's ago to Kyrra. It was such a beautiful event. I was able to take some of their pictures around the Temple.

Later that night we headed to the reception...Where Jackson caught the garter! Umm...

The next door neighbor's have a trampoline. I asked if they could head over there to jump while snapping some cute action shots. They had a blast, and the pictures came out real cute!
Congratulations Michael and Kyrra! We are thrilled for both of you!

First Day of School!

2011-08-22T08:48:00.001-06:00

Last night was a special evening for us. The night before school Scott gives each of the boys a Father's Blessing. They look forward to this and were excited for their opportunity. We also have to have FHE on Sunday nights because Scott pulls a double on Monday's. Jackson was in charge last night and did a great job. Teaching us about the First Vision. He planned out the whole lesson. I was very proud of him and how mature he introduced the topic and read from the scriptures. After, were the blessings and then family prayer. The boys also picked out their new outfits and packed their backpacks.

Will is in the 7th grade at Evergreen Jr. High school! He met up with a couple of his friends and they rode their bikes to school. Of course I followed snapping some shots of the first day of this big adventure! I am excited for Will and know he'll make the transition smoothly.

Jackson is in the 5th grade with Mrs. Rato. Tyler is in the 3rd grade with Mrs. Budge at Rosecrest Elementary school. (Gavin will attend kindergarten next week!)

First Class and Camping

2011-08-22T08:33:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday night Will received his First Class (not really sure what that is or what that means! All this Scouting lingo is so foreign to me!!) Anyways, he is on his way to receive his Eagle on his 13th birthday! It's something he wants to do, so we support him. (Little Scott Junior!)

All the boys in his troop received an average of 6 awards! It was a great meeting! Will also received 10 other awards that he and Scott has relentlessly been working on. (Scott is the new Scout Master...and LOVES it!!)

Cute Brig's is wearing the Bishop's cool hat. Brig's and the Bishop have a special relationship. It's adorable to watch them, interact!

Last week they troop headed out on a long hike and camp out. Will took the small camera so mom could blog about it! Such a good son! Here are a few of the boys fishing. The fished everyday and ate it that night for dinner.

Here's Brother Aldus teaching Will to fly fish!

Way to go Will!!

Viva La Fiesta!

2011-08-22T08:24:00.000-06:00

There is a holiday/celebration in Santa Barbara every year for the past 100 years. Fiesta. I love, love, love Fiesta time. There are parades, dances, entertainment, games, rides, booths, food....And many other wonderful things to see and do during the first week of August. It's been 4 years since I've been to Fiesta. We all dressed up and headed downtown for lunch.

Here is one of our favorite taco booths. Their meat is marinated and the tortilla is cooked to order. So good!

Another fun tradition of Fiesta is to buy eggs that are filled with confetti and crack it on someones head. Four for a dollar, you can't beat that price!

The stage was filled with different age dance groups performing traditional Spanish style routines. Adorable!

Liva La Fiesta!!

Two Peas in a Pod

2011-08-12T14:02:00.001-06:00

The title is kinda corny when you find out who I'm talking about...You may have guessed it, it's Scott and I. But really, we are perfect for each other! He is, and always has been, my knight in shining armor. He fills in where I fall short and I fill in for him where he needs it.

Scott has an extremely busy crazy schedule. (Like always!) We ALWAYS talk on the phone, text, IM, send an e-mail several times a day to each other. No MATTER WHAT!

When I need him to help me with something he'll drop whatever he's doing and come to my aid. He is such a great guy and I love him so much. That's why these past 3 days have been VERY hard. He is backpacking with the scouts (his new calling is Scout Master) way up in the mountains where there is NO cell phone coverage. Now, we've been married well over a decade and this is only (thankfully) the second time this has happened. The first was while he was traveling to Johannesburg South Africa.

I miss him.

Then, to top it off Jackson and Tyler are still in California with my mom, and Will is with Scott. It's Gavin, Brig's and Naters here with me. We've had fun but I miss Scott.

Nathan pooped in his swimming suit AFTER we went swimming the other day. I wanted to yell out, "Scott! Nathan needs to be changed!" And he would of done it in a heartbeat. I had to do it. Yuck!

I miss Scott.

While in Santa Barbara I took some photos of a large family at the beach. I'm trying to open them up in Photo Shop Elements and having some minor troubles. "Scott! Can you help me on the computer!" And he would of figured it out in 10 minutes top. I plugged away and finally figured it all out 2 hours and 3 YouTube videos later.

I miss Scott.

Nathan is at that age where he is a little tornado. Right after I clean up a certain area I turn around to find another mess. When I have completed cleaning that area I'll turn back around and now it's messy over there. My back is starting to hurt from leaning over picking up toys, food, stuff. "Scott can you either play with Nathan or clean this area up for me?" And he would of. He'd probably take Nate to play with and I'd clean up the mess, but later that night while watching tv in bed, he'd rub my back.

I miss Scott.

I do miss all these physical things Scott does for me and the family. But I miss talking with him on the phone. I miss receiving texts from him periodically throughout the day. Nothing major has happened, I just tell him everything.

I miss Scott.

I miss my best friend.

He comes home in 24 hours from now! YEAH!

Jr. High...Say What?!

2011-08-11T17:18:00.000-06:00

My baby Will is 11 years old and heading to JUNIOR HIGH! Wild! He will be attending Evergreen Jr. High, just a couple blocks away from our house. We went the other day to get his class schedule, find his home room, walk around to find all his classes and to find his locker.

Here is his class schedule:
Physical Education
Science GT (Gifted and Talented)
Tenor, Chorus
CTE Intro (Shop, home economics.)
Drama
History GT
Pre Algebra honors
English GT

He has 2 classes up stairs. The stairs are right next to his locker. He plans on riding his bike to school with a few other friends. I know he'll have a great time there. I love Jr. High. I loved high even more. And I especially loved college. I'm not worried about him at all, it just makes me a little sad to see his growing into a young man.

**Side note about Evergreen Jr. High. When my mom was a little girl she lived on Evergreen (the street south of the school). She would cross the street and play in a huge field all the time. Then, they started building on that open play area. They build Evergreen Jr. High. My mom, Will's Nana, watch Evergreen being build. Now her oldest grandson is attending there!!

Sliding at the Zoo!!

2011-08-11T12:32:00.000-06:00

The second week of vacation Jackson and Tyker had Zoo camp and the other boys went to different camps around towm. Santa Barbara offers so many wonderful camps for the boys to participate it! We sure loving spending time there!
There is this cool hill in the playground area at the zoo. People bring cardboard and can slide down the hill. Well, it's a lot of fun. We always stay for an hour or so sliding down it. FUN!!

Will is more daring and always rides the hill down while standing. Like he's snow boarding. So I gave it a try. I went very slowy inching myu way down. I do not want to fall and get injured, I have too many children to worry about!

The back side of the hill is much steeper and goes faster. It also goes much faster when you have a lot of people that go at the same time. The extra weight made us fly down! It was fun!

My mom even tried it a few times. That is a different post all in itself. Oh man, those pictures are funny!

Lucky

2011-08-10T15:58:00.000-06:00

Look how handsome all these boys are! I am one lucky lady! Each of these magnificent boys are such wonderful blessings in my life.

Hunger Games

2011-08-10T15:44:00.001-06:00

Meet the cast of the Hunger Games… The movie is scheduled to release in March of 2012. I am super excited for this movie to come out!!

*Jennifer Lawrence: Katniss Everdeen

*Donald Sutherland: President Snow
*Alexander Ludwig: Cato
*Liam Hemsworth: Gale Hawthorne
*Josh Hutcherson: Peeta Mellark
*Woody Harrelson: Haymitch Abernathy

Thanks C4U for this info!!

Boogie Boarding Fun!

2011-08-09T23:11:00.000-06:00

All the boys improved so much during our 3 weeks vacation to Southern California. We've always loved the water, but the boys spend most the time playing in the sand. We bought some more boogie boards and a skim board and they had a blast. There was a few days the waves were pretty big (3-4 ft) and they had a blast boogie boarding.

Scott (finally) joined us in Santa Barbara and boogie boarded

with us!

I was so happy to watch my boys and Scott boogie board so well and have so much fun. I taught them all everything they know! :)

Tomato Paste/Sauce

2011-08-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

My cousin, Clareesa, taught me this delicious recipe! She makes this unbelievable tomato paste from ingredients in her garden. It's perfect for any Italian or Mexican meal. Clareesa pours the cooled mixture into these freezer pouches, but I decided to bottle mine.
I picked all this out of her garden. Tomatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic and bell peppers. I then cut them up in large chunks and tossed them into a large pot. I stewed it all together for about 30 minutes. I drained about a cup of excess water out of the pot. I then poured it into my blender (my cousin has one of those handy hand blenders and so she didn't have to pour the mixture into the blender and then back into the pot!)

Next, I added salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin...really whatever you can find in your pantry. Even taco seasoning would be great! I made most of the bottles of sauce the same. Then I made a batch that had a bit more Mexican flare on it. I added more chili powder, and a jalapeno pepper. It came out so good! Then, I made a batch a little bit more with an Italian style. I added more herbs. It too turned out great! I continued to cook the paste/sauce for another 30-60 minutes. ( you can take off more water off the top if want.) I poured the mixture into warmed bottles and placed them in a water bath for 30 minutes. Easy, and so worth it! One of my jars didn't seal properly and so we had spaghetti the next night. It was the best sauce ever. It tasted great. It was all fresh from the garden and I made it!

Overall, I bottled a dozen jars of this delicious sauce/paste. I left some in Santa Barbara with my mom and the rest I brought home for my family. I can't wait my garden is ready to harvest. I plan on making a few more batches soon!

Solvang

2011-08-08T18:50:00.000-06:00

Solvang is a cute little quaint town that is filled with small bakeries and many, many tourists. I looked like one while there as I snapped several shots of store fronts. I love going to Solvang because it's so cute. i feel like I was transported to a small village (with many tourists) in the middle of Denmark some where. I love the architect. I love the cute mom and pop stores. I love with pastry shops. This is my FAVORITE treat. I am not even sure of it's name!

Another great thing to do in Solvang is shop at the fabric store. ALL fabric is a mere .99 cents a yard. There are several rooms with bolts and bolts of different types of fabrics. A lot of it is funky weird fabric, but I always find some material I can use. You cut your own. It's based on the honor system. I always find a few treasures there.

CAMPS!!

2011-07-27T17:56:00.000-06:00

In May when I went flew to Santa Barbara I planned out the entire summer. We blocked THREE fun-filled weeks of different camps and activities for the kiddos to participate in.

The first week Brigham and Gavin went to Zoo camp. Will, Jackson and Tyler attended Art camp. All the boys had a fun time. They were at camp for most of the day which was a nice little break for me. Nathan and I had a little one on one time and we too had fun.

Week two Will went to baseball camp. Jackson and Tyler had Zoo camp and Gavin attended Safety town camp. Brig's hung out with Nate, Nana and me.

Week three no one had camp. We hung out and played at Nana's house. We went to different parks, went on walks and hikes, the beach (shocking!), Geo caching, Fiesta activities and most importantly Scott came to visit.

Henry's

2011-07-26T17:12:00.000-06:00

When heading to Southern California, Henry's Beach is a MUST! We all flew to Santa Barbara and stayed with my mom for three wonderful, relaxing, full, fun weeks! We headed to the beach almost every other day. It was fabulous. We have collected boogie boards, sand toys, an umbrella, chairs, a skin board and other goodies for the beach at my moms house. We always have a blast!

I love the beach. I love the smell. I love the sound. I love the colors. I love the temperature. I love the water. I love the sand. I love to swim out to the buoy. I love to boogie board in it. I love dive into a huge wave. I love taking walks down the beach and collecting shells and sea glass. (I do not like swimming in sea weed. I do not like jaws or walking on rocks while trying to head out to deeper water!)

This was Tyler's first attempt at the new skin board...and he did great! He kept practicing on that and became pretty good. I did teach him to slide into a wave. It helps his to add a little lift to his run and most importantly if/when he falls the wave provides a better cushion.

Nathan did not like the sand one bit. He had to have his flip flops on to walk on it. If his shoes were not on his feet he would just sit on Nana's lap or on a boogie board and play. He was so silly!

Will, Jackson and I boogie boarded the most but Tyler, Gavin and Brig's went out a little too. More of those photos later!

If was so fun! I already miss it!

Nice Neighbors

2011-07-17T17:07:00.000-06:00

We have some GREAT neighbors in this community! One of the families has a pool (with a diving board, slide, and lots of fun toys!!) and they open it up to us! How wonderful are they?!

The boys love heading over to the Patten's pool and having a blast...So do I!

Some of the cousins met us there the last time we went.
Adorable goggles Ang!! She is prepared just in case she gets thrown in! :)

Here is Kelsey modeling with her make-up running down her face. Cute Nathan didn't get in much. He enjoyed pitting on a huge inflatable chair watching us. He did jump in at the end for a few minutes of fun with mom.

THANKS again!!

Pool Day!

2011-07-13T15:51:00.000-06:00

One of my neighbor's has a pool and kindly opens it up once a week for the neighborhood families during the summer! We've now been a few times, but here are some shots of our first plunge! They have a diving board and a slide! So much fun!

Will learned how to do a back dive!

THANKS Chris and family for allowing us to take over your backyard! It was a lot of fun, as always!!

Produce Co-op

2011-07-13T15:43:00.000-06:00

I started my own produce co-op!! I got GREAT information on how to do this here. It looked like a great thing to do, so you know me, I did it! I asked some cousins and neighborhood friends and gathered 14 of us together. I made the order on Tuesday morning through a local whole sale produce company. They delivered all the produce this morning, right to our door! I purchased small laundry baskets from the Dollar Store and started loading up the baskets.

I had help from the boys and Scott, THANKS guys! In every basket there were an even amount of produce. All the extras went into an "extras" box for later choosing.

Look how beautiful these produces are! WOWZA!!

In each basket everyone received 1 clove of garlic, 1 head of lettuce, 1 cauliflower, 2 broccoli's, 7 bananas, 1 1lb bag of baby carrots, 4 oranges, 8 apples, 11 plums, 15 apricots, and a 5lb bag of potatoes. Also, each gal chose 4 items from the "extra" box. Each person paid $16.50 and we will make an order every two weeks!

Our co-op group is called Rosecrest Co-op! I am thrilled I started one in my area! I already have 4 more ladies who want in!

Sparkler FUN!!

2011-07-08T16:56:00.000-06:00

I learned how to change the setting in my camera to make some of the above pictures with the sparklers. Didn't they turn out so dang cool? I found some great info on how to do this on Sugar Bee Crafts and Brown Paper Packages.

The end of the 4th

2011-07-08T16:42:00.000-06:00

After the fun BBQ we headed over to the park where the fireworks were going to go off. We got there a little early to get good seating. The kids played and ran all over. It was a beautiful evening. The temp was cool and there was a slight breeze in the air. It was perfect!

Nathan tackling his cousin Jack with a little help from Brigs.

My handsome 3 year old!

Angie bought all the kids glow sticks that they either put on their wrists or around their ankles. They loved them!

The Walkers snuggling with each other watching the fireworks!

We lit some sparklers, which Naters was a little worried about at first. He liked it later watching the other kids play with them.

FUN day. FUN evening! Happy 4th of July!!

4th of July family BBQ

2011-07-08T16:31:00.000-06:00

We had a fun BBQ at Bubbles house with over 20 AWESOME family members! The kids played in the slip-n-slid, we ate some delicious food (more on that a tad later!!), and had a delightful time with everyone.

I made some home made salsa (the cilantro, onions and jalapeno pepper were from my garden!! HOLLER!!) I also made some other dips, delicious corn on the cob and red, white and blue homemade cupcakes, so much better that those box kinds!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!!!!!

Fourth of July Festival

2011-07-08T16:25:00.000-06:00

After the 4th of July parade there was a fun festival in a nearby park. I walked the two little ones over as the other big boys rode their bikes. There was a lot of fun thing for the boys to do, yummy things to eat and fun things to see. I sure love this time of year!

Downtown Fun with Stacy!!

2011-07-07T19:58:00.001-06:00

A couple weeks ago one of my dear friends, Stacy, came to visit for a couple days. The day she flew in we had a fun BBQ with Emily (One of the creators of Signing Times)and all of our kids. The next morning we headed to "Two Little Hands Productions" which was real neat. (Scott, Will, Jackson and I were in the FIRST signing Times video!!) Later that day we headed downtown to show Stacy some fun historical sights. We've known Stacy for a little over 9 years. She is deaf and was Scott ASL teacher when we lived in Santa Barbara. Stacy is also a non-member and had never been to the Joseph Smith memorial building or Temple Square.

We also headed to LDS Church office building to the very top. It has the best views of this beautiful valley. I especially love the view of the capitol.
We had a wonderful visit with Stacy! WE LOVE YOU!!