The Miller 8

school and football

2011-08-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about how school starts in nine days! This will be the first time (except the year I was pregnant with Sara and spent half my day in bed and the other half being crossing guard...so it doesn't count) in twenty years that I will have my children in school all day. I may actually get something done...or just enjoy going to the bathroom by myself. I am looking forward to Sara's first grade year.
We also have started football season. We had our parent meeting on Saturday and the boys practiced all week last week. We did have sign-ups in July and I guess Spencer is growing up because I didn't even go with him to sign up. Every year I bring my camera and take pictures as we progress through the line. I enjoy standing in the hot sun because it means soon I will be in the shade of a tree sitting in a camp chair as he practices and Sara can play with her little friends while I visit with mine. This year I picked Kim up at the airport while he stood in line with a friend and when through the whole procedure ....and no pictures. I guess he is growing up.

2011-07-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

While our boys were on scout adventures this week we had a girl sleepover with the cousins. It was fun to get the sisters together, but we did have to entertain the little girls. First we just let them play for a while. As dinner approached Wendy's was the eatery of choice. After dinner we got the girls settled in for a movie at the theater--Hoodwinked. The sisters gathered across the parking lot for a yummy meal and visiting at the Olive Garden. Before we knew it it was time to pick up the cousins. (85 minutes sure goes by fast.)
They were hoping to go swimming, but we ended up at the Riverwoods playing around in the sidewalk fountains.
And they did get a shuttle ride back to the car.
As we pulled into home, Grandma and Uncle Brad had a nice fire going to roast marshmallows for S'mores. Yum! About eleven we were ready to wind things down and I think everyone even got a pretty good rest...considering the circumstances. It was a fun evening.

Twenty-six years

2011-07-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

On June 26th Kim and I celebrated 26 years of being together. It seems like just yesterday we spent a whirlwind day going through the Oakland temple and rushing to our reception in Paradise. It was a perfect day and thanks to my mom...quite stress-free. I took care of the wedding dress and chose the colors, but she pulled it all together and did it beautifully. But really the only thing that mattered was that I had found the man I was going to spend eternity with.
To celebrate we spent two nights at the Crystal Inn in SLC. We spent real money and went to a real movie theater (not the dollar theater) and watched Seventeen Miracles. Yeah, just another handcart story, but not really. It reminded me that we need to always remember. Beautiful story!
This is the sunset as we got out of the Theater. The next day we went to the Draper temple where we were able to spend a good part of the day working in the temple. It was nice being together. Later in the day we took a drive up the canyon and ended up at Brighton. It is Jared's favorite ski resort, but we had never been there. Beautiful (winding) drive and it is a nice resort.
We took our time getting home the next day. It was good to get away and spend time with my eternal companion.

2011-06-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week at girls camp. It was a lovely little camp right along the river. Don't worry, nobody drowned...which was my worry.
Here are my cute girls with the two priesthood from our ward. The camp theme was "The Master's garden" and we were the rock garden. It was really fun and we had an awesome camp director and an amazing week, but I am Oh so glad to be home!!!

Brandon Graduates!

2011-06-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

June 3, 2011 Brandon graduates from Orem High School. He is on the back row with the white collar. (Graduation services are held at BYU)
It is such a better view from the Jumbotron.
Proud Dad!
Proud Mom.

2011-06-19T14:27:00.001-07:00

Good-bye suburban. We are on a quest to be more economical. It just did not make sense for me to be riding around town in the big suburban. Most of the time I was alone or with only one other child. Very rarely did I even have three kids with me...and almost never the whole family. It was time to say our farewells. A sweet lady down the street bought it and now I can pass by and check up on it every once in a while. I hope they enjoy it as much as we did. We just don't know what we will do when we go camping? We'll cross that bridge when it come ;-)

Oh, yes, we were not without a car for long. My brother sold us his Honda which we picked up just the next day.

Kindergarten Bowling

2011-06-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Sara's class went bowling. I was lucky enough to go with them. We were able to walk just a couple of blocks to the bowling alley. All the children just wore socks. Can you imagine coming up with enough shoes to fit that many kindergarten students! We just bowled for an hour, but almost got two whole games in. Some of the children did quite well...well, it was bumper bowling.

2011-06-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is Sara's friend, Brooklyn, but this sums up how our Spring season of soccer went. Brooklyn was quite competitive, but Sara just doesn't get it yet and was actually elated when the season was actually over...FOREVER! We will not be signing up again. (not her favorite sport)

Sara enjoying a soccer snack.

Alpine Days

2011-06-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Spencer had a great track season. He ran the 800 and mile for most of the season. Then at the last meet he decided to try the high jump and with that event qualified for Alpine Days. It was fun to go and watch him compete, but makes a really long day! He came in fifth in the high jump. He is not afraid to try new things and loves the competition. Way to go, Spence!

2011-05-09T17:33:00.003-07:00

I will try to be better at blogging. So much happens that I don't document and I want to use this as a record of our lives...not doing much good if I don't add the things we are doing. As I move on with our daily activities I just had to add that while I was in Vegas, Shelly and I went to see the Blue Man Group. What a fun show! We had seats on row D (4th row) and smack in the middle. We wore plastic ponchos to keep clean...but really nothing got on us anyway. One of the guys did step right over me, though. It was SOOO much fun!!!

2011-04-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

What did I do for Spring break? You mean with snow every day? What was that about? I spent the first part with my family. We went swimming at the rec center, watched movies, and played with friends (and the kids will tell you we made them work). Then I let them enjoy their freedom while I met up with a friend in Henderson. We got a hotel that had a living room, a kitchen, and two bedrooms.
She packed up her car with ALL her scrapping gadgets, tools, and papers...even her Cricket machine. It took two huge trips on the luggage rack to get it into the hotel. Then we spent two whole days scrapbooking.
Well, we did stop to eat and spent a little time at the pool, but we got a lot of scrapping done!
The weather was beautiful.

2011-04-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

We have started spring break. I spent most of my day doing taxes. The kids played with a few friends and then for FHE we went swimming at the fitness center. It was fun.

2011-04-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sara had a tangled party.
Here we are getting our ears pierced.

They gave her this teddy bear to hold. Pretty soon she gave it back and said, "That's O.K. my cousin is going to hold me."
A few of her family gifts.
The cute Pollys from friends.
Blowing out her candle.
Tangled tug-o-war.
Claire lost the battle.
Pin the frying pan on Flynn. (or hit Flynn with the Pan)
We made Pascal party blowers.
Isabel coloring a paper that you could do your own hairstyle on Rapunzel.
Our Jell-O boats.
I put the cake together just before I left to volunteer in Sara's class. When I came home, the tower had fallen. I attempted to fix it, but it never looked the same.
I googled "Tangled party ideas" and a site came up from Supermom that had all these fun ideas.

2011-03-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Since Spencer has his first track meet tomorrow, I thought I would close out the basketball season. We had a great team with amazing coaches...great people to exemplify...great examples to our boys. We had some wins and some losses, but when it came to the play-offs our boys went all the way and won their championship game last Tuesday night. After the game we went into the hall while the coaches gave them their post-game talk. One of the players had a little brother with Down-syndrome. When they started handing out championship tee shirts he got all excited thinking he was going to get one. I thought, "Oh no! He was in for a disappointment." He had been at all the practices and, yes, they had a shirt for him. Man, was he excited! The coach told them how much he loved coaching them and a few weeks ago he sat down and wrote each one of them a letter...he even had one for this little guy. Well, the letters were heart-felt and sincere. I couldn't have expected a better season for Spencer.

The burial

2011-03-05T07:29:00.001-08:00

A storm was coming in. We decided to travel half way on Friday and stayed the night in Cedar City. In the motel room the next morning we got ready for the burial then headed to Mesquite. It was rainy, cold, wet. We arrived in Mesquite early so we converged at the church building as we waited. Then when the time came we went to the cemetery where my Uncle Don dedicated the grave and my dad was laid to rest.
Following the dedication we went back to the church building where Uncle Don and Aunt Gerri's families provided a luncheon. (Thank you soooo much!!) My cousin Christina and her two children came up from Vegas. More family from Mesquite and a Missionary buddy "Woody" joined us.
Now it is over. We have been involved in funeral preparations and have kept our thoughts busy. What lies ahead? Life does go on and I have an example to follow.

Rest in Peace

2011-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was my father's funeral. The hustle and bustle started early...getting ready, viewing at 9:00, funeral at 11:00, visiting and luncheon following. The day was chilly, but beautiful. So many family members came from near and far. Paradise and Gridley friends,missionary and MTC friends, ward friends...friends...many in attendance. My dad looked good. Sometimes I laugh when the family says that, but he really did look good. He looked peaceful. His brother, Lowell and Ann came. His sister Carol and Earl were there. His sister-in-law, Debbie and her children came. My Mom's sister, Geraldine and her brother Don and Dianne were there to comfort her. So many cousins showed that I can't name them all. When we walked into the chapel they had reserved the whole middle section for our family. I believe we filled it all.
The service was nice and honored my father well. All of his children participated and were able to share bits of his life. He was a good man, truly an example in life and death. He was not afraid to die and was valiant to the end.

2011-02-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

My Dad passed away yesterday at 3:02 a.m. He was confined to a hospital bed since Tuesday and we were taking turns staying with my mom to help give medications and be by his side. Saturday night the hospice nurse told us it would only be hours. We called Stewart and Matthew (the only two not there at the moment) and they came to join us. We attended to him and spent the time visiting till almost 3:00. Then April and Matthew headed home and we settled down for the night. Richard was by his side. Stewart hadn't heard him breath for a while and came in to check on him. He gave one last breath and he was gone. We were all together and he had struggled so hard to the end. He will be missed and was loved by so many. Love you, Dad.

2011-01-13T21:09:00.001-08:00

I got a call from Jared today asking me to come pick him up from school. He had gotten in a wreck on the way to school and totaled his car. Everyone is all right and the people he hit were so nice they gave him a ride to school. He has calculus and swears he can't miss a day. He got there for the last fourty minutes. Poor guy! I guess we will wait and see what the insurance company says, but he may be looking for a new car. His car was a red Mazda Protege.

We are warm and toasty

2011-01-10T14:58:00.000-08:00

The furnace guy called on Thursday and said that they had a cancellation. Would it be all right if they came? I was not passing up that opportunity and cleared my whole schedule ...which was very doable!!
It took about five hours and when they were done we turned the heat "up" to 64 and basked in the warmth. Yes, my standards of warmth have changed. I would be so excited if we were above 51 when we woke up in the morning and happy when we could get the house to 64 before bed-time.
When it got fixed the kids commented how warm and toasty it is. I laugh a little inside and think this might help in our efforts to conserve energy. In the meantime, we might have jacked up our electric bill. We will see when the bill comes!?!
With the new thermostate we will have to do a little touch-up work and maybe we will chose a new color...it is time!

2011-01-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight for Young Women we decorated our binders. The girls were very creative and they turned out
cute.

Then I had to go pick Spencer up from basketball practice. I think he has a good team, but the first game is this Saturday and we will see. Actually his scout troop has a camp-out planned for all day that same day. It is really quite a dillema for him...he can't be in two places at once and they both sound fun!

2011-01-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

So, I am lying in bed with my laptop in front of me listening to Simon and Garfunkle and checking on my bloggy friends. First thing I went to Elesa's (my sister-in-law) blog. I quite frequently enjoy her blog for her wit. She is so excited because she has been featured in a magazine called The Barrell. Of course I am excited for her and went to the site to see what was said. Yes, I had read these posts before, but as I am reading I started laughing and laughed even more with the thought of my husband lying asleep in dreamland beside me and I am lying in bed laughing. Thanks, Elesa, for making me laugh...oh, and the pie was delicious. I think I will go cut me another slice: )

Good-bye 2010

2010-12-31T21:41:00.001-08:00

Good-bye 2010. I have not posted for quite a while, but thought I would send out the old year. I have been struggling with writing. I guess I felt if I didn't tell everything that was happening to me it would be like not telling the whole truth...so I didn't write. I know I can chose how much information I share and I will just have to keep that in mind. My family has a bit of a crisis. We are losing our dad to cancer. That is all I will say and hope that I can focus on the other aspects of my life.
Update:
Mandy came home from Maine on November 22 (her birthday), but due to a delay in her first flight she missed her connection in Georgia and didn't make it home till the next day. So now it has been nice to have her home for over a month and will enjoy her for about a month longer before she is back to the state she loves.
We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. Our house used to be the perfect place to get together, but all our families have grown so much and even with our family, the basement is claimed as bedrooms by certain children so we don't have as much space. All went well, but we just weren't able to spread out as we once did.
Brandon went in for his procedure. Actually when they put him under and then scoped his esophagos it had opened up on its own. The before and after pictures are amazing. Maybe staying away from eggs??? He came home and took his big pill and it went right down. That is a first. Before he had to take it out of the capsule. Anyway, they took a biopsy and later we got a call that he tested positive for a condition that will go away with medication. We are glad that it is getting taken care of and he can live a normal life!
Our furnace died on us and it has taken us a little while to scrape up enough money for the furnace. We knew we wanted one by the end of the year so we could take advantage of the tax credit. We thought maybe we could make it through the winter with our little electric heaters, but yesterday morning we woke up with ice on our windows! And with temperature in single digits we broke down and did get one that will be installed next week. I will be counting down till the day!
All our kids were home for Christmas and it was nice to be together. I think Santa was quite generous and my children don't have outrageous lists. For new years they found various activities to attend. With just half an our to go, here I am, ready for the new year.

2010-11-17T15:14:00.001-08:00

Brandon went in for allergy tests today...there could be a connection with food allergies and his esophogos. I could show you pictures of him laying on his stomach with little dots and a few red welts on his back, but I don't think Brandon wants that picture spread all over the web. We learned what we already knew. He IS allergic to eggs, but not horribly. We will cut them out for a year then slowly reintroduce them back into his diet. That is the plan. We also learned that he is allergic to carrots and potatoes. Not so alarming since it is just if they are raw. Who eats raw potatoes anyway? I know some people do, but Brandon doesn't have that problem. He does like raw carrots, but can live without them. So it was a fun day! (He is so relieved that he is not allergic to cheese!)

2010-11-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

What an eventful day! It finally happened. For several years Brandon has had problems with his esophogos. Food gets stuck in his throat. Eventually it makes its way down and we knew we would have to have it stretched somewhere down the road. When he had something stuck, we would think, "Better make a doctor appointment tomorrow." Then life would go on till the next time. Last night he had a piece of chicken stuck in his throat. As night time came it still didn't come out. This morning (after waking often in the night) it was still there. If it wasn't out by noon we were going to call the doctor. At noon I was picking Kim up from the airport and Brandon was home still uncomfortable as this problem went on. We have never had this much problem. So this afternoon Kim took him to the E.R. They pushed the chicken on thru, but couldn't get the scope down because they said that it was the size of a pea. Wow! How has this kid been eating anything?
Bad news is...he is on a liquid diet for THREE weeks! That is a super LONG time and especially when it includes Thanksgiving. Then they will do a procedure where they stretch the esophogas. Poor guy!!!! We will be counting down, but it will be good to have it taken care of!
He is home and doing fine. He has apple juice and egg nog in the fridge with his name all over it...well, wouldn't you if you couldn't eat real food!?!

2010-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

Where did my day go? It honestly took me all morning to go over the budget and pay the bills. Then it was time to take Kim to the airport for a business trip to Denver. We picked Sara up so she wouldn't be left home with the boys, but she was not happy about that. She doesn't like to go to the airport: ( She was really a very sad girl. I wish my trials were more along those lines. Driving was slow due to a storm and I didn't make it home till 4:30. Then grocery shopping, dinner, jobs, life...here I am. We will end the day with FHE. Nephi will be a great topic: )

2010-11-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

We are the Champions!!!

It was a GREAT game. We went into the mercy rule again. We don't really know the the score...we just won by a lot! How about that for a report? Spencer got to play with some great guys and had a great coaching staff. WAY TO GO!!!

2010-11-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Life continues to be busy. My days just blend into each other. Spencer had a birthday on October 24th. We celebrated with cupcakes in the shape of a football (creative I know). He got to go pick our a new shiny red bike. I now have another teenager in the house...though we have had the attitude for a while.
This week we had Kim's birthday on Tuesday. I thought we were celebrating on Monday, but he didn't come home (he had an appointment). On his birthday we had his birthday lunch at Tucanos, yummy, but he had an appointment in the evening to the kids didn't get to see him.
Tonight is Spencer's championship football game. They are undefeated and should win this one. Kim will take tonight off to support Spencer so after the game we will do a little celebrating...both birthday and post-game!!!
In Young Women we are getting ready for our Young Women in Excellence program. I have been coordinating the program and helping a few young women with their projects. We are also memorizing The Living Christ for this program. It is a lot of work and I am trying to do my part. I am probably only half way there, but a beautiful testimony and worth the effort!
Today we have Spencer's Student Led Conference. He is doing SOOO well so I am not nervous to face his teachers. We have had a little trouble with the bus driver, but hopefully they have resolved their differences.
Mandy comes home in three weeks. We have really missed her! She is having great experiences being a camp counselor in Maine and wants to go back for the next session. We will see. She may have a brother or two join her. Jared went to visit a couple of weeks ago and had a fun week hanging out with her and her friends.
Halloween was fun! Sara wanted to be Peter Pan's Wendy. We made her a sparkley night gown with a big bow. She wore her silver slippers and we sprinkles pixie dust in her hair. BEAUTIFUL.
The boys were various things during the festivities, but most of all they had fun.

2010-10-20T20:00:00.001-07:00

How long has it been since I posted? I don't even know. What have I been up to? For a while I was canning with my sister and mom. I have a picture of just a portion of the work we did...still a lot. This is my first year canning and it is fun. We did pickles, salsa, plum jam, peach jam, strawberry jam, grape jam, grape jelly, apple sauce, and apple pie filling. And all the food was from our garden or surplus from other gardens...cool. Kim was gone one whole week in Laramie. While he was gone all I did was can. Needless to say, the house was a wreck and it took me a while to recover from that one.
We are now past mid-terms in school. Grades are looking great (proud mama), soccer season is over (whew), and football season is into play-offs. Spencer's team is still undefeated and fun to watch!!!
My sister got a new double-oven stove. Her old one was an electric double-oven stove, but she wanted gas. I am the lucky recipient of her "old" one. There are many times (with a family of eight) that another heat source is a must or dinner delayed. Yay double oven:-)

Many of you know that Kim was in a car accident with a deer last spring and totaled our car. Well, a couple of weeks ago he was driving through the canyon and found himself in the middle of a rock slide. As the dust cleared, in his rear-view mirror he saw a boulder blocking the road...glad he missed that one. All is well.

2010-09-24T07:06:00.001-07:00

Another week of soccer and football. Spencer's team did get their jerseys last week (now he is number 51) just before the game. Then the coach collected them on Saturday and had all their names embroidered on the back. This is the first year we have done this! Another win on Wednesday! This time Wasatch North scored on them...a touchdown in the first five minutes...after that we shut them out. 41 to 6. Yeah baby!!!

first soccer/football game

2010-09-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Football season has started! Our first game against Timpanogos High. We are now Orem High instead of Lakeridge. Now it goes by your high school, not Jr. High. We won 40 to 0!!!
The uniforms were mixed up. Instead of getting Orem High jerseys, we got Oak Canyon Jr. High jerseys. You can see in the picture how some of the boys put tape over the Oak Canyon.
Spencer is number 47. He is a lineman on offense. His friend Tyler is on Defense. (on my computer you can see Spencer. It is hard to see in these photos. He is in the center...I will take a close-up...someday)

Sara also played her first game of soccer. She has a fun team of little girls. Some of them are even in her school class with her.
Sara and her friend, Brooklyn are both number ten.

First day of Kindergarten

2010-09-17T07:10:00.000-07:00

September first was Sara's first day of Kindergarten. She is in Miss Headman's afternoon class. Luckily I was able to be there and share in her excitement. She wants to walk to school all by herself (that won't be happening) and be a big girl. She did get to ride her scooter...with me closely behind.

Sara's first day of kindergarten

2010-09-11T13:07:00.001-07:00

September first was Sara's first day of Kindergarten. She has been up and down on her excitement level for this day because she had one more shot that we had put off. She put on her brave face and at 10:00 headed for the doctor's office. With that out of the way we started school officially. She loves it! Her cute teacher is Miss Headman and there are 30 students in her class...Wow! It looks like a great class, though!

Home from DC * Day 7

2010-09-11T09:47:00.001-07:00

We slept in...after all, it was our last morning. After packing up and checking out, we headed to Maryland.
We were headed to Kensington...to see the temple. It truly is magnificent!
And in the visitor's center was a display of an artists work.
A beautiful collection of sculptures.
The exhibit is traveling to different temples so look for it to come to yours...or maybe you have already seen it?
Then we headed to the airport to return our rental car and wait for our plane. While we were there we were notified that our flight was canceled. They put us on another flight to Atlanta, Georgia then on to SLC. It got us home a lot later!!!
Just before we were to board, several secret service agents were wandering the area. I didn't think much about it, but I did hear someone say something about Jimmy Carter. Sure enough when we were seated, I looked toward the first class cabin and he was mingling with the people. Then he headed down the isle and shook everbody's hand. It was so sweet of him and an honor.

At 1:00 am. we were home. A week of vacation! I have never done that before. I enjoyed it. I am glad I went. We had a great time and wonderful experiences, but I was glad to be home to my family, my home, my life : )...and life goes on.

Washington DC * Day 6

2010-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

At 3:30 Monday morning Kim headed to the Dulles airport with Mandy for her flight to Maine. She is continuing her job as camp counselor. Kim came home and finished sleeping. When we woke up we decided to head North to Gettysburg and visited the military park museum.
We saw a movie about Abraham Lincoln and a Circlerama presentation about the civil war. It was a round room with a painting surrounding it. Then there was a naration and spotlights would highlight the point of interest being narated. It was a form of entertainment before moving pictures.Kim with President Lincoln.
We visited the cemetery.
We drove past historic battle fields.
And went through the little town with NARROW streets.
And enjoyed the countryside

Washington DC * Day 5

2010-09-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

We had a day to spend with Mandy so we started it out at Arlington Cemetery.
Mandy at Kennedy's grave
Together along the walkway.
Mandy
This is at the tomb of the unknown soldier...amazingly beautiful!!!
Tomb of the unknown soldier
Lincoln Memorial and two people celebrating 25 years together.
At the Korean war memorial.
Back at the Washington Monument
Then we spent some time at the Holocaust museum, but we couldn't take pictures. Then we searched out the incredible Hope Diamond at the Museum of Natural History.
After a week of fancy food we searched out a Golden Corral in Maryland for dinner. I could have confused it with our Golden Corral in Orem...same look, same food, not the same people. We were one of only two tables of white people in the whole place. Then went back to our "campy" motel to get Mandy packed up for her trip the next day. It was a great day!

Washington DC * Day 4

2010-09-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Kim got up early and went to the Lincoln Memorial...actually he was by the Korean War Memorial...for the 8-28 event with Glen Beck. Since we were there, how could he not go. Surprisingly I wasn't in the mood for the crowds.
So lifelike.

Then I met Kim at the airport and we picked up our rental car.

The architecture at the airport was pretty.
With a little trial and error figuring out the navigation system we made it to our next hotel. Sorry to say that I wanted to pack right up and head back to the Gaylord. This hotel was more like camping.
Then we set our course for Keyser, West Virginia. Three hours later we met Mandy at Courtney and Robbie's wedding reception where we were graciously greeted and offered all kinds of refreshment :) It was beautiful and fun to be a little part of their happy beginnings. Saddly I don't have any pictures, but it was a fun night. We headed back with Mandy about nine and made it to the hotel by midnight.

A few friends

2010-09-07T19:02:00.003-07:00

Len

Christina

Brittany

Guy

Ben

Lance

Washington DC * Day 3

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

We got up early again for a yummy breakfast on the Terrace.
It is hard to believe that I made it so far in life, but this is my first ever eggs Benedict. They were yummy, but my very favorite part of breakfast was the view and that Air Force One flew right past. It was really amazing!
While Kim went to his morning meetings I wandered the hotel again. These are the fun water fountains at the pool. Wouldn't the kids love those!!!
These chandeliers were beautiful.
As I turned a corner in the lobby I ran into George...
and Abe. They were wax figures on loan from a museum.
After meetings we played the Price is Right. Neither one of us was chosen, but it had the music and announcer and the funniest host...funnier than Drew Carey.
It was time to hop on the buses for the mall. Kim and I were extending our trip and would com back later so we decided to have a leisurely afternoon. We walked down the street and found a cute little sandwich shop for lunch.

We walked along the water and enjoyed this funny guy drowning in the sand.
Then luxuriously went to our room for a rest. Isn't our room sign cute!

Our formal dinner dance was that evening. Every evening the bars would open and we had quite a social hour before every dinner. Of course Kim and I would have a soda.
After a while we were all standing around wondering where we were going to have dinner. Suddenly the curtains were pulled back and there was this beautiful room with an amazing backdrop.
This is dark, but there are huge pillars on this set and tables beautifully set.

My camera was having problems with the lighting. The twinkly lights were pretty.

Yummy dessert plate: Vanilla bread pudding, Lime cheesecake, Truffle brownie. (All miniature) Yummmmy truffle brownie!!!
Pictures were taken that night by professional photographers. I can't get ours to scan so this is the only picture I have of me and Kim (with some friends). When we got to our room our pictures were framed and waiting for us...a nice little gift!

Washington DC *Day 2

2010-09-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

We were up at 6:45 for breakfast (which would be 4:45 Utah time). It is so nice just walking down to the patio and have a beautiful selection of food waiting for you!
Kim went to meetings and I walked around the Hotel, I sat and read a book by this fountain, then shopped at some of the shops.
This is one of three sand sculptures on display.
Kim was done with meetings at noon and at 1:00 we boarded another bus for the National Mall.
We were supposed to wear these name badges wherever we went.The bus dropped us off by the capital.
The view from the other direction.
We went to the National archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation... Then we walked over to the White House. I didn't make it all the way. Even though I got a shot in my foot, it wasn't quite taking care of the pain and I knew I had to make it back to the bus. I rested in the park while Kim went the extra way to the White House. Then we bought the kids tee shirts along the street, walked up to the Washington Monument, then back to meet the bus.

After sightseeing we just had a little time to get ready for the awards banquet where Kim received his "trophy". Isn't it handsome!?! They went all out with the ceremony...quite like the Oscars. We sat by a fun group of people that we hope to see at Parthenon when we all win again next year.
When we got back to our room there was a gift on the bed.
Wow! That is pretty neat!!!
And...an exhausting day...time for bed.

Washington DC * Day 1

2010-09-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

When we landed at 4:00 p.m. we just had to look for people holding signs that has the Parthenon logo (cool!). They got us on a shuttle to the National Gaylord in National Harbor right on the Potomac.
Our room was BEAUTIFUL! We settled in and waited for our luggage before we got ready for our evening activities.
This is the sign that greeted us.
At 6:30 we got on a bus that took us to Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home.
We enjoyed the evening walking the grounds, touring his home, enjoying the view of the Potomac River, and had a nice dinner.
George and Martha greeted us at their front door. Our group had the place all to ourselves for the evening. When we toured George Washington's private office, Kim and I found ourselves alone with the guide and we had our own private history lesson. Quite a nice discussion:)
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the buildings or I would have had pages. This is a picture of Kim in the visitor's center.
When we arrived back to the hotel we found a note that a special gift was waiting for us at the registration desk.
When we picked it up it was a box with two water bottles and a ton of treats to take along on our excursion.
It was quite a day and we had another big day to look forward to.

DC

2010-09-02T16:39:00.001-07:00

Kim earned a reward trip for fork to Washington DC. We decided to use it as our 25th anniversary trip so on August 25th off we went.

2010-08-24T21:02:00.001-07:00

Today was Spencer's first day of Jr. High. It was an exciting day for all of us!!!

2010-08-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Park days are winding down. I may go to one now and then, but school is here and soon it will be too chilly. One of the last parks we went to was a fun one in Alpine, It is beautiful out there so close to the mountains and this park is nice and green...and it has fun water!

2010-08-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

This summer we bought Seven Peaks passes. We have used them...not as much as I think we should have, but we have gotten our money out of them. We just found out that our passes are also good for Trafalga and Liberty Land. So we headed right for the fun at Liberty Land.

Brandon practicing for his driving test.

Spencer getting a taste of his future.

We do have video of Sara driving. Believe me, she is much safer in the sky!!!

We all took a ride on the carousel and...

Enjoyed the arcade. We'll probably make another trip to Seven Peaks, but Trafalga has been a fun alternative. Glad we found out about it.

2010-08-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

We had a fun activity yesterday so I got up this morning to download pictures and found...zoo pictures!...from the end of July. Cache Valley Cheese had this great promotion where you could bring four cheese or butter packages to the zoo and get in free. I started saving packages since early June, but still had to transfer some cheese into large ziplock bags to get all the ones I needed. We paid for one admission, but it was a pretty sweet deal for a day at the zoo! Isn't the zoo fun!!!

2010-08-06T07:48:00.001-07:00

19 days left. Kim has earned his reward trip from work. They are sending us to Washington DC on the 25th of August. We will spend a week there and are excited to take a long vacation together!! We are calling this our 25th anniversary celebration :)

5th of July

2010-07-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

The parade was on Monday. We went over to Cameron and Jared's cute place on University avenue...right on the parade route.
Spencer
Shelly and her two girls were up from Henderson. Shelly taking a gazillion pictures, as usual. After we left, we realized that we hadn't taken any of us together:(
Her husband ran in the race before the parade. Go Keith!!

What a lovely spot to watch the parade. It was perfect.
Sara got to see Cindarella and was invited to a "princess party".

The 3rd of July

2010-07-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

We had another successful 4th of July Breakfast! It was on the 3rd this year because the 4th was on a Sunday.
This was Spencer's first year to be an official Boy Scout and to benefit from their financial success. This will be Brandon's last year to go on all the camp outs and activities associated with the money they make.
The boys were up at 5:00 doing flag setup then on to the park to prep for the breakfast. As usual it was yummy with cinnamon rolls, pancakes, French toast, hash browns, fresh fruit, orange juice, ham, made-to-order omlets, and this year our bishop started hot scones with honey butter. Mmmmmmm!

2010-07-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

I I didn't mean to let so much time go by without blogging. I didn't post my last post because there was a particular picture I was looking for...will post anyway. I will spend the next few posts catching up. Why is it so important to catch up? I'm not quite sure on the specifics, but I do use it as a kind of journal. Also I LOVE to read my friends blogs and see what they are up to. Now is it fair if (as boring as my life may be) I don't let you in on all my conondruns? So, here goes!

We planted a garden with Sister Smith. We have known Sister Smith since we moved into the house across from her 25 years ago. Actually, Kim knew her husband even longer. Kyle was his fourth grade teacher in Springville. It was fun to live by them and now that her garden plot is just more than she can handle, she is sharing a row with us! Kim also loves to help irrigate. She has this big fire hose that she pumps water onto the back lawn with. I haven't seen it, but I will mosey on over one of these days when irrigating isn't at 3:00 in the morning:)

We planted lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, zuchinni, pumpkin, and Thai chili peppers. They are a lot bigger than in these picture now. We have actually eaten one tomato and four zuchinni. We have something like seven pumpkins and cute little Thai peppers. The Thai peppers were what Brandon wanted. I will have to figure out what to do with those?

A picture the bishop found when we were newlyweds in the ward

2010-06-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Kim and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Well, Kim was in Laramie on business and I was in Orem, but we called each other and texted on our day and celebrated at dinner when he returned. We plan to celebrate BIG...hopefully in August. I am sure I will post when plans are solidified. Where did 25 years go? It has been one crazy roller coaster. I keep waiting for life to settle down. Don't you think it should? Well, it is not so I guess I will just have to face the facts. It is fun to look back on our wedding day. It was such a whirlwind. My mom was amazing since I was in Utah and she took care of EVERYTHING in California. I bought my dress in Utah, but she even made my veil. That day was exhausting since we started very early in Kensington Heights and ended very late in Chico, but I LOVED it. I loved my wedding day! Thanks Kim for hanging in there and taking care of us. You are like the energizer bunny and just keep going and going...Thank you for loving me. I love you.

Swimming lessons

2010-06-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Sara is a fish. She started swimming lessons and loved every minute of it. Her teacher's name is Megan and there are four other students...swimmers. Two weeks of swimming bliss.

2010-06-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

My sweet Grandma passed away on June 6th. She fell and broke her hip. I was sure that would be the end of her. She never really did recover, but she hung on for quite a while...longer than I thought she could. She was almost 92. Her heart was beating strong till the end. I didn't go down to mesquite at the end. I had siblings that went to say their "good-byes". but I was at peace. I am sure I am the one who missed out, but she knew I loved her and I know she loved me...all of us. Two of the grandchildren, Marta and April, came to the aide of our mothers. They jumped in and worked hard and took over nursing responsibilities for my grandma. They were a great support and were "brave" to the end. Thank you for stepping in and helping out. I know you have your own special rewards for your kindness, but THANK YOU.

The funeral was lovely. The flowers were Beautiful. The remarks were thoughtful, sensitive, humerous, touching, spiritual...

Relatives came in from everywhere. I am glad they came. Some came from far away. They didn't need to come, but they cared about my grandma and she was the last of her generation. Not many friends came...at least not from her generation. She was already with them on the other side.

2010-06-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

We got Mandy back from Maine! We get to keep her for two months. We surprised her with the whole family at the airport:) She put on her best "granola girl" look...it was great to see her and have her back from Maine.

2010-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Youth Conference! Aspen Grove! What more can I say? It was incredible. It was beautiful. It was fun!

We spent three days in these beautiful mountains. After Activities, Family Feud, President Olsen's talk, Night games, Workshops, Free time, and Ropes course, we were blessed to have Elder Holland come and speak to our youth. We had all the youth in the middle of the room and the adults on the edges. He spoke right to them. He gave them their own personal time with an apostle of God. Then each ward got their picture taken with him. {When we get the picture, I will post it. I wasn't in it, just the youth.} Then we chatted for a while. Sister Holland grabbed me and said, "I know who you are! You are Robins daughter!" She gave me a big hug. We chatted a little about this and that and our blessing day. Then she motioned for Elder Holland to come over. She said, "Do you know who this is?" He said, "Of course." We had been introduced by Mary at the Seminary graduation. After a little more chatting they had to leave. She gave me one more big hug and whispered in my ear, "you were my first babies."

She was so sweet and it was fun to spend a little personal time with her.

2010-05-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the week we went to the kids' dance festival. I took my new video camera, but got all the way through and realized that I hadn't pushed the right button to tape Sara. I did get Spencer's dance. At Sara's preschool graduation they did their little pig dance again so this time I got it. Her little hips move double time! I have never downloaded video before...let's give it a try! (It didn't work so here are some pictures)

2010-05-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is our traditional last-day-of-school photo.

It has been a busy week wrapping things up with school. Brandon went until Wednesday, but the high school has a pretty casual last couple of days. He had an "Office-Fest" Thursday and Friday. Sara and Spencer went until Friday, but even then it is only till 10:15 so just enough time to check in with their teachers, receive their report cards, and say their good-byes. Before you know it, the school doors open, kids run out the building, buses drive off honking their horns, and it is over!

SNOW!

2010-05-24T21:46:00.001-07:00

Crazy Weather!!! We woke up to this!

Sara's last special day

2010-05-24T21:27:00.001-07:00

On the rug.

Table Time

In the playhouse

Playing in the rice

NOVA GRADUATION

2010-05-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

My sixth grader graduated from NOVA. It is hard to believe that this is one of the last activities I will attend for him in elementary school. We are so excited for Jr. High, though. It is exciting to grow up and move on and I will look to the future.

Mothers Day

2010-05-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely Mothers Day. Sara painted a pot for me and planted a marigold in preschool. They also made cards with sweet little coupons. Mandy called me from Maine. Jared got me a candle (yummy tropical Paradise)...he has a theme going on as his gifts are candles or lanterns. Hmmm...I wonder what Christmas will be? Cameron gave me a dozen beautiful flowers. He also cooked dinner for the family. We had yummy carne asada on tortillas :) I told Kim exactly what I wanted so I was thrilled when I opened up my laptop board. It is a board to put my laptop on when I work on my bed. It helps the air to circulate and not get hot. I also got a few other laptop accessories so it was fun to be thought of and celebrated. I don't think mothers get celebrated enough and I don't think mothers celebrate themselves enough. We mothers do and give so much. I know I feel that I fall short in most of what I do, but we have a special calling to raise these sweet spirits.
"There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation" President James E. Faust

2010-05-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

My new do. I have had it for a few weeks, but am just getting around to posting it. My friend at church every week asks me if I got my hair cut again. NO! I am just figuring out how to do it so it is still trial and error and it turns out different every time... Seriously!

2010-05-17T19:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday...good day! We went down to the BYU Harris Fine Art Center where Kim was set apart as a high councelor for a BYU ward. It is a new move, but I am excited to be involved with some young BYU students. Just move to King Henry or apartments around 7 Peaks.

Also went to Seminary graduation. A great program! Three youth from our ward are graduating, but I know a lot of the youth from our stake...great kids!

President Holland was there too so also fun to talk with him. He sent greetings to my parents. Someday they will get together again?!

We move forward with faith and hope for our future! Adventures await.

Taking care of business.-

2010-04-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

So I just finshed the post about Kim's new car (below) and was checking other blogs. The boys are off camping at Goblin Valley and so it is just me and Sara. She wanted to do their jobs since they aren't here. She decided to start on the dishes. So here I am just browsing the computer and all of a sudden she breaks out singing...Taking care of business. How does she know that?

Update on Kim's car.

2010-04-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Kim's car ended up being totaled. Two weeks ago we were looking around for a new car and when I mentioned it to a friend she said that another friend was selling their Toyota Camry. That is exactly the car we were looking for and when we went to test drive it, it was perfect for us! We arranged our finances and purchased the new car. The great part is that it has reverse!!! Kim's other car had to be parked in "special places" because it wouldn't reverse...what a pain! I think Kim is enjoying the new car and I will post a picture if it will park in the driveway long enough to grab the camera:)

2010-04-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Brown Boxes

My husband has brown boxes delivered at the house ALL the time. It is quite common to open the door and there on the mat is a package. They are for work. Sometimes just paperwork. Sometimes promotional stuff like pens, tee shirts, key fobs, water bottles, hats... I just bring the boxes in and leave them for him to open.

The other day he brought a box back to me and said it had my name on it. I was cought off guard. I didn't order anything. Why would I have a box? I looked at the label and it was from a company in California. More puzzlement. I opened the box and look what scary cuteness I found..

Yes, I won these on my sister-in-law's blog a few weeks ago. I won something! It is so very exciting and I wanted to share how cute these little monsters are. We have already had a crowd of preschoolers over a couple of times and they are irresistable. Anyone for a game of Monster Bowling?

2010-04-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a celebration! My friend, Cressent, was declared cancer free. We surprised her at a new little restaurant downtown. Spark. It was fun. It was hip. It was yummy!

Fried Pork Lollipops (aren't they cute!)

Herb

fries...Heaven-ly!

Thai Chick-en lettuce wraps...Yum!

2010-04-10T22:28:00.000-07:00

The views are just so spectacular and pictures don't do it justice. This time we took the little scenic trail to a view of Delicate Arch. Next time I would do the Delicate Arch trail.

Balanced Rock

2010-04-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a great day to swim at the pool.

2010-04-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

We hung out at a park in Green River while Kim visited a school. It was fun! We were only an hour into our trip home, but nice to run around a little. (Sara took over the camera for a little while otherwise there would be no pictures of me. I think this is the only one that proves I went with the family on our little vacation.)

2010-04-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Next we stopped off at Goblin Valley.It is a really cool spot and the kids had fun running thru the "goblins". It is so much fun to play hide and seek and just wander around.

2010-04-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Our dirty rental car that we took on the trip. It was great on the gas.

2010-04-10T22:04:00.001-07:00

While we were driving around and looking at some of the caves I told Kim that I thought it would be cool if you could build a house back in one of them. He told me that someone already did and took me here to this house...Hole in the Rock. This is weird. They even have tours and a gift shop. O.K. If I were going to build a house, it would be cool and earthy...not look like a trailer stuck in the hole in the rock. We didn't take the tour, but I can just imagine what the inside looks like!

2010-04-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here I am in beautiful Moab with my husband and three kids. We drove down in the rental car during a snow storm. It is a bit chilly with a promise of being warmer tomorrow. Despite the weather, Kim and the two boys took a dip in the pool and sat in the hot tub. Sara has a touch of a cold so we are holding her off till tomorrow when the weather will be warmer. Today we spent some time at Dead Horse Point. Tomorrow we are looking forward to a few hikes at Arches...pictures to come.

We got an update on the car. It can and will be fixed. This is good!

2010-03-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here waiting for a call from Kim. He will update me on the condition of our car...Yes, he called earlier and reported that it was time for a new car. Why? He was in the area of Duchesne and hit a dear. The front end is smashed, but he was able to limp into town and hopefully he will be able to find a rental car and a place to stay for the night. The dear was not so lucky. Kim said it flew up in the air about 50 feet and it was...well...may he rest in peace.

2010-03-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

O.K. Read-a-thon is over so I can't use that excuse for not blogging. I can't believe it has been a whole month. I have gotten on the computer to check on all you guys. Thanks for letting me have a peek into your lives. What is my problem, you may ask. Well, just this morning when I threw in another load of laundry and passed my office I had to just shake my head when on my desk was my computer with taxes waiting for me to push the "send" button. Scout things are stacked up as the boys and I have been spending time planning summer merit badge projects. Several notebooks lay scattered with menu planning ideas since we are tired of the same old thing. I have a jewelry box with paper waiting to be mod podged onto it for Sara. Oh, yes, I did have a birthday (a little time out for that) . Then there is just life (bills, laundry, running kids around, Young Women calling, cooking, cleaning...yelling at kids). I am really not that busy...but I am. I think it is a little presumptuous to think that anyone even notices when I don't update, but I have missed a few of my bloggy friends who, for some reason, have stopped blogging. Thanks to Elesa for your clever way of entertaining us with your writing (and a little insight into my silly brother). I enjoy seeing what the baronness is up to in her everyday life. My sister-in-law, with several blogs, shares her creativity and inspires me. Otherwise strangers, cousins from the East and West coast give me a window to their world. Friends and family who have moved so very far away just aren't that far any more. Blogging is great! You are my friends. I hope I am yours:)

2010-02-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Sunday so we went to church. Once again a seat on our pew was empty. Mandy will be gone for 16 more Sundays...Sara and I counted last night. In case you didn't know, Sara LOVES to sing. When it was time for the sacrament song she was singing her own rendition quite loudly. I had to shush her! But, for the closing song it was one she knew from Primary (Families Can Be Together Forever). I let her sing at the top of her lungs and she loved it!

Speaking of songs in the hymnals, I found this clever little nugget!

Why LDS Women Stress

As Latter-day Saint women, we are practically obsessed with anxiously engaging ourselves in good causes. Maybe it's subliminal.

Glancing through the hymnal last Sunday I noted that as sisters in Zion, we who are called to serve, are all enlisted to go marching, marching forward because the world has need of willing men, to all press on scattering sunshine. We wonder if we have done any good in the world today because we have been given much and want to do what is right, keep the commandments, press forward with the Saints, choose the right, and put our shoulders to the wheel going where He wants us to go. However, as the morning breaks high on the mountain top, truth reflects upon our senses, and while we still believe that sweet is the work, we also realize that we have work enough to do ere the sun goes down. And thus we ask Thee ere we part, where can we turn for peace?

2010-02-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Friday night Jared's band, Genious Hands, played at Muse Music. We decided to go listen to him play. I must admit that I don't get out to hear him often. Actually the last time I attended an event was Battle of the Bands in High School...pretty sad. Well, I encourage the rest of the family to go, but am usually home with Sara. It was fun being there and hanging out with all those "young people". We took Spencer with us and Cameron met us there. Thank you, Brandon, for staying with Sara. There was another person there with a little girl like Sara, but she was NOT having a fun time because of how loud the music is. It was LOUD. Spencer said this morning that his ears were just barely recovering...he was right up front. Kim and I stayed toward the back. We actually had a great spot and heard just fine!!!

Good Bye Mandy

2010-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

Boo Hoo! We sent our big sister off to Maine for four months. It was quite the ordeal getting her packed up for that period of time. She will be working at a youth camp helping take care of the kids. With time off on the weekends I am sure she will get a bit of site-seeing and exploring in. Have a great time, sweetheart! We love you and will miss you! She is traveling with Pam Porter and a guy named Oliver.

Day of shooting

2010-02-16T17:18:00.002-08:00

On Saturday before President's Day we took a little trip to Camp Floyd by Eagle Mountain and then drove down the Pony Express Route.

The boys gave Kim a new gun for Christmas and we thought it would be fun to go out shooting together. We found a good spot a ways off the road and had a little target practice. It didn't do me much good...I didn't hit the target once!

Brandon is quite skilled and the others are improved after practice on Saturday. Sara wanted to stay in the car where it was safe, but she had her dolls and they were great company. Jared and Cameron go shooting all the time, but we had a great time together. I am sure we will do this little activity again!

2010-02-16T17:18:00.001-08:00

We are half way into our Read-a- thon. This is my sister, April, and her daughter, Claire, who showed up for Muffins for Moms.

He's the piano man!

2010-01-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

He's the piano man! Spencer is so excited to have just started piano. Our friend, Kelly, is his teacher and he had his first lesson Monday night. Now we start the world of practicing and a pianist is born.

2010-01-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

What is Brandon up to?? Well, you really don't hear much from Brandon. He's just a laid-back, quiet sort of guy, but he does take after his brother, Jared. He is involved with the Orem High radio just like Jared was...and loves it! Here he is at the station doing his "thang."

Making cupcakes

2010-01-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

Today we had a little friend over and made cupcakes. They were Cherry chip with vanilla frosting. YUM!!! Thanks for the great idea girls!

picking up McIntyres

2010-01-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

My sister's family has been in Australia for a whole month! Today my parents drove their blue van and I in my Suburban headed for the SLC airport to greet them. Of course Mandy wanted to come along (well, all the kids did) and Shannan and her daughter, Becca, met us at the airport to give them a "Welcome Home!" I never counted the luggage, but Brad knew how many suitcases we loaded up to fill both vehicles, then bodies, then on to home. Dinner was in the crock pot...smelled delicious!!! They, of course, were tired and hungry as they left Grandma Thora's house at 4:00 a.m. yesterday. We are glad they had a great time on the beach tanning for Christmas. Welcome home!

2009-12-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to ALL! We had a very merry Christmas and I took a nice little break. Kim had the whole week off and Cameron was home for most of the time. We had all our kids home for our annual Christmas Eve "C" dinner. We ate things that start with C like Crab, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Cranberry sparkle, Chestnut wraps, Crab Rangoon, ...tons!

Then the kids settled in together. Sara and Mandy slept in their room, but the boys "roughed it" in the basement. I didn't check, but am sure they were sprawled everywhere!

Christmas morning we we made it till 6:45. We took the annual picture on the stairs. The kids have grown so much we almost don't fit on the stairs any more. Then opening presents...

2009-12-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home from shopping yesterday Santa passed me riding along on his motorcycle. He gave me a big friendly wave and it was fun seeing Santa having a little break from all the stress of the season! I even saw a little twinkle in his eye which I interpreted as, "Just you wait young lady. I got just what you wanted for Christmas!"

2009-11-29T16:51:00.000-08:00

What a great week! I am thankful for my family and that Kim had most of the week off! We spent Thursday in Bountiful with ALL of my family except my niece who was in Australia...at the beach. Well, the weather was quite nice for us. We packed jackets, but the weather was lovely! Thanks to my sister, Shannan, who hosted all 32 of us.

2009-11-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

I got a call from my friend, Teri, on Tuesday. She was at work and asked who was at home with me. Mandy was asleep and Sara was on her way to school. She works at a hospital and they needed people to come help stage a mock disaster. I dropped Sara off at school and came back for Mandy. We ended up at the E.R. with the Swine Flu. It was a lot of hanging out, but kind of fun to see the team at work. They found out a lot of things they needed and how they would do things differently. My case was quite serious and was admitted after being intibated...it was tough going for a while

2009-11-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

After Sara left for school I found this cute message.

2009-11-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would show you where Spencer has been sleeping since his birthday. The first couple of days the tent was set up in the basement and he slept down there. Then the weather has been so nice that he brought it outside last week. Tonight he finally took it down...it was just time.

New Deacon

2009-11-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Spencer, Spencer, Spencer. It is ALL about Spencer these days. Well, he was ordained a deacon the day after his 12th birthday. I have never seen anyone so excited about receiving the priesthood. That day he got to pass the sacrament to the shut-ins. He was pretty excited about that! This week was his first week to pass the sacrament to the ward. I was sick so I stayed home, but he did a great job.

2009-11-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

Spencer attended his last court of honor with his 11-year-old scout troop. We have a great unit in our stake and Brother Clegg is his leader. He has been so good to Spencer. Spencer and Brother Clegg both have a love of Pistachio nuts so that was his parting gift. The Cleggs have their whole basement set up for the boys and hold their meetings there. He works at the scout office and is a true scouter. Spencer advanced to 2nd class and is very close to 1st class. Way to go, Spencer!!!

2009-11-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

Just
thought
I would
add
a few pictures from
class Halloween parties.

2009-10-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last night was our ward Halloween party. Sara was a little purple witch. Mandy was a gypsy. Brandon just barely made it from football practice and Spencer, Kim, and I were at Spencer's football game. I think the party looked fun.

2009-10-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday and I have had a headache for three days. I really just want to go back to bed, but Kim left for St. George last night and won't be back till Friday night. That means it's all me and going back to bed probably isn't an option. Kim didn't leave for St. George till last night because Spencer had another football game. It was FREEZING! The coaches were great and had three propane heaters along the sidelines. Even if you weren't really close you could benefit from its heat. I would just sneak over every once in a while to take the chill off. It helped when I finally put my gloves on. Anyway, Spencer's team played a GREAT game and WON!!! That is SUPER!...except it means another week of practices and one more game in possibly even colder weather. Yes, we are excited! Way to go Lakeridge!

2009-10-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Spencer's 12th birthday. He got up really early and went with his dad to Vernal on an appointment. After spending the whole morning together, I met them for lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Then they headed down to a rainy BYU vs. TCU game...ended up coming home early because BYU was losing. Then Cameron and Alison and Jared came over for cake and presents. Mandy was stuck at work. Spencer got a new tent for camping (just what he wanted). He also got a new CD, a lamp for his desk, some gum, the BYU game ticket, a football tee for his BYU autographed ball, and a clean, reorganized room!

2009-10-26T06:43:00.001-07:00

Friday the sixth grade had their annual Egyptian Parade. They have been studying Egypt and were able to dress up as Egyptian characters. One person was chosen to be mummified. Then others were gods. Others were mourners who followed behind. They really put on a good show! Spencer was Amenrah (really don't know how to spell it but he is the god who made Heaven and Earth.) After the parade, they ended up in the gym for treats and games. Fun!

2009-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Football season is coming to an end. Spencer's team just played his first play-off game Wednesday night and Brandon had his last game of the season on Thursday. It has been fun, but a lot of dropping off and picking up for practices which adds "bussyness" to our lives. Kim has been able to work his schedule around to attend at least part of all their games. Go Lakeridge (#31) (with red sleeves) and Orem Tigers(#70). Our two football players.

2009-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we were watching general conference together and doing a big puzzle! Wow! How time has flewn!!! These are my boys heading off to the priesthood session.

2009-10-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely weekend with the family. Cameron was home for the weekend and he popped in every now and then with Alison. We hung out with the McIntyre's on Friday carving pumpkins and saw Ice Age 3 in the evening. Saturday we went to the Grandparent's house to watch the BYU game. Wow! Fun to watch when they are doing great...especially Hall and Unga! Now it is Monday morning. Back to the old routine. Cameron left last night. The older kids are back to school. I have a house to clean and Sara goes to preschool at noon. Mandy is still sleeping and probably will be till noon or later...she worked at JoAnn's all night.