Pretty Darn Quick!!

A Baptism and a Blessing

2011-09-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

We made it to Mandy’s house this weekend. It was fun to see the house they are renting. It’s really nice. She has lots of space there. She was so nice to let us use her kids room’s and beds for us to sleep in. I felt sorta spoiled. That was so nice of their family.

The girls have grown up so much. Kali loves her little brother and is such a cute little helper. She was right there many times to help her momma with baby Isaac. It was so cute.

Lily has grown up so much too. She’s a fun loving girl. She has a special little spirit about her.

We got to see and hold little Isaac. Oh, he is such a cutie. Love him so much. He’s so little and just perfect.

Josh LOVE’s him!! Almost at any moment you could find Josh by him or holding him. I think he’s going to make such a sweet dad one day. He was so cute with him.

We got there on Friday night. Jeff’s parents were there too. We had super yummy fish for dinner. I mention it just because I don’t want to forget and I have to try it. She sprinkled it with Blackened Redfish Magic by Chef Paul then she wrapped it in tin foil and cooked it on the barbecue. It turned out so good, gonna have to do that.

Then the next morning we all got ready and were able to participate and be a part of

Jacob’s baptism day.

I felt grateful to be there and see him. I could really feel the spirit so strongly

as his dad said a special prayer and baptized him.

Jacob is growing up so much. I can feel him wanting to do what’s right. My boys love him so much. They were so excited to be part of his special day. We all were.

We also got to be part of Isaac’s blessing day. Two birds with one stone so to say. It was neat to be able to be there. It was a special day and I’m glad they live closer so we could be there.

Zac was excited too, he was just totally into his book.

The girls looked so pretty today and got ready so quickly.

They were excited to be part of their brother’s special day.

Mandy with Isaac at home before the blessing.

So sweet.

Grandma and Grandpa showing the kids the special blessing blanket. Everyone’s name is embroidered around the outside edge. This blanket made each one of them feel pretty special.

The girls played the piano a couple times today.

Josh finally got to hold Isaac. He was so sweet with him.

Pinewood Derby Sweep

2011-08-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hayden had his first pinewood derby tonight and he had a blast!! The announcer was awesome!! He’s a “professional” and his track was all digital. It showed the time down to the .001 second. Wow!!

He had each boy do four "Heats", each boy got to run on all four tracks so it was fair. Right off the bat, Hayden’s car broke the announcers fastest record and then he proceeded to win every heat! Hayden was beaming from ear to ear. We were feeling so happy! Then we were trying to keep a poker face.

Next the four fastest cars lined up for the final heat.

Do You Think Hayden's Excited or what?!!

The first heat was on and BAM!! Hayden's car took first place AND beat his fastest record. Next, in the second heat, the announcer said something like, "Woah!! where did that car come from? where did he come from? that almost wasn't even fair!" (lol) Hayden's car came in first AGAIN!

On the third heat, Hayden's car seemed to catch on something and drag a bit. . . making Cole's car come in first place and Hayden come in a close second. I actually felt a little relieved - give someone else a turn :)

The final heat and Hayden's car not only came in first again but broke his fastest time again!! Wow what a night!!

The Final Scores!!

One Happy Camper!!

Two Happy Boys :D

Timpanogos Cave

2011-08-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

So I found out that Jeff has never been to Timpanogos Cave. Can you believe that? I couldn't believe it either. That needed to change, so a trip was planned and off we went.

Here's a few things that haven't changed: it was still as steep as I remember it, the cave was as pretty as I remember it, the cave was as cold as I remember it too. Some things that did seem to change: the climb didn't seem as long as I remembered it, the tour was shorter than I remembered it, and we weren't told the stories that I remember. I think that we all thought it was well worth it.

Peek-a-Boo Stop :)

Extra Climb for a Good Picture :)

We made it 1/2 way!!

Waiting for the tour :)

Excited to go in

Wahoo!! ~ Tour Time!!

Cave Bacon

Cave Popcorn

Helictite's Look Like Coral to Me :)

I wonder if my BIG head will fit through this tight spot? :)

Jeffrey Narrowly Made It Through

Visit From the Chapman's

2011-08-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

We've had the Chapman's with us for the past 4 days and 4 nights. It's been fun. We've tried to keep them entertained and happy. They arrived Friday night just in time for dinner.

It's a tradition in our family that we go out to eat for dinner on our birthday's. So, since Josh's is on Sunday this year, and we don't go out to eat on Sunday, we celebrated on Saturday night. The Chapman's had no choice but to tag along Ü which they seemed to do gladly.

On Sunday they came with us to church. I was a bit nervous, but all went well. They were so good. I couldn't believe how easily Callista went to our cute little sunbeam class. Mikaela went with Josh and Isaac went to his own class - only because I couldn't find Zac. Turned out that the girls in his class were just fine with that. They all thought he was "super cute!"

That night we celebrated Josh's b-day with a big family and friends dinner for Josh & Grandpa Q. Grandpa's b-day is on Monday - Aug. 1

Monday we went to the Sweet's Candy Factory and went on a tour there. The tour was actually pretty lame. You can't get close enough to see the candy being made, but the candy was delicious Ü

I cannot believe Callista smiled so BIG for this picture - She HATED that hat! Hated it!!

Smiley, smiley and apparently a little hyper too :D

Monday night Isaac was invited to play night games with Zac. This time at J's house instead of at the park. Hopefully that way there will be no night fight this time Ü (success!)

Tuesday we went to the Rec Center. We've never been able to go yet so we felt lucky that we got in. It was a blast. Outside of a few “nearly drowning” incidents, the kids had fun and so did we.

The Chapman's

The Boys

Brother and Sister

She did it!

Hayden finally made it across these fun lily pads ~ crawling on his hands and knees lol :D

This water feature is so cool :D

The Big 12!

2011-07-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Josh turns 12 today. We tried to make him feel special. He had his favorite breakfast, dippy eggs.

He had a special day at church. He received the priesthood and also had his last day in primary. Then he came home to family and friends for a birthday dinner. We had a full house due to the torrential down pour outside. Wow what a busy day!

He got lots of fun presents too - thanks everybody

Zelda Spirit Tracks DS Game

The Big Cell Phone

Pokemon Ranger Guardian Signs

Two fun DVD Movies

And. . . . . the Potato Gun!

So fun!

Thanks everyone for making Josh's day special.

Josh, I can hardly believe you're twelve. I want you to know that while you were being blessed with the priesthood and being set apart to the office of a deacon, I could feel the spirit in the room. I could feel that your dad loves you so much. I could also feel Heavenly Father's love for you. I asked you if you could feel the spirit during your blessing. You said yes you could. You bore your testimony today in church and I loved it.

You have a strong fun personality. You like to feel happy and have fun. You like to be silly and goofy. You often make me laugh - even when I really shouldn't be laughing. I love that about you. You are tender-hearted and very caring of others. You are going to be in middle school this year and you are very anxious. I pray that you will find good friends who let you continue to be yourself. You make me smile. You teach me how to love. I'm very grateful you are a part of our family. I can't imagine it without you.

Hike to Lake Stella! Beautiful!

2011-07-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

The hike to Stella Lake was beautiful. Stella Lake was even more beautiful.

Here we are. . . . all ready to go.

I thought this tree was totally awesome

My sweet Hayden wanted his picture taken here :)

We're almost there - it looks so pretty

Almost the whole gang ~ missing two

Super Cool Dudes ;)

Lake Stella is beautiful - don't you think?

Skipping rocks. . . I really tried to - but only got it to skip once.

I'll keep trying - it's on my bucket list to learn how to skip a rock.

Tree Seats

What a beautiful hike - glad we made it ;)

What fun family fun :)

Memories from Hayden's 9th Birthday

2011-07-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

This year Hayden got to celebrate his birthday while camping with family and friends.

He got lots of fun presents. Thanks everybody.

Everyone on our tour sang Happy Birthday to him in the Lehman Caves, a first for our Park Ranger/Tour Guide. A first for him too ;)

He had cobbler and roasted marshmallows for his birthday dessert - so Yum-O!!

And this hat. . . . I got this hat to make him feel special while we were up camping. Thought he could wear it when he had breakfast lunch and dinner. But. . . .he wore it all morning long. It was so cute :) He loved it and it made me smile :)

We couldn't forget the glow sticks - seems like everyone really liked those :)

Great Basin National Park & Lehman Caves

2011-07-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a trip to Lehman Caves at Great Basin National Park. What a neat place to visit. We had great weather and beautiful scenery to enjoy. Mot to mention the fun memories we made with family and friends.

The Lehman Caves were amazing!!!

Here's a few of my favorite memories from the caves. You really should plan a trip there. Put this one on your list of family fun things to do.

Here was Josh's turn to crawl through the crawl space.

Our Park Ranger Kelly said that you use to have to crawl through spaces

this small to get all the way through the cave.

Yikes!

This was right after our group sang Happy Birthday to Hayden

Park Ranger Kelly

Carey admiring an amazing formation in the cave - WOW!

The "Music Room" - they use to bang on the formations here and make "music"

Cave Bacon - looks yummy ;)

Amazing, really!

Josh really liked this spot. I think this was the swamp area.

Lot's of water in here this year.

Parachute shields - pretty amazing!

This looks like it's coming to splatter all over Zac

I barely caught Jeffrey in this picture ;)

Zac and Ashlee thrilled to let me take their picture in the cavern room

This is our exit tunnel - I thought it was awesome in here too.

Our Park Ranger, Kelly gave us an extra little experience of what it might sound like

to be in an earthquake while you were in this cave.

He had us all on stand on the left side of the tunnel,

turned out the lights and kicked the door hard.

It made the loudest and echoey sound I think I've ever heard.

That would be super scary.

Caught Carey in this one ;)

Lehman Caves were awesome and something that I'm really glad we got to experience. Neat-O!

A-Walk-About

2011-06-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

I saw a little challenge to take pictures the next time you take a-walk-about the place you live. So, when I went walking tonight, I did just that. The only thing is it's not around my subdivision, but it is really close to where I live.

Daybreak - has beautiful walkways all around their man-made lake. It's such a great place to go for a walk.

To begin our tour. . . We first walk through SodA ROW - Daybreak's Shopping district.

Then on to the bridges - this is the first bridge we cross

On to the circular bridges - it's like a big circular stair case - only there aren't any stairs ;)

Across the bridge - isn't it cute? I love going across these bridges - they're all over the walking path's.

Jeff & Steve came this time too. . . . . . . . and NO . . . they aren't holding hands :)

This is my FAVORITE bridge - isn't it pretty!!! ♡

This is my favorite spot of the whole walk - you go across a board walk and through the reeds and cat tails - LOVE IT ♡

Berneen found some friends today :)

Awwww so cute ~ a momma with her little babies :)

Isn't that beautiful - I love it :)

And here's what you see at the end of that little board walk - a pretty little cascading river :)

You knew I had to be in at least one of the pictures - right? It felt like a picture moment :)

And we saw a beautiful sunset.

Another beautiful cascading river. So pretty.

The other side of that bridge :)

Back on Soda Row - This guy is so cool - don't you think?

And this now ends the tour of Daybreaks walk ways. Come with us next time :)

Parade Day & Carnival Rides

2011-06-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today's activities started with the Parade. I took Hayden and Josh and didn't even check with Zac. He had been out late to a party and so I didn't want to wake him. I should have though. He wanted to come with us. He walked over by himself. I was so glad he did!!

Lynda's Dog Italy. She is such a beautiful and good dog! The boys loved playing with her.

Lynda invited us over to her house for a great view of the parade. Here we are ready for a great time.

Here I am ready for the parade

Josh and Hayden are ready for it to start.

We are all ready for the parade. . . isn't it after 9:00am? :D Stacie, Me & Lynda

Fire Engines are Loud!!

Joe's company did some amazing tricks - WOW! They are awesome.

Then we went back for all the carnival "rides." The kids didn't really go on the rides though they spent most of their time on the bouncy things.

The Wave of Fire

The Ultimate Challenge Bounce House & Slide

Zac entered to win a guitar. . . the pink one :)

Ty Nielsen's Pony Ride

Churros

Hayden tried the Velcro Wall

So did Josh - it was hillarious :)

The Velcro Wall - so Funny :) - push play and watch Josh - it's so funny!!

It was great family fun. We plan on going next year too.

Car Show & Touch-A-Truck

2011-06-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

The last two days have been Ft. Herriman Days here in Herriman and that means fun family activities.

Friday night they had The Car Show

Mini Cooper!! ♥ it!! ☺

Josh & Hayden LOVED this car!!

Josh loved this truck!!

We all thought this old one was so cool!

Josh and Hayden thought this one looked like it should be in the Green Hornet!

The Chromed Cobra! So cool!!

We could see ourselves in it! ☺

and Touch-A-Truck

Hayden got to sit in the Fire Truck

So did Josh

Ready to go!

In a Big Dump Truck

Look how big that is!

We had fun. . . we'll have to go next year too. ☺

Last Soccer Game of the Season

2011-06-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Hayden had his last soccer game of the season. He lost it was sad for their team, but they all played hard and tried their best.

His coach was cute and made sure they all felt special still. He handed out awards for each kid and said a little something about them.

He told Hayden that he thought he was the most improved player. I thought that was awesome!! Way to go Hayden you have learned a lot and you always do your best! We love you tonz!

May 8 - Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

We had big plans today. We wanted to sail the Napali Coast. We reserved a sunset tour. We were all very excited. Well, Emalee wasn't as excited as the rest of us - sounds like she's gotten sea sick bad in the past boo :( so she's been taking ginger the past three days hoping to make it through.

The day started off with more rain than we'd seen the whole entire trip. YIKES!! Found out later that the island received 6 inches of rain today alone. 14 inches the entire week.

Look at that down spout and the puddles everywhere!!

Nevertheless, we all got ready for church and off we went. We hadn't gone far when we saw that the road was closed. Barricaded by a police officer and blocked off too. So. . . . no church today :( boo :(

We got home and the guys made us a yum-O Mother's Day Breakfast.

We packed a lunch and snacks and off we went with big hopes the weather would clear and

we'd be able to have our Napali Coast Tour.

We had almost made it to the launch spot, when we got a call that they had cancelled the tour :( boo #2.

So. . . we decided to try and make the best of the day - rain and all. We were on the opposite end of the Island and it wasn't raining as bad as it was that morning. We decided to go beach combing.

Beautiful path along the way

I love these bushes :D

Sea Beans

Another pretty beach . . . even with it raining.

I can't remember the name of this beach - but we nick named it
"Sea Bean Beach"

All alone in paradise :D

While Emalee and I were picking up sea beans with Jeffrey, Kendal had taken his own path to the beach and found a cave. He came to get us and I'm glad he did. It was pretty cool.

Stalactites or Stalagmites?

Doesn't this look like an Ancient Cave?

The tour guide took our picture - how nice :D

We look like we're on a movie set in this one.

Come to find out it actually is the setting for a movie - Pirates of the Carribean - On Stranger Tides. Cool!!

On our way back to the Jeep - we picked up a few coconuts someone had obviously set to the side.

Finders Keepers - right?

Well except for when you come upon the ones that had put them to the side - LOL These guys were a riot!! I think they were both VERY drunk!! The one guy was so loud, "Drop your weapons! Drop Everything!" he yelled at us and then began to laugh out LOUD!!

Jeff wasn't giving his up. Kendal gave his back. They then asked if we wanted one - he'd cut it open for us. Emalee was the brave one and said sure. He asked her if she wanted rum in hers. She politely declined (LOL :)

Then we were planning on eating on the boat and we didn't have much left for dinner - we were also far away from our condo. So we all decided to go out to eat. We decided to try the Puka Dog. (Puka means "hole" in hawaiian) They poke a hole into the fresh made hotdog bun and then add a yum-O hawaiian relish and mustard. I was a bit nervous to try it, but I ended up really liking it. We need a Puka Dog here in Utah :D

Then while Jeff turned his back - I hurried and gave one of the locals a smoocheroo ;) cute ;)

May 7 - Hideaways Beach

2011-05-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hideaways beach is the bomb-diggity for snorkeling!!

The hike down was ScArY!!

There was sensitive plants on the way too though :D FUN

But it was all worth it. How beautiful is this!

I snorkeled here too. I'm glad I did. This quickly became my favorite spot for snorkeling.

And of course. . . we saw chickens :) hahaha

May 6 - Secret Beach and Lumahai Beach

2011-05-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Secret Beach.

Shhhhh it's a secret. . . . .okay not really we probably saw more people on this beach then any other.

Sticking with the theme in Kauai the hike to the beach. Never disappointing.

It was a pretty cool beach with a lot of little pools in the lava rocks. Lots of places to explore!

There were pools in the rocks like this everywhere!!

Lot's of the pools had little hermit crabs. Aren't they are so cute. Wish I could bring them home :D

Emalee and Kendal found some too :D

This one is George

and this one is Fred.

And look at this guy - most of them are black I wonder what he's doing here?

There were a few caves too. What a great little place to stay out of the rain.

We discovered lots of pretty places

We discovered a lot of these Portugese Man of War's so we decided not to go in the water. We started circling them so the family that was playing here would be more aware. They had cute kids running all over the beach we didn't want any of them to get stung.

Next Stop Lumahai Beach

This beach was pretty. It felt so remote. I thought this would be a good "make out" beach so did another couple who was here too. Wow that guy was such a stud - he ran out onto a rock for his wife and had her take a picture of him. He was so cool!!

We found this stuff all over the beach and later found out that it is called Olivine the Hawaii Diamond. Isn't that so cool!! It's pretty. Emalee bought me a bracelet made out of it for my birthday. :) That was so nice of her :)

It's a little piece of heaven here. Wish I could stay longer. I ♥ it here.

We also found . . . . . roosters and chickens . . . . . . . LOL isn't that crazy?!! Funny

May 5 - Waterfall, Beach, Canyon

2011-05-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

We went to see a pretty waterfall off the side of the road. This was the waterfall they used in the Fantasy Island TV Series.

Wailua Falls are really pretty :D

Next we went to a gorgeous beach.

It's called Polihale Beach. But we nick-named this one Pothole Beach because the road to get there was FILLED with potholes.

This beach has to be my favorite one!! The sand was so soft and clean and the color of the water was unreal!! The views of the mountains all around you just pulled it all together and made it perfect to me!!
What an amazing beach!!

Emalee decided to stay dry and come layout for a while :D

Shadow picture . . . . awwwww cute :D

Can you even imagine a better beach? Seriously gorgeous!!

Perfect views don't you think?

Then we decided to head up.

Next stop Waimea Canyon.

It's hard to believe you could have such a large canyon on an island. I'm not sure why exactly that it's so amazing to me, but it is. I thought it was pretty cool, I loved all the myriad of colors you could see. It looked like fall time to me.

We started out on a little hike, but we didn't get very far. We were just too cold. How could 61° be cold? Somehow though it was very cold. In our defense we were in swimming suits and sarongs. Okay. . .I had a rain jacket on and Emalee had a light jacket too, but we were freezing. We thought we'd come back - but it'll have to be the next time we come.

Look at these cool plants we found up there.

This thing is a ferny looking plant and I think this is the new fern branch coming out. Cool !!

This looks like an ancient flower to me - maybe during the jurassic age :D

Jeffrey found some seed pods. Would't that be cool if we could grow it at home.

And . . . . . .
of course . . . . . . . . .
we found chickens too hahaha :D

After getting so cold, we had to find some sun.

So next stop Poipu Beach.

This beach is a hotel/condo beach. It was close to lots and lots and lots of condos and hotels and we were a little worried it would be crowded. It was later in the day though and so we lucked out, not many people. We were entertained by Kendal who was body surfing. Only I missed it all! Never once pulled out the camera. It looked like a lot of fun but none of us wanted to get wet again. I so wish I had some pictures of it, but I know that I'll never forget it.

Then we saw a sleepy seal. I tried to wake it up until I got yelled at!! Geeeesshhh sorry Emalee (rule natzi ;) j/k LOL

May 4 - A Day Filled with Fun!

2011-05-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

This is a long one.....bare with me, but WoW we did a lot today! Lot's of fun!! First we went on a little hike to Queen's Bath since it was so close to our condo.

The hike down was really actually easy. I can imagine it gets slippery when wet though. The scenery is like you're walking through a jungle. I loved it!! We saw a little water fall on the way too which I thought was really cool.

When we got there, I can imagine why people snorkel in it but I can see why there are cautions all over the place too. It fills in with water fast and you could crash into the rocks or get sucked back out to sea. Scary!!

Queen's Bath was BEAutiful!!

Next . . . . . . Tunnels Beach

The we decided to go for some snorkeling. I know I'm such a geek girl but it got my stomach all in knots. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of snorkeling, but I'm not a fish in the water that's for sure. However, this is a big part of why we came here, so we headed for Tunnels Beach. Which is "famous" for snorkeling.

You need to know it has a BEAutiful beach and amazing views too. I loved the sand here.

Pictures in front of Bali Hai

Jeffrey's lookin' excited to go snorkeling :D

And guess what? I snorkeled here too. I really did. A big thanks to Emalee. She was so patient at urging me in. She waited until I was ready and she stayed close. She took me into the deeper parts and got me out of there when I freaked out. I only wish I had a picture to prove it, but I did it!! It was so neat. It's a shallow beach and it has rocks with coral (which the fish seem to love) clear up to the sand. You could see all sorts of little fishies and schools of small fish. I loved it!! You can see how clear it is in the picture below.

AND, the little doves were not afraid to eat right out of your hands.

I know this one's long . . . . . . . but I have to include the One Lane Bridges in here. I thought they were the coolest things. They were everywhere on the island.

On to Hanakapi'ai Beach

We decided to hike to Hanakapi'ai Beach. Wow this was a beautiful hike! It wasn't too bad on the way but it was not so easy on the way back. However, it was all worth it! It was pretty tricky for me to make sure to place my feet just right. Look at that climb!! It was awesome!! And this wasn't even the muddy part!

But just look at the views - like a postcard.

And you got to go through jungle tunnels.

More Beautiful Views

A cool face in the rock! Cute!

Another breathtaking view of Bali Hai! Just gorgeous!

I think this is a view of the beach that we're hiking too. Exciting!!

My attempt at proving I was here too :D

Kendal and Emalee were too. Look at all those ferns behind them!! ♥ IT !!

Did I mention you felt like you were hiking through the jungle?
Look at these funky flowers!! So cool!! I ♥ it!!

Look at this cool tree! The trunk looks like it has elephant skin.

More ferns - so pretty :D

Got him!! Yep Jeffrey got him - this mosquito was dead and it didn't even get to bite ~ whew!!

Look at these funky flowers too ~ I've never seen anything like this before!!

Jeffrey so happy we're here. We nick-named this beach - Rock Pile Beach!!
Isn't it cool!! I ♥♥♥ it! It was well worth the hike here and back too.
Even when my knees wanted to give up.

Emalee and Jeffrey just soaking in the views.

What a FaBuLoSo day!!

May 3 - A Look Around

2011-05-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a look around today before we went to pick up Emalee and Kendal at the airport.

I love lighthouses and we were really close to the Kilauea Lighthouse so we went to take a look, only it didn't open until 10a and we were there somewhere around 8:00a. So we took pictures from the overlook.

Then we decided to drive by a close beach. We went and checked out Anini Beach today. We had fun strolling along and taking pictures.

Tried to go to a fresh fish market today but it wasn't open until 11a.

I think we were there around 9:30a or so and we didn't want to wait.

There were pretty unusual flowers around the back and so we took a few pictures of them.

So pretty

May 2 - We've Arrived

2011-05-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

We made it. We are in Kauai in the spring time! Ever since the first time we went to Hawaii I've always wanted to see what it's like in the spring time. It was just as beautiful as it was in the winter. I think we did see a few more flowers than we have in the past, but really it's not much different.

I love the way I feel here and wish I could figure out how to live here 3-4 months out of the year.

Here's our condo

Pathway to the front door

Living Room

Lanai

Path to Hot tub & Pool

Easter Family Fun

2011-04-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

So we started out the morning cleaning the house getting ready for an Easter Party. Part of the getting ready involved dyeing a dozen eggs for the First Annual Egg Bash!! So we got right to it.

Once everyone arrived we had a great lunch together. We did rotisserie chickens, macaroni salad, baked beans and rolls. Yum-O! It turned out great.

Then we got ready for the First Annual Egg Bashing game. Thanks to this fun post on the blog Or So She Says. I thought it looked like a perfect thing to do at our family party. Hilarious!!

So . . . . . here are the eggs!

And the "Cheater Eggs" provided by me & my boys (hee-hee)

and Rosie's family (hahaha) LOVE IT!!

Ready. . . . . . . Set . . . . . . . Roll!!

I was nervous about how the Egg Bashing would go, but I shouldn't have been because it was so much fun. It was hilarious and it turned out great!

Thanks to Neils for providing the bracket

And the Winner is. . . . . . . . . . . Melissa (with a no frills egg I might add :)

And here's the carnage

Then the hunting commenced.

And it proved to be very successful! Yay!!

To top off the day we made "Easter Strawberries"

they were a big hit with friends and family.

Fun and Yum-O!

It was a fun Easter party filled with family, friends and fun!

"Mom, It's Fun to Win!"

2011-04-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hayden won his soccer game today and he said to me, "mom, it's fun to win!" "I'm going to call up Spencer and see if he won too, because then we can talk about it together. It feels really good to win."

What a cutie patootie! He really did awesome, they started probably in the first fifteen minutes being two down, but in the second half they really did good and ended up taking a win!!

Making Memories

2011-04-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

I love blogging. I love that it's like a journal with pictures. I love that it makes me record things so that I can remember things better.

Yesterday the boys were playing with their imaginations instead of in front of the video games when I got home from work.

I absolutely love it when they "pretend" play. I know that this type of playing around will be gone all too soon, so I had to stop and take some pictures.

Love these boys. Love the way boys play. I know I will love this memory in years to come.

April 11 - Forty is Fabulous!!

2011-04-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Jeff might not agree with me though. Today is Jeffrey's big day. His fortieth birthday and truly he is having a hard time with this one. It's making him feel old.

So. . . he decided to celebrate it in a big way. He has wanted to go to Market Street Grill for some time now. It's always been a tradition of ours to go out to eat on your birthday. AND The birthday boy/girl gets to choose the place we go for their birthday dinner. So. . . .Jeffrey chose Market Street Grill.

It was absolutely fabulous!!

The waitress we had was funny. As she was describing the specials for the day she described one as a "carnival of flavor" and said something like, so if you want to have a little "party on your plate" choose this one. That quickly became the joke for the night.

Berneen chose the Fisherman's Platter. It looked fabulous! She said that everything was Fabulous!! She was saying something like, "Oh I am definitely having a little Party on my Plate over here. LOL

Jeffrey got the PRIME New York Strip and One King Crab Leg. They were both FABulous!!

I got the Alaskan Halibut Grilled, Tartar Sauce. It was so tender, fresh, perfectly cooked and Fabulous!!

(I am so wishing I had someone take my picture right now- drrr)

Steve got the New Zealand Orange Roughy Sauteed, Grand Marnier Marmalade - it was FABulous!!

What a great day, a great dinner, great place with fabulous food, fabulous friends and turning Forty turned out to be Fabulous!

I think he was completely satisfied with the way his day turned out. . . how bout you?

I Really Like the New "Views" Option on Blogger

2011-04-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

How cool! Have you seen this yet? I'm very excited about the the new "views" option for blogger. I wish I could display my blog permanently one of these ways. I think right now my favorite new view is the Mosaic. It's fun to see a big page of pictures like that. Don't you think?

No wait. . .maybe it's the Snapshot. I like the way you can see the title from the post on each little tiny Polaroid picture. It's way fun don't you think?

Oh wait. . .do you even know how to do what I'm talking about?

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a bit about it before I continue. I saw it in the Blogger Buzz tab in my dashboard here's the link to that article http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/03/fresh-new-perspectives-for-your-blog.html

Okay, so what are you waiting for, go do it, right now. Take a minute or two and go up to the address bar. . . by the name of my blog. . . . in the top by prettydarnquick.blogspot.com then type a backslash and the word view like this /view Now the address bar should look like this prettydarnquick.blogspot.com/view Isn't that fun? You have all sorts of options now. Looks like it defaults to Sidebar - which is fun too. But I really like the Mosaic.

What do you think? It's fun right?!! I love it!! Great job Blogger - LOVE IT!!

Maybe I'm changing my mind again. My favorite really is the Snapshot. It's so cute Ü

Snow on April 3rd. . . . .

2011-04-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

. . . . . . .Felt like a late April Fool's Joke to me!!

Jeffrey woke me up by asking if I'm the one that ordered 7" of snow. Yikes!! I could barely believe it. It had been such a great day before. He told me to take some pictures fast because it won't last through the day.

He was wrong on the inches - it was only 6 1/2". Of course that was about 9:00am and it probably had already melted some - I'm sure he's right. He was wrong about the snow being gone too. There was still about two inches everywhere. Of course most of it had melted, so I guess he was right about that too. I'm glad I snapped pictures when I did. AND I have to admit, it was beautiful!

Here's a few to document that it really happened. Gotta love Spring Time in Utah, eh?!

Recreation

2011-03-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

We tried to go to the new J.L. Sorenson Recreation Center yesterday.

I was skeptical about getting in. It's only been open for a week now and this is only the second Saturday it's been open. I thought we'd have a fat chance at getting in.

Look what I did, when we got there the pool was completely full. Standing room only. And. . . sure enough they wouldn't let us in. They said the pool was at capacity :( Boo - my kids were so sad :(

So. . . . . we played around for a little while

on the climbing wall. . . . .

. . . . . . and the spin around music thingy

. . . . . . . and then decided to head over to the South Jordan Rec Center and go swimming there

we had a lot of fun.

Maybe next month we'll make it into the swimming pool at our new Rec Center.

Then Jen invited us over to celebrate her birthday with her by playing some games and having cake.

Her cake was beautiful! I was so impressed! It is so fancy. I don't know the first thing about using fondant. It makes me want to learn. Going to have to try it out.

My Big ol' B-day Sugar Cookie pales in comparison ~ ~ LOL Ü

We had fun visiting with her family and playing some games. It was a good day.

St Paddy's Day Dessert

2011-03-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

We made a fun little dessert for St. Paddy's Day. Green frosted cupcake (representing a grassy knoll), airhead sours rainbow (representing. . . .well a rainbow) and rolo's (representing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow).

Even Zachary did one this time.

Josh was not to be outdone :D

And Hayden did not disappoint.

This dessert was lot's of fun!

May your mornings bring joy
and your evenings bring peace...
May your troubles grow less
as your blessings increase!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!

Parent Teacher Conferences . . . . ✓

2011-03-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Last night Josh asked me to go online and make sure to sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences. I discovered then that Parent Teacher Conferences were the NEXT day. Needless to say, I could not sign up for a spot. I totally blew it!! The thing is, Josh had some areas I was concerned with and really wanted to talk to his teacher. I figured I'd have to schedule a separate time - after school one day or at lunch or something. Which was going to have to work, because I have a head cold which has not been letting me sleep and I really didn't want to try to fit it in.

Well, today when Hayden came home he said, "Mom, mom (do you feel the sense of emergency here) . . . we have to go to Parent Teacher Conference TONIGHT at 7:30pm." I told him how I'd messed up and didn't schedule a time. He insisted we were supposed to go at 7:30pm TONIGHT! He told me his teacher said so. I decided to trug on over AND try to fit in a meeting with Josh's teacher too. We did it! It worked out perfect!! Got them both done.

I don't have perfect report cards to share, but the kids are doing well and the best they can. It was a beneficial thing to do. Their favorite part? The Book Fair.

Can't complain about that!!

Dinner Dishes Done

2011-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

Dinner dishes began at 7:15p. Dinner dishes include: pan, cutting board, spatula, wooden spoon, three ice cream scoops (apparently each one of the boys needed to have their own ice cream scoop last night) and a knife. I washed off the table too. Dinner dishes and table cleaning complete at 7:19p!
That is 4 minutes people!!

Oh ya!! Ü

2011-03-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Look at this darling picture I dug up and created a little digital scrapbook page. :) :) :)

Another Lost Tooth!

2011-03-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

It's official - Jeffrey is the best tooth puller around. He is so gentle and quick with it. The kids are nervous but calm all at the same time. Josh's tooth was buggin' him - he was ready to have it out. He came in and said so. I told him to go to dad cause he's the best and Josh knows it.

So within a matter of minutes, the tooth was out and no tears were shed. Josh was so brave and Jeff was so quick and good.

Playing Hooky!

2011-02-23T20:35:00.000-08:00

A step by step guide on how to play hooky :D :D :D

1. Tell your kids that they don't have to go to school. See the confusion on their faces and then see the big smiles that creep across their faces.

2. Make them something yummy for breakfast. My kids like dippy eggs. (see more about them here.)

3. Watch them spread to their special places to play video games. Then you get to do your favorite hobby now too. Mine today was blogging.

4. While they are playing around, do something else you want to do. Mine was Costco and Chic-Fil-A for a yum-O lunch with Jeffrey.

5. Drag some of your friends into your evil plan too :) and make them come with you to a movie. We chose Tangled -(some said it had too much singing)- but I really liked it. I thought it was so cute and fun. Loved the hair, loved the lanterns and loved the chameleon.

7. Go out to dinner at your friend's most favorite fast food restaurant - our friends like Taco Bell.

6. End the night with dessert. We chose A&W Root Beer Float Syrup (see more about that here) over vanilla ice cream. Yum-O-Yum!

We had a blast Playing Hooky! Our hope is that with this step by step guide, you too can have a blast the next time you try Playing Hooky! :D :D :D LOL :D :D :D

Wisdom Teeth Day Two

2011-02-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Zac got his wisdom teeth out yesterday. Here's the before. He seems pretty happy for someone about to get his wisdom teeth out wouldn't you say? He was, but I think it was because he thought the assistant helping the doctor was cute :D

And here he is after. Not as happy, but trying to be a champ. I thought he did great. He is following the instructions well and putting ice on his cheeks. Not trying to be a masked ninja :)

Not so much fun today. It's hard to see him not feeling well. Yesterday, around dinner time, he almost lost it. I think it was from the Loritab. So, needless to say, I'm not giving that to him again today. Can't risk him throwing up and getting dry sockets.
I hope he's feeling lots better tomorrow.
We have been invited for dinner at Grandma Quick's house.

Do you think Turkey Pot Pie is soft enough
to eat after you've had your wisdom teeth out?

Visiting the Nichol's

2011-02-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Jeff & I went to visit with his sister's family in Texas. It was fun to see their house and visit with family. The kids are growing so fast.

{JACOB}

Jacob is in second grade. He loves to have fun! He has great handwriting and reads with great inflection in his voice. He is a huge teaser just like his daddy and he loves to have FUN.

{LILY}

Lily is in kindergarten. She loves to wear skirts! She is an excellent reader and a great big sister. She has a beautiful smile and likes to make you laugh.

{KALI}

Kali is two and a big daddy's girl! Kali loves to color and dance. She wants to do everything her brother and sister do and she "can do it by myself." She also has a great sniffer (she lets you know when something is stinky! (lol)

Steve was on call and had a four-day trip while we were there. But we did get to see him Thursday for about 4 hours, Sunday night for dinner and Monday before we left. He only has two more weeks before he starts Southwest Airlines!! He's very excited bout it!!

Mandy is a great mom, a great listener and she has a strong spirit about her. I was very impressed with the way she lives the gospel in her home every day. Mandy is Mandy! She shines :) This weekend I learned a lot from her. She taught me to be me and let my inner Cindy shine :) I was inspired to keep trying with the scripture study every day and to help my kids with scripture power.

Mandy was a great hostess and took us on all sorts of adventures. She had heard about this whole other town UNDER Houston. So . . . . . on Friday, while the kids were at school, we had to go check out the tunnels. That was SO crazy. You felt like you were in a shopping mall! Lots of places to eat and different businesses as you go through these tunnels. We kept thinking how weird that we were totally under ground.

That turned out to be a lot of fun and very cool. Part of our adventure included riding the elevator up to the 60th floor of the JP Morgan Chase Tower and look out over the city.

It was amazing up there. You could actually see the curvature of the earth you were up so high. WOW!!

We also explored Herman Park which is a huge park that includes the zoo, several museums, an outdoor theater and a Japanese Garden. It was beautiful.

Saturday we went to the Brazos Bend State Park Home of the American Alligator. It was an overcast day and we were nervous that we wouldn't see any alligators, but we saw tons!! It was really pretty awesome.

Sunday we went to church with Mandy and the kiddos and then we went for a drive over to the Houston Temple. It is a beautiful temple and the grounds are so pretty.

Then Monday morning it was time to fly home. We had a great time and were so glad to see her family in Houston before she moves to Nevada. Hope to see her Nevada home lots more (she'll be so much closer yay!!)

Cleaning the Dishes

2011-02-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Okay. . .so here's another embarrassing picture. But again, I'm hoping it will help me accomplish this little goal of mine.

I have been working on things that can make me happier.

One of those things is to quit being embarrassed about things. Well, I'm turning to my favorite quotes again.

"For every problem under the sun,
there be a solution or there be none.
If there be one, then quickly find it,
if there be none, then never mind it."

One of the things that I'm always embarrassed about is that I am a HORRIBLE cleaner. I really hate the idea of cleaning all those dishes after we've eaten dinner, because it took "so long" to make the dinner and now it's going to take "so long" to clean it up.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! Can you say, lazy, lazy girl!! I decided that I need to clean those dishes anyway.
Instead of being embarrassed that my house is never as clean as I'd like it to be, just clean it! Just do it!! No embarrassment.

So, I timed myself last night as I washed the dishes. It only took me 10 minutes to wash all of these dishes!! 10 MINUTES!!! Wow that's not long at all. I need to stick to my goal and get this done after dinner all the time - then dinner will be all cleaned up for breakfast in the morning :D

Blue Skies & Sunshine

2011-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

Today I thought of a way to update this blog too.

(Don't ask me why I didn't think of this before)

I'm finding that I'm only updating My 365 Blog right now because that's really what I'm focusing on.

However, I often take more than one picture a day and sometimes it's hard to decide which one to post.

So, this can be the blog that takes care of it when I want to post more than one. Sorta like a tie breaker.

Which means, today, this blog gets the picture of

Blue Sky and Sunshine

I have really been paying attention lately to what makes me happy. What can make me happy very quickly (like just putting a smile on your face, make yourself smile. You should try it, it's amazing how this really works!! OR JUMPING! Need a happiness boost? Right here and now, go take a big jump, or Skip across the floor. WOW!!! Interesting huh?!!) and what makes me truly happy. Well, one thing I've found that seems to truly make me feel happy is Blue Skies and Sunshine Ü Ü Ü

Especially when I can feel the sun! Just standing in the sunshine and letting it warm me (which right now has to be inside next to the window) gives me a great deal of happiness - always!!

So today when I saw the sun burn all the clouds away and I could actually feel it OUTSIDE standing in the parking lot. . . . well I did. I stood there in the parking lot and let the sun shine on me and I just stood there feeling happy.

So. . . I took a picture of that moment.

Life

2011-01-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

I found this quote today and decided to post it. I believe this is true.

Hoarfrost / Fog

2011-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Today was so foggy on my way to work this morning. I LOVE the fog. It always seems so mystical to me. Don't you think? I had to try and get some pictures of it before the sun came out and melted it all. I think I got a few good ones. Don't you?

I love the fog!!

New Blog for My 365

2011-01-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I need to explain a little further about this whole "My 365" dealy-o! I have started reading the Happiness Project again!! Yes, I said again. I started last year probably in October. Got it from the library. Didn't finish it during my "checked out" status and it had a waiting list so I could not renew it. Anyway. . .right then and there I planned to finish reading it this year. Also to make it part of my new years resolutions. Many chapters are broken into months. I decided to go month by month and try her goals as mine. The January month is ENERGY. Her idea for more energy is Organization. She talks about physical and mental energy. Her idea is getting more rest for her physical energy (which has yet to happen for me, but it is my goal and I do still have 26 days to go). For the mental energy she tackles "outer organization." How happy it made her feel to organize her closets and her house. Hence, the pictures of my attempts for organization around the house. Which is my effort at feeling happier this month too. :D

I decided that I need to post this in a separate place. So I am creating a new blog for "My 365" if you care to follow my adventures at my attempt for more happiness in picture form :D

January 3 - Organization

2011-01-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

In an effort to organize the house, today's picture is shelving for the boys closets.

Just purchasing this shelving was quite a task in and of itself. Figuring out measurements and how things go together has never been a strong point for me. Thanks goodness for Jeffrey!! :D He figured out how much we'd need of this shelving material and all the little brackets and doohickees that go with it. So tomorrow maybe he can start on the cutting and sizing. Hope to post a picture when they're complete :D

My 365

2011-01-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

One of the challenges of 2011 is going to be my own 365. I've been inspired by Kami - she doesn't even know it, but I have really enjoyed peeking in on her 365 challenge and thought it might be fun to try one of my own. It appears that you take a picture every day. Create a gallery of your year through pictures and tell a story. I already blew the first day - ddrrrr. . . . . but I thought I'd just get going and start today instead and go forward. And so it begins. . . . :)

(Yesterday would have been a really cool day to begin because it was 1-1-11 that doesn't happen very often ;) )

So here's the first picture of the year

Why an empty shampoo bottle you ask? Well this picture represents something I learned today. I got in the shower to get ready for church and !*!KABAM!*! - this empty shampoo bottle was staring me in the face!! Yikes I had no shampoo. I felt very strongly that I need to store shampoo too - not just food - shampoo. So tomorrow I will have to go get shampoo to store.

Christmas Traditions

2011-01-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

I think it's been almost every year so far in our marriage, except for maybe the first few that we have gone to the McFarlane's for Christmas Eve and spent Christmas Day with the Quick's. This year Mom & Dad Quick got to go see Mandy for Christmas Day so they had their party on Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun. Gma Quick was SO SO generous this year!! She had 32 presents for each of us to open!!

WOW!! They had SO MUCH FUN!! They were so excited and loved each one!

We had fun just watching them open the presents and see their faces when their stacks were placed before them. :) :) :)

It was fun to see that Gma Quick had almost as much fun giving them the gifts as they did opening them.

Jeffrey & I got present's too :) :) :) We felt very spoiled!!!

Christmas Day ended up pretty quiet. The kids had a good time finding out what they received and had a fun time playing with their new toys.

Then it was just quiet the rest of the day. I realized I should have planned some fun things out for Christmas Day, but I had nothing.

Lynda White's family does a fun sock exchange as part of her party on Christmas Day and they have often gone to see a movie or they go up to the ski resorts and go sledding. That might be something fun & for us to do in the future for our family.

Herriman Machine Gun Fire

2010-09-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Okay so this was a very intense experience for me. I felt helpless as was directed to turn away because the area was under evacuation.

Even though we had prepared for a day like today we were not home and so we were not able to reach our 72 hour kits.

We had gone to Jeff's mom and dad's for dinner on Sunday, September 19. We could see and smell a fire earlier that day but it appeared to be on the other side of the mountain. We didn't think too much of it.

As we hung out at Jeff's parents house we could see the smoke it seemed to cover the entire sky. It was time to go home and that's when Jeff's dad told us to call him and let us know we got home safely.

Well as we were driving along 13400 South we got a closer view of the fire. It had come clear down the mountain side - much like you'll see in the pictures below. I couldn't believe how far down the side of the mountain it came. It looked to me like it was next to the Black Ridge Reservoir.

Jeff noticed a lot of traffic heading out of Herriman and said I bet they are evacuating Herriman. I thought he was probably right. We continued towards our home and as we got closer we went slower. They were blocking off the street at that point. Making everyone go into the right hand turn lane. We couldn't turn left to go home. There was a sheriff blocking the way both south and west. It felt so weird.

Hayden started to cry. I began trying to call Jeff's dad to let him know we were being evacuated. No calls would go through. It just kept saying "CALL FAILED." That felt really eerie. This was like a movie. It felt like everyone was in a panic. It was a very tense situation to be in. We thought okay so we'll go west at 12600 South. It seems like it took at least 15 minutes to travel from 13400 South to 12600 South and as we got closer we saw they had that blocked off too.

We decided to go to the Peterson's to see if they knew more. They let us in and we were able to make a few calls from there. We confirmed that we couldn't get home tonight we'd have to try again in the morning. We called Jeff's dad and asked him if we could stay there tonight. He of course said yes.

This is one of the three houses that burned to the ground. :(

Here's one of the many houses that was saved. WOW! Enough said.

And here is an areal view of the damage. Wow it makes you feel amazed that not more homes were lost.

Baptism Day

2010-09-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hayden was baptized on Saturday, August 28 at 11:30 am. He was SO excited!! He has waited for this day for a long time. Did you know that he has talked to me about getting baptized now for at least a year. He was super excited about it. He also waited an extra month because he really wanted his friend to be able to come to it. Isaac Peterson has a b-day just three days after his and he really wanted to see him get baptized and be able to have Isaac see him get baptized.

Hayden was the only one in our ward that was getting baptized from our stake this month. So he was in charge of the whole program.

He chose to sing Come Follow Me and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the opening and closing songs. He wanted Pam to lead the music and was excited that Wesley could play the piano and Haylee played the flute!! He wanted Grandma and Grandpa Quick to say the prayers.

Then I asked him who he wanted to give the talks. There was a Holy Ghost talk and a Baptism talk. He thought for a while and then said he wanted dad to do it. :) I told him maybe since dad was baptizing him and confirming him that we could ask someone else in the family to do that. I helped suggest lots of aunts and uncles that he could ask. He listened and then said, mom I want Josh to give the Holy Ghost talk - so we asked Josh and he said sure. Then he said, "Mom want you to give the baptism talk." Okie dokie.

I was so glad so many could come and Grandma Quick said in her prayer that she felt the spirits of those present and those unable to attend. I thought that was so special because I felt the same way.

Hayden, I pray that you will be able to feel the Holy Ghost directing you for good and that you will have the strength to follow through with those feelings and directions. I believe when you feel those promptings that they are coming right from your Heavenly Father. He loves you so much. I know because I love you so much too.

Charter Schools

2010-08-23T09:33:00.001-07:00

Has anyone ever looked into charter schools. This has been on my mind lately. Next year Hayden will be in school all by himself and I thought it might make that easier if they were all on the same "traditional" schedule.

If I do it - I'd have to figure out how to get him there and pick him up every day though - and that part is a little overwhelming right now.

Just wonder about your thoughts on the subject.

http://www.schools.utah.gov/charterschools/School-Directory.aspx

To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

2010-08-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

1. At lunch time, sit in your Parked Car with Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer at Passing Cars. See if They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice!

3. Every time someone Asks You to do Something, ask If They Want Fries with That.

4. Put Decaf in the Coffee Maker for 3 Weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field of All Your Checks, write "For Marijuana"

6. Skip down the hall Rather than walking and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify that your Drive-Through order is "To Go"

9. Sing Along at the Opera

10. Five Days in Advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because You Have a Headache.

11. When the money comes out of the ATM Scream, "I Won!! I Won!!"

and the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity

12. When leaving the Zoo, start running towards the parking lot yelling, "Run For Your Lives!! They're Loose!! They're Loose!!"

This made me LOL today hope it makes you LOL too. :)

8 is Great!!

2010-07-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

Around our house we think 8 is definitely GREAT!!! Today is Hayden's birthday and he just happens to be turning 8 years old which is a pretty big deal.

What a better way to start his day off right then with his presents first thing in the morning.

Scriptures

Hayden got to pick out his very first set of scriptures.

He's been wanting these for a long time.

He was very excited to finally get his very own set of scriptures.

He chose blue.

A New Tie

With a hope that he'll wear this on his baptism day.

Lego Harry Potter

He got to pick this out last night - it was so hard for him to wait play it until his birthday. Which I found him still doing when I got home for his lunch. LOL :o)

Is it just me or did his smile seem to get bigger and bigger with each present?

I wanted to make him feel special for lunch time too!! So I looked up a few birthday traditions from around the world. Jeffrey has some dutch on his side and so I looked up Holland and the Netherlands traditions and they decorate the chair of the birthday boy.

I thought that sounded like a great idea and decided to do that for lunch time. I also wanted to make him a fun birthday lunch - how could I make his lunch special.

I borrowed this great idea from Whole Foods - sandwich Kabobs - cute huh?!!

The Garden

2010-07-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last year we did not plant a garden and I really missed it :(
So . . . . I was very excited this year to get one in. And, thanks to Jeff and his dad we did just that.

Jeff worked so hard at tilling it up and then his dad took Jeffrey to Mascaro's and got us a load of mulch. Mascaro's mulch is the best!!

We bought lots of different kinds of tomatoes, a tomatillo, squash, lemon cucumber, cilantro and two kinds of peppers. It's sorta small this year compared to in the past, but I love it and can't wait for a garden fresh tomato.

Jeff also built these super cool tomatoe cages for our tomatoes this year. The last time we planted a garden our poor little cages were not much help and he wanted something that would look great and work great too. I think they turned out awesome don't you?

Josh and Hayden helped us plant peas too. I had them start the peas about 2 weeks late but our efforts still paid off and we are getting lots of peas. The only thing is I don't really like the variety we got. What kind of peas have you planted in the past and loved? I usually love garden fresh peas.

FiNGeRnAiLs

2010-06-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I have had a horrible habit of biting my nails.

Well I'm very pleased to announce that I have had long nails now for over a year!!

Wow!! YAY me :)

New Use for a Swiffer - at Least it's New for Me :)

2010-06-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Okay. . . so something you might not know about me is that I am a horrible Spring/Fall cleaner.

I really don't enjoy it. One of the worst parts about it for me is walls.

I don't like cleaning walls at all. Well since it's almost officially summer now and spring is nearing it's end I thought I better be a big girl and get our walls cleaned.

So . . . . I decided I needed some motivation. I went to the store and down the cleaning isle. While looking at all the products that I could spend my money on, I had a little spark of what I thought was a grand idea. AND I purchased a Swiffer.

Have you seen these little babies?

Well. . . I've never owned one before and I must say I like the feel and look of them.

So far I really think they are built well and have lots of little extras I didn't expect.

Anywho. . . .back to my idea.

So why did you buy a Swiffer then - I thought you hated cleaning walls?

That's exactly why I bought one - to clean my walls!!! Yes, you heard me right.

To Clean My WALLS!!!

And. . . . it worked like a charm!!

I love it - it cut my time in half!! No. . . in fourths!!!

It's so easy to clean my walls now. Love it!!

So first I dusted all the walls with the dry cloths.

Okay this is gross - can you believe how dirty walls get?!!??!!??

Ewwww Ewwww Ewww!!

Then I used the wet ones. And. . .wahlah!! All clean for the summer!!

So . . my motivation worked and my walls are all clean ahhhhh!!!

Go try it - you might like it too and have to share it with your friends.

Just like I just did with all of you :)

positive thoughts

2010-05-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Today I'm working hard towards being positive. I am going to search for good - I know I can find it. I want to talk about the positive things in life - no more drama and working through frustrations (at least out loud). Okay so how do you do this when everything around you seems negative and drags you down??? Well - search for it. I looked up positive thinking techniques online and found a whole slew of ideas. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Fake it til you make it!! (this one is my favorite ;)

2. You REALLY DO have to count your blessings!!

3. Smile :) - you should try it. It's hard to feel ornery or grumpy when you smile.

4. Be Silly - Pretend - Act Like a Kid (look at pictures of kids - it will make you smile - promise)

5. Relax and let things happen. Don't dwell! Don't get caught in the THICK of thin things.

6. Exercise - get physical - dance

7. Associate yourself with those who think positively. You can benefit from attitudes of others.

8. Do something nice - look for the good in others.

9. Listen to something upbeat!! ♫ Music ♪ makes your mood - happy music=happy mood ϋ

10. Redirect your thoughts. If you hear something negative - take a deep breath and redirect your thoughts. (this one is hardest for me - it helps if you get help from those around :)

These were just 10 of the ones that were my favorite and that I'm trying hard to work on today - want more??? Here's the link http://www.rncentral.com/nursing-library/careplans/100_positive_thinking_exercises_to_incorporate_into_your_life

Faux hawk

2010-05-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

Faux-hawk: "A fake mowhawk which approximates the style but without shaving the sides of the head."

The last time I cut the kids hair I said to each of them, "Are you sure you don't want me just to give you a faux-hawk? It would be so cool ! !" Then I leave a strip that's longer then the rest of their hair on the top of their heads on in the back. I proceed to take them to the bathroom and take their pictures and then have them look in the mirror. Then we walk in and show dad (who just laughs and laughs).

Zachary almost went for it. . .he thought about it for a while. Josh said no when I was doing it and said no again when he saw it in the mirror and he told dad I'm not keeping it dad we really aren't doing it.

Hayden on the other hand. . . . . . . said yes :)

Boy Oh Boy!! I like it. . . . it's fun and spunky but dad says he can only have it for a week then it's back to normal.

Deals to Meals

2010-05-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

Do you want to find out the best prices on the items you buy at the grocery store?
Do you want help planing out your weekly dinners?
Do you need new recipe ideas?
Do you need a boost and encouragement on getting that food storage done at the best price?
Do you want to save money doing all of these things?

Well. . . if you answered yes to any of these questions, then I want to share this great company with you.

I love, love, love them!! I have been using them now for over a year!! It's so great to go to the website and print out a list of dinner ideas. I don't always use all of them but the ones we've used we have loved. It's so great to have your kids say, "Mom, I love this dinner!!" Wow!!

The other thing I have absolutely loved is that I have caught the FOOD STORAGE bug!! I know when I'm stocking up on something in my food storage I'm getting it at a great price too!!

So. . . . . feel free to check them out. http://www.dealstomeals.com/ and give them a try!!

A Spring Surprise!!

2010-05-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Guess What We Have???

I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture, but we have a bird's nest.

Right by our front door next to our porch light and the crazy man eating vine.

Anyway. . . I have seen a robin sitting on this nest from time to time. Well actually. . . I've seen a robin fly away from the nest, over to our neighbors roof and chirp and chirp at me.

So. . . when we saw this nest we thought - oh dear - guess we'll be going in and out

the garage this spring. I looked in the nest several times though

and didn't see anything but a nicely made little nest.

So. . . the other day when I was reading Kami's blog,

she posted about some new residents she has at her house.

Which reminded me that I hadn't looked in the nest for a while now.

Well I did today and here is what I found.

Can you see them??? Holy cow!!! It's so cool!!!

A Little Closer View - can you believe it??

Lookee, lookee!! - adorable :)

AWWWWW. . . . .aren't they just so cute?!!! :)

So I guess we have some new residents at our house too. Guess it's back to going in and out of the garage for sure - don't want these little guys to get freaked out and jump out too soon. It's so exciting!! :)

Music Makes Music Rocks!!!

2010-04-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

SO. . . . .What Is Music Makes Music?

Music Makes Music is a non-profit organization that

inspires the next generation of musicians. They rock

it at High Schools and Middle Schools with tons of

high-energy, motivational, full production rock

concerts that motivate teenagers and inspire them to

get involved with music in school and their communities.

The shows are currently featuring Going Second who

perform FABULOSO songs with no vulgar or suggestive

lyrics. This organization was founded in part by a good friend

Josh Alfaro who use to live next door to us. It was so fun to

see him jammin' on stage as a big ol' rock star!!

His band totally rocks!! So . . . if your kids get the chance, have their administrators get in touch with Josh and get them a free concert at their school t0 promote music education.

I Love Spring ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾

2010-03-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

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I'm so glad it's spring. Things have been crazy and I'm just so glad for the idea of new fresh starts. I hope things will get better fast. It's now been just over a year that Jeff has been without work. I know it's happened in the past but it's just so hard. We are looking forward to new things this spring. We ask for your prayers and to spread the word too.

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Do you know that Halloween has become one of my most favorite holidays during the year. I really enjoy it. I like dressing up and I like the decorations. I like spooking people and I love having boys at Halloween - they get to dress up so scarey - I really, really like it.

Here's some fun things we did for Halloween this year

CARVED PUMPKINS

Dressed up at work and took the kids around the office trick-or-treating. FUN

Went trick-or-treating with great friends.

Moab UEA Weekend - Most Outrageously Awesome Best-time - Utahns Escape to Arches :D

2009-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay so this last UEA Weekend we were invited to go to Moab with the Petersons. We had a blast. The first day we got there we went to Pot Ash and looked at all the Pictogliphs and played in all the "hobo houses" (at least that's what the kids called them) then went up and searched for fossils. It was a lot of fun.

The next day was spent at Arches. It was a lot of fun again. The kids had a blast climbing all over EVERYTHING and hiking out with us to the Arches and then again climbing all over EVERYTHING.

Then the following day we went to Canyonlands. Jeffrey got sick the night before and couldn't make it with us :( we were sad but tried to have fun still. He was so nice he didn't want to ruin the Peterson's vacation. I told him I felt like I should stay with them but didn't think it would be good to send the kids with the Petersons or keep them here. So. . . I hesitantly went without him. We had a fun time and when we got back in the afternoon he was feeling much better.

We had a blast ! ! We were very happy we were able to go.

Lasik Eye Surgery

2009-08-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey got Lasik done on Monday July 13. He couldn't believe how easy it was. He said that he wished he had've done it a long time ago. And to anyone wondering if they should get it done, he would say, "Go do it!!! Go do it!! GO DO IT NOW!!!" He has been so cute. He is constantly saying - I can see better than I've every seen before. He can see the detail of someone's face when they are far away - often even better than I can. He keeps saying, It's so weird to think that I can see this good without any contacts in. Almost every night without fail, he looks for his contact case or thinks to himself, okay I've gotta get these contacts out and go to bed. LOL I don't have any contacts in.

It's truely amazing the things that can be done today. I am amazed at the things people think up. I believe that they are inspired by a loving Heavenly Father and am truely grateful for Jeff's new exciting blessing of sight.

For anyone curious of the process - come on over - he has a CD of the procedure. WOW it is amazing. I would advise you to watch it when you are feeling your best. I didn't eat much that morning and almost did a "rubber larry" in the waiting room. Poor Jeffrey I wasn't very supportive for about 15 minutes - almost missed the whole thing. I couldn't watch it.

A Weekend With Bubs, Beans & Squishy

2009-07-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

We had a fun weekend with cousins. Mandy and Steve were so lucky to go on a trip to Europe and we got to watch their kids for the weekend of the 24th. I was a little nervous to have six kids in the house, but it turned out to be so much fun!! It was lots of fun having more girls around here. I got to paint toe nails & curl & braid hair this weekend too.

The Alfaro's, our fun neighbors, invited the kids over to play on a totally cool, home-made, SUPER COOL slip-n-slide the first night - wow it was so much fun!!

The next day got sorta cloudy in the morning so we just hung around the house for a little bit, but that didn't stop them from having fun. Look at this cool fort they built - I LOVE it when they do that!!

Then it cleared up a bit so we headed to the park.

I was a bit nervous about how Sunday would go. We normally don't play video games on Sunday, but this Sunday we sorta cheated and let them play games to help keep them quietly entertained ;)

Then we had Grandma & Grandpa over for a quick BBQ and our weekend was over.

Seven is Super!!

2009-07-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Hayden's 7th Birthday!! Tried to make it a fabulous day!! He woke up to his door decorated - thanks to a neat tradition from his aunt Mandy.

Then he got to go shopping with the whole family at lunch time and got take out from Chic-Fil-A!!! YUMMMMYYYYY!!!

And to top it off we had some great friends over for a BBQ Dinner. I think he had a fabulous day.

Hayden you are such a sweet boy. You have a kind and BIG heart. You are very thoughtful at such a young age. I am trying to learn from you. You never want anyone to be angry at you and you are quick to say sorry if that happens. You like to keep up with your brothers but you're just fine being the youngest too.

Here are your birthday abc's. You are Affectionate, Benevolent, Creative, Darling, Energetic, Friendly, Giving, Helpful, Inspiring, Joyful, Kind, Lively, Marvelous, Nice, Optimistic, Personable, Quizzical, Rowdy, Super, Thoughtful, Unique, Valiant, Whimsical, Xstreme, Youthful, and Zesty!!

We love you and are so glad you are part of our family!!

Raingutter Regatta

2009-06-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

So. . .this was a first for us. Our cub scouts had a raingutter regatta instead of a pinewood durby this year. So. . .Jeff created a boat for Josh instead of a car. It was sorta tricky, but he did a great job - don't you think?

Josh wanted to make sure and have his boat be #1. So that's just what we did.

Then it was off to the race. . .sitting with anticipation. . .

It was tricky for Josh to get the hang of it - the first time he raced he came in second. He said blowing all that way was making him super dizzy. He was a little bit disappointed that he came in second, but all he needed to hear is that he got another chance.

He kept his hopes up and had a positive attitude.

And at the end of the event. . . . . .

Josh took first place!!!! It was so exciting!! Good job captain Josh -

and a big thanks to his engineer (dad) :)

Then he had to race against the scout master's boat . . . I missed a picture of it but it was not regulation and the scout master won :)

Then he had to race against the Primary First Councilor's boat - isn't it pretty - Josh won this race - hands down :)

He can't wait to claim his prize in August. What a fun event.

Temple Celebration

2009-06-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

For the past three months Zac has had the wonderful opportunity to participate and practice for the temple celebration. He had two options: Choir or Dance. He chose to dance. As the practices started, he found out they needed a few boys to be part of the couple dances and he said yes. He practiced every Wednesday night and several Saturdays. He was out until after 9pm each Wednesday night. Then he had three practices at the Conference Center downtown. They were long practices from 5 - 10pm, 3 - 11p and then the final performance from 3 - 10p. He said he had fun at each practice. He did the Charleston. It was fun to watch him do his dance.

It ended up that I was asked to take him to the stake center before he went downtown and I was so glad. Usually there was a team captain that came to pick him up and take him to the last few practices downtown. Because I got to take him this time, I was able to see him in his "costume" and take a few pictures. There was a lot of excitement there and it was fun.

On Saturday (the performance day) I got two tickets, so Paula and I went. It was exciting to go to the conference center to see him perform. We got there with plenty of time and were able to see their coaches talk to them and give them pep talks and also share their testimonies. What a neat experience it was. It started with a neat video of the practices for all of these youth. There were over 7,000 youth who participated in this event.

We were able to hear from our Prophet. I felt his strong spirit as he spoke to these wonderful youth and thanked them for their hard work. He has such a powerful spirit about him, this spirit touched my heart. There was also such a strong spirit during the whole event, what a powerful experience this was.

I hope Zachary will never forget his experience here, I know I won't. I feel newly inspired that we need to get to the temple again. There is a lot of work to be done.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T14:42:00.001-07:00

Friday, after work, I was asked to help put up veteran plaques on the flags in the Herriman City Cemetery. It turned out neat.

After I was done, we were invited to stay the night in a cabin in Aspen Acers - just above Oakley (thanks Emalee) The kids had a blast and so did we. We went for a hike and a picnic and then had a yummy dinner - it was a lot of fun.

Then on Monday morning I took the family over to mom & dad's graves in Sandy - wow that place was busy. It gave me a good feeling to remember them and spend some time there with our family.

New Hairdo

2009-05-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Zac needed a hair cut - but he was having a hard time deciding whether or not to grow it out again. So, he asked me for a compromise - part of it long - and part of it short - here's what we came up with.

What Do You Think?