The Candy Jar

I've been meaning for a while to buy a candy jar.  One that sits on my entry table and holds seasonal candy.  A couple of weeks ago I finally got one and filled it with peppermint kisses.  So, yummy!  One morning, I grabbed a handfull and asked my kids how many days were left before we leave on our big vaction to Walt Disney World next month.  When they got the number right, I'd toss them a candy.  Well, it must have made a big impression because later that day I saw Zoey in front of the candy jar.  She softly said the number to herself and then helped herself to a piece of candy!  I got a good laugh out of that. 

A few days later, I again quized my kids on the number of days and as soon as everyone yelled out the right number Porter said, "I'll get the candy!" 

Sometimes I wonder what made me laugh before I had kids!

Regan's Song

So, here is the video of Regan singing her first solo.  I was really nervous for her.  There were a ton of people there and she was looking like she was going to be sick.  But she came down and was so composed and sang so clear and pitch perfect!  I was so proud!

Her solo is near the beginning, so you can just listen to that and not the whole song.

Scott and I got a little teary-eyed when we heard her sing!  She didn't sound nervous at all!  What a fun "parent moment"!

Happy Birthday, Hali!

Today is my second child's 10th birthday!  She had a friend party on Friday night and I'll post pictures later.

Hali was my "Linus" child.  You remember the character from Snoopy.  He always carried his blanket and had his thumb in his mouth.  Hali was just the same, which made her, by far, my best baby.

 Now she's my Diva child.  She loves anything girly, teenager-ish, (is that a word?) or frilly.  She's so going to love this picture with the bbq sauce on her mouth!

She's just a ball of energy, fun and giggles!  Love you, Hal!  Happy Birthday!

It's Finally Done!!

We've been working a couple of weeks on a little project in our house.  My home has no mud room and the piles of coats and backpacks have driven me crazy for YEARS!  So, with a little inspiration from several sources on the web, I came up with a plan.  My laundry room used to look like this:

Very blah...and messy...and unorganized.  Most of the time, I kept the door shut.  I just didn't want to look in there.  We transformed the room into this:

It's so bright and cheery now!  I just need to put a picture up on the wall and maybe some sheer curtains over the window and it will be perfect!

Next up:  the guest bathroom.  I just need to get the stupid wallpaper off.  Ugh!  Remind me to never put any wallpaper in my house EVER!  Stupid wallpaper.

Summer 2010

So, I'm long overdo with updating our blog.  I decided that summer is getting one post and it's probably going to be long and full of pictures!

Zoey had her first dance recital this year.  I was worried that she would just stand on the stage, but she actually danced!  And looked so dang cute!!!

She danced to Little Grass Shack.  We also got a cute picture of Hali and Zoey in their costumes.  Zoey is such a professional that the first picture was perfect! 

Porter celebrated his sixth birthday.  We took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum to celebrate. It's this really cool place at Thanksgiving Point.

 They have this interactive area where you can play in sand and water and learn about erosion.  The kids just loved playing in the sand!

Scott has been really getting in to guns.  So we decided to take the kids shooting out in the desert.  We want them to know about gun safety and how to handle a gun.  And we really had fun in the process!

 Hali shooting:

 Regan shooting:

 Even Zoey!

For some reason I don't have a picture of Porter shooting.  And no, it wasn't because of any bloodshed!

We were asked to be in charge of cooking for Youth Conference.  We took our trailer down to Manti and cooked for our Youth and even got to see the Manti Pagent in the process!

Over the 4th we headed to Colorado and spent a long weekend at Jeff's cabin.  It was beautiful!  The kids had so much fun playing with cousins,

fishing,

 riding on the four-wheelers,

 and hiking.

And yes, Hali did catch that fish.  Regan and Porter also caught fish.  Porter was the first to catch a fish and it was with one of those little kid fishing poles!

Regan had her 13th birthday in September.  We officially now have a teenager!

We played with friends:

Got a new truck, (old truck shown below)

but mostly we went camping.

And I have surprisingly very few pictures!  Ugh.  I'm getting lazy with the camera!

Flag Football

Tonight was the first night that I was able to attend Porter's flag football game.  And I learned one important thing about my son.....That boy knows how to talk some smack and he's not afraid to use it!

A whole new side came out as he taunted the other team, made faces and did the "loser" sign on his forhead.  I wasn't sure whether to laugh or pretend I had never seen him before!  Some of the other boys weren't going to take it either.   There were a couple of plays where Porter ran away from the boy with the ball and he'd have two of the other kids chasing him down!  I'm afraid for tackle football.

He did redeam himself a little at the end of the game.  He got the ball and started running the wrong way.  He clues in that everyone is yelling at him to turn around, so he turns left (towards the parents) and runs right off the side of the field.  But the whole time he had the biggest smile on his face!  So cute!  Maybe there is hope for him, yet!

I'm A Liar

So, today I was asked to help out in Primary,during sharing time.   I was playing a character, who lived in the time of Jesus, and described a miracle the Jesus performed, as I saw it.  So, I did my little part and then sat down with Porter (I was also helping out with Porter's class during sharing time, because his teacher wasn't feeling well and went home.)  Porter, having heard my little "play" says to me, "Mom, that's the biggest lie I have ever heard you tell."  What?!  So I explain to him that I was playing a character and he says "Well, if you were really your character, you'd be dead."  Then he points to the man that is currently talking about his character and says, "And so would he."  So, aparently, I'm a liar....and I'm dead.  Everyone's a critic!  Even my 6 year old son!

Look What I Did!!

I took this ugly, old chair......

And turned it into this........

Pretty cool, eh?  And the beauty is that it's a slipcover!  I can pull this baby off at anytime and throw it in the wash!  Now onto it's twin and then I'm going to tackle the loveseat.  A whole new living room and the material only cost $113!!  And that's total!  On all three!  Not $113 apiece.  TOTAL!!  Yes!

Saving Animals

Scott and I were looking to do something fun with the kids today, seeing as it's a big holiday here in Utah.  Pioneer day.  So we asked the kids what they wanted to do and they all agreed on miniature golfing.  So we drove to Sandy to a family fun center called Boondocks.

We got a package of miniature golf, bumper boats, and tokens.  The golf was a lesson in frustration.  Porter and Zoey lost interest fast, we were ultra slow and the people behind us really fast, so we felt rushed.  And it was HOT, with very little shade.  The bumper boats on the other hand, were a blast!  You could have more than one passenger, so Zoey and Porter road with Scott and I.  After getting a good drenching on the boats, we headed into the arcade.

I had Zoey's tokens and she made a be-line for "the Claw."  Really?  Those stuffed animals have been in there since 1975.  But that's what she wanted so I put the tokens in.  Imagine my surprise when I caught a brown teddy bear, lifted it up and dropped it neatly into the exit spout!  Zoey was thrilled!  Hali saw what happened and wanted me to get something for her.

"Hali, don't expect much.  That was a miracle.  Nobody ever gets anything out of this thing!"

And wouldn't you know it, a pink horse dropped into the spout, too.  I'm totally laughing this time!  Then Porter wants one, too.  I'm on a role, so I stick in more tokens and out comes a red dog.  Seriously!!  I tried to win something for Regan, but my mojo had expired by then and I didn't get anything else.  As we walked out there was a really big claw machine with huge animals.  I should had tried my hand at that one!

University of Utah!!!!

So much to blog about, but just need to do a shout out to the University of Utah!!!  We are now officially a member of the PAC 10!!!!  It's so exciting!! But, oh boy, are there a lot of whiny BYU fans out on the radio today!

Congrats to the Utes!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Porter!

You are such a funny kid!  We love having you in our family!  Especially, since you've outgrown your "destructo" phase!  Love you!

P.S.  I did knock on wood after writing that!

Regan's Famous!

Well, at her school, at least.  During the months of February and March our school offered an after school art class and both Regan and Hali participated.  The older group did one last project ....

and they hung it in the lobby.  Yep.  That's Regan, right in the front.  She keeps getting recognized by the other students.  She thinks it's pretty cool.  And I have to admit, so do I!

Goblin Valley For Easter

I'm kind of surprised that we continue to camp.  We must really have a good time or we just like to punish ourselves.  Inevitably, someone gets sick and/or the weather is terrible.  This time Zoey got sick (ear infection with no medicine) and the wind was awful!  But we still managed to have a great time.  We were smart this time and brought some friends!

We have some great friends!!  The guys took the kids, except for two little ones, who stayed back with mommies, to a slot canyon to hike.  They had a great time.

We walked around Goblin Valley, which was awsome.  I highly recomend going there!

We hung out around the campfire, laughing. And even had an easter egg hunt for the kids.  So, even though someone always gets sick and the weather is usually bad, we have will keep going just to have a good time with good people!

Hali's Twin

So during the coarse of this dance year, it became apparent that Hali had a twin.  There is a girl on Hali's dance team that looks just like her.  I have to say there have been a few times in pictures that I've had to look closely to see which one is mine!  But you be the judge!

(P.S.  Hali's the one on the left)

St. George....

Every spring this becomes my life:

Dance Competitions!!  

The highlight of competition season is the trip to St. George.  My parents come up from California and we get to spend some time in the sun.  The best part is the pool party/karaoke party after the competition is over.  And I managed to successfully avoid Kristi, so I avoided the karaoke machine.  Yes! 

Scott found this great place just over the border in Arizona that had all these great petrograph's that we saw before we hit the road home.

There were all sorts of great rocks to crawl around and over and under.

It was a great little getaway!

Primary Activity

At the end of February (I'm so behind!!) we had a primary activity where they called all the kids on a mission.  I was asked to be one of the "mission presidents".  The kids "flew" on an airplane and were dropped off at different locations around the world.  I taught them about the Austrian culture, showed pictures, played music and gave them little mini apple strudls to eat.  I also showed them the traditional clothing.  I just had them on hangers, although at home I had these cute little models! 

Porter loved his so much that I couldn't get them off him.  And for days after, he kept asking if he could wear is leather clothes!