Joy to the World

Merry Christmas to all!

May you all have joy in your hearts as we celebrate Christ's birth and enjoy this season of hope, peace, and love!

12 years and counting

Happy 12th Anniversary Babe!

I have never been able to take a pic like this and actually like it...

This was a great game to be apart of...that #10 has all ready been compared to Jimmer Fredette.

We tried it again-this time Trevor was the snapper.  Still don't like it-I know, we are our own worst critics.  Blah, blah.

After the game we tried to make it to our reservation in Downtown Salt Lake, but traffic was horrific.  We were not able to go to The Roof-my FAVORITE restaurant and the restaurant that we have been to about 8 of the 12 anniversaries, but we still had fun at the Cheesecake Factory. 

 After that we were able to attend The Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert featuring Nathan Gunn and Jane Seymour.  Such a great day and night. PLUS, Jane Seymour's car stopped in front of us and she leaned over her son, rolled down her window, and thanked us for being a great audience.  We even made eye contact-I was star struck!  Good memories were made and many, many more to make!

They say it's my birthday

I got the opportunity to celebrate my 34th birthday-that's right 3.4.  I know, I know, I don't look old enough to be 34, but I am.  The day was a busy one with shopping, and a tree lighting ceremony, a combined party, and of course, a BYU football game.  Heaven forbid THAT doesn't get included in MY birthday celebration *read with sarcasm. 
Anyway, Diva was chosen to switch the light at our city's tree lighting ceremony.  She was so cute!  She was also the youngest one chosen and the littlest.

The honoree of the night...

Lolo is a great supporter.  It was FREEZING!!!

Two of my boys.

"Cute as a button", that's how they introduced her.

Wonder what she is asking Santa for... 

 Now on to my birthday-I now share it with my niece A, who turned 1.

Happy birthday to us!

AND BYU beat Hawaii.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

This year our family ventured out with Trevor's brother's family up to the Uinta Mountains to find us a Christmas tree.  We loaded everyone up into the truck (we even brought our beloved Belle) and headed out for the drive to find the perfect Christmas Tree.  Flash forward-we didn't find the perfect tree but we certainly had a great time.  The kids had fun tromping through the snow and playing with cousins.  Belle was in heaven running around and bothering Ben's dog Gus.  Gus had to teach Belle a few lessons in manners, though.  I thought by the end of the adventure she would leave him alone, but apparently she's kind of dumb. 

Zman and Sporty

I know this looks suspicious, but it really is a running action shot. 

Cousin E and Diva-I didn't do too hot in the photo taking department...

We got the tree home and decided it was not what we wanted and ended up going to a parking lot with lots of trees to choose from.  The one we got was BEAUTIFUL.  I am happy with the adventure we had and I am happy with the finished product.  Good times-good memories!

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's genetic

Normally I am a very responsible person-I remember things, I follow through on things, I plan on things.  Today I got a taste of what's it like to be like people I may or may not be related to...I was a space case!  Lolo came to me around 2:30 laughing and says, "Mom!  Belle is still in her kennel."  She immediately starts giggling and acting like a spaz-apple does not fall far from the tree, people.  I run downstairs and sure enough, my beautiful Lab is still in her crate.  She had been in there since about 10pm last night!  Usually, I take her out around 7:30 every morning and put her in her outside kennel and feed her.  I completely forgot!  She was so good-no accidents, no whimpering, NOTHING!  She went outside with her tail-a-waggin and that was that.  She deserved a hot dog for my stupidity-the real kind, BEEF, not the yucky fake ones I give to my kids.  :)  Seriously, I blame my mother's family for that snafu.  It's genetic-my mom once put milk in the cupboard and I laughed.  Boy, karma sucks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know-it's late, very late.  But Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  This year we spent the day with Trevor's side of the family.  I was in charge of bringing the stuffing/dressing (everyone says it differently).  So I brought traditional and then I also brought an orange cranberry dressing-recipe is from Kneaders, but I actually got it off of the Good Things Utah website of recipes. Oh yeah, the original stuffing was homemade, not Stove Top.  That's right-I.Can.Cook.  OK, some things I can cook.  That's one of them.

Anyway, we spent the day with family and the great grandparents were present-it was a nice, fun day.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and the siblings enjoyed conversing with one another.  I am grateful for these times with family.

So behind...

Sweet, Halloween is over, now to Thanksgiving, with Disney on Ice in the middle.  Trevor surprised me and the girls with tickets to Disney on Ice in Salt Lake City.  Girls day!  So we hopped the train into the city, met my uber-cool cousin Angela (aka mini Mariah Carey sans annoying vocal runs) for lunch, then headed over to ESA for some princess fun!  We did have a great time, spent A LOT OF MONEY, and enjoyed ourselves.  The girls really loved it all-I will admit sometimes it was a bit cheesy, but my girls were all smiles!  I bought the girls some snow cones-actually, they were GOLD snow cones, because they cost $30!  But since I am a cool, hip mom, I was able to choke down the lump in my throat and hide the tears as I forked over the cash-this was quality time I was getting with these beauties, QUALITY. (hey mom, why don't you get one, too?)

I told the girls they could each get one thing to eat-Lolo chose cotton candy and Diva chose.......to get her picture taken with a plastic Ariel.  No matter, they each cost about the same-$15-so I was sort of cool with that, and now we have photographic evidence that we were there and the girls got along for at least the duration of the picture taking process...  :) :) :)

We really did have a great time-they loved the train ride and watching the falling snow, they loved the Disney on Ice, and they LOVE their new snow cone cups they got to bring home-why, it's the gift that keeps on giving!!!!

Love my girls!

Halloween?

Halloween has come and gone.  It was fun, there was eating, it was entertaining, there were horses, there were cousins, etc. Grandpa Roger hitched up the ponies for some rides and the kids had fun, as well as Grandpa Ted.  He enjoys an occasional pony ride once in a while.  Plus, it's just funny to see two Grandpas sitting side by side on a pony ride through the neighborhood-who wouldn't enjoy seeing that?

My Ninja, my Vampiress, my Cowboy, my Witch 

Grandpa Roger and Cousin H 

I didn't do very well in the picture taking department-this was all I had.  I will do better next year.  Happy Halloween!

This shouldn't be hard...

I have sooooooo much to be thankful for, yet I am struggling to actually put it down on paper, er, in cyberspace.  I guess one needs to be in a grateful mood to express it and I have been so busy and preoccupied with all the little things in life that I haven't really stopped to REALLY think about what I am grateful for.  So here goes ...

Day 21:  Horses.  I am thankful we have horses.  Not only are they beautiful and majestic, but they bring a lot of happiness into our personal lives, more specifically, into the lives of my husband and son.  It's not unusual for them to saddle up Missy and Pretty Girl and take them up into the mountains for a long ride.  The time they spend together as well as with Grandpa is fun, peaceful, and even therapeutic.

Day 22:  I am thankful for people with artistic talents.  I was not blessed with an artists touch but I sure do appreciate the beauty it brings into peoples homes.  It amazes me how someone can create such masterpieces with a simple pencil or chalk, or whatever.  This goes for crafty people as well.  I cannot make a cute craft if my life depended on it.  I can, however, paint a piece of wood and glue stuff to it and call it a craft.

Day 23:  I am so thankful for a sense of humor.  And I have that!  I use humor daily and can find humor in almost anything.  One drawback is that I tend to use humor as a defense mechanism, but at least I can laugh when life can get tense.  Let's face it, I like to laugh, I like to laugh loudly and I like to laugh A.LOT.

Day 24:  Forgiveness.  I am grateful I have a forgiving heart.  Sometimes things take longer to let go, but overall, I am a VERY forgiving person.

Day 25:  On that note, I am not easily offended.  Thank goodness!  It takes a lot to rile me up and when one does, well, s/he is lucky that I easily forgive!  I am pretty easy-going (in general) and I am grateful for that.  Otherwise I would be stressed out all the time about every little thing that was said or done-I cannot live like that, nor will I.

Day26:  I am grateful for what little peace and quiet that I get to enjoy.  Usually it's around 10pm, but I will take it.

Day 27:  I am grateful for the days I get to pamper myself-which is usually about once every 6-8 weeks or so.  Those are the times I get my hair done.  Ohhhh, I love that time to sit and chat with Rachel while she makes me glamorous.  Something about a fresh 'do that makes me feel like I can conquer the world.

Day 28:  Eternal families-I am grateful for the knowledge and faith I have in knowing that my family will be together forever.  I am grateful for the peace I feel knowing I will see loved ones again.  Though parting is sad, I know a reunion will be inevitable.

Day 29:  I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ.  I am thankful for the sacrifice He made on my behalf so that we all can return again to a Father in Heaven who loves us and wants us there. I am thankful for His example of living and His example of loving everyone.  I am thankful the knowledge I have that He willingly laid down His life for us.  I am thankful for His Gospel, for His Church and I am thankful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Day 30:  I am grateful that we have latter day prophets on the earth today.  Just like in the Bible and the knowledge of the Ancient Prophets,  I am grateful that Thomas S. Monson has been called today to lead and guide us.  I am grateful for the power of prayer.  If you want to know and have the confirmation of what I know to be true, all you need to do is pray with a sincere heart and you will get an answer.  I saw a billboard once that said, "Do not pray about the Book of Mormon.  That's how they get you."  Well, no kidding.  If you pray about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you will get a confirmation.  I am grateful for this and I testify of all these things.

Conversations

Day 20:  I am thankful for my conversations with my kids.  Unless you are there you cannot fully appreciate the value of them, or how funny they are. Zman and I had just left the gym and this was our conversation...
Me:  Hey Monkey, how was the nursery?
Z:  I-uh-know.
Me:  Did you go down the slide?
Z:  Yip!
Me:   What else?
Z;  I-uh-know.
Me:  Did you have fun?
Z:  Yip!
Me:  Tell me more...
Z:  I-uh-know.

One day he is gong to be a fantastic orator....or a politician.

More thanking

Day 14:  Have you ever seen or read, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"?  Well, what I am grateful for is that my kids aren't cruel to one another.  They do fight and argue, but they are not down.right.cruel.  Rodrick should be kicked!

Day 15:  Family-I am grateful for my family-the one I grew up in.  We are not perfect, we don't always see eye to eye, but when it comes right down to it, we are there for each other.  We enjoy being in each other's company, we like to play games with each other, and we like to just hang out.  I also like the fact that my brothers can and will call Trevor to go on backpacking trips or fishing trips-they treat him like he is a brother (or they feel sorry he's married to me and want to give him a break -lol).  I am just grateful we can count on each other for anything.  I am also thankful that we all live pretty close-the farthest we have to travel is about 20 minutes, depending on traffic.  It just feels good knowing I have a good family.

Day 16:  I am grateful for Trevor's family.  Again, they are not perfect and family get-togethers are always entertaining, to say the least.  I appreciate Roger and Annette and all they do for not only us, but for the entire family.  We get to have Thanksgiving at their home this year, and although I will miss my family, I am grateful for the time we will spend with Trevor's family.  There's nothing like good food to bring a family together.

Day 17:  I am thankful for my kids' friends.  My kids are good kids and they have some really good friends.  I listen to them when they are over at our house and I can't help but smile and think of the good, fun times that lay ahead for them.  So far they've made some good choices when it comes to friends and I know those choices will help them later in life when peer pressure will be strong and I will not always be around to help them in some situations.  Good friends make all the difference in the teenage years (outside the home, that is).

Day 18:  I am thankful for good music.  Spiritual music, fun music, uplifting music, classical music, etc.  I was listening to Peter Cetera and 1) belting out all his tunes, and 2) just thinking about life in a positive manner.  I know, I am a dork-PETER CETERA.  Come on, Chicago is awesome!  But Peter Cetera in concert is even better!  He's just one example-have you heard "Apple of you Daddy's Eye" or "One Clear Voice"?  Inspirational.  The kids have some fun play music that we play in the car and sing to, such as "I'm a Nut" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"-music rocks, literally!

Day 19:  I am thankful for beautiful days, even if they are cold.  The sun is out and shining and God's creations are abundant!

Thankful

Day 12:  I am grateful for modern conveniences, such as electricity, heat, chicken nuggets, etc.  Let's face it, you wouldn't be reading this if it weren't for modern conveniences.

Day 13:  I am grateful for good books.  It's no secret that I am a Harry Potter fan and I thoroughly enjoy the books.  They are very entertaining, so I think I will start them again after the new year.  Right now I am reading the Biography of Thomas S. Monson and WOW, what an incredible man!  This is a must read, I promise.

Veteran's Day

Day 11:  I am thankful for all those who serve in the Armed Forces.  The sacrifice they make for me and for the people of the world is incredible.  I cannot even fathom what they do on a day to day basis to make life as we know it go on in existence.  With that said, I am going to shift gears and thank their families.  It must be incredibly hard to let a loved on go off to battle and not know if s/he will even make it back.  It must be incredibly difficult to go hours, days, weeks, or months without knowing what s/he is doing, if s/he is healthy, sick, safe.  It must be incredibly difficult for the spouse left at home to be both mom and dad to one, two, or even more children for long periods of time-years even.  It's hard enough being a parent with your spouse, let alone do it by yourself.  It must be agonizing at times to take care of a wounded soldier who has lost limbs, mental capacities, or other injuries which require so much time, effort and money. So, I thank all those spouses, parents, and siblings who also sacrifice for our country.  Our men and women of the Armed Forces are blessed to have you and so are we!

Day 10

Day 10:  I am thankful for family prayer.  Especially the funny ones.  Let's face it-when you have small children, family prayer is not always the most spiritual.  Sometimes it's stressful, sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's all out disastrous.  But the key is to continue and press forward. 
Well, tonight was a funny night.  Z-man said the prayer in his little voice, not very audible, and one cannot fully understand what he is saying.  However, we could hear "temple, church"  and then he blessed the food (remember, we are having bedtime family prayer).  He stops and says, "oh, no food" and then continues on with the rest of the prayer.  I will be honest, I have NO IDEA what else he said because I was silently laughing too hard to pay attention.  Trevor was busting up too, but he was able to hold his composure much better than I could.  That was thee funniest thing I have ever witnessed-he blesses the food and then realizes that there is no food, so he back tracks-kind of a "just kidding" while praying.  So cute, so sweet, and it just made me realize how precious our kids are to our Father in Heaven.  So I am grateful for family prayer and the memories we gain from it (and of course the blessings!)

Too early for Christmas

Day 9:  I am thankful for Christmas music.  I know, I know-it's technically too early for that, but DANG IT, it makes me smile and it just makes me happy!

Day 8

Day 8:  Bottled water.  Soooooooooooo thankful for a storage room full of it.  Our fridge water (that is filtered) is not working at the moment and I REFUSE to drink the tap water-it's disgusting.  Seriously, it is.  So I am thankful for bottled water that is getting me through this little crisis. 
Also, this little inconvenience we are experiencing has been an eye opener for how much water we truly need in case of a real emergency.  Let's just say I need to start stock piling!

Some more of the same

Day 6:  I am grateful for examples, both good and bad.  The good so I can emulate them; the bad so I can HOPEFULLY learn from them.

Day 7:  Chapstick.  Crazy?  I seriously have an addiction to chapstick.  Since I can remember I have always had a tube (or 10) either in my pocket, purse, night-stand, sock, diaper bag, cup cupboard, hoodie, or robe-or all at the same time.  For whatever reason I.NEED.CHAPSTICK.  In high school I would keep one in my sock while I played basketball-even during games.  It was never a problem until my senior year when we played in a playoff game.  The girl I was guarding didn't like how I guarded her so she TATTLED to the ref that there was something in my sock.  You should have seen the look on his face when I told him what it was and why it was there-"my lips get chappy."  He made-no, MADE-me get rid of it.  I turned to the opposing player and called her a "tattle-tale" and then proceeded to whoop on her as..I mean, our team beat them pretty good and advanced in the state playoffs.  Chapstick rocks!

Thankful for...

5.  I am thankful for.....birthdays.  Not necessarily mine, but birthdays in general.  We were able to celebrate my nephew's 3rd birthday today at McDonald's, and boy was he happy.  In fact, pretty much all the kids were all smiles the entire time.  I watched my own kids' faces when we sang Happy Birthday and you could see the light in their eyes.  It doesn't matter whose birthday it is, people are just happy to be apart of the celebration.  Well, usually...  But, my point is, people are happy, people are smiling and that makes me happy.  I hope this carries through to next month when I turn the big 3-4....

I am all ready behind...

Can you believe that November has crept upon us?  NO-freakin-VEMBER!  OY!  I actually love LOVE Thanksgiving.  I can't put my finger on the exact reason why, but it is a very enjoyable time for me. Maybe it's all the family and all the "gratefulness" I am feeling... Ah who's kiddin-it's the food.  I love to eat. :) 
On that note, here are the 4 things I am grateful for, well, so far...
1.  My health.  Other than my crappy allergies, I am in perfect health.  I see others around me suffering from neurological disorders, autoimmune deficiencies, Parkinson's, etc, and I have to thank my Father in Heaven for not giving me that type of trial in my life-at least not yet.  I have to add that I admire those who are affected by these sicknesses-they handle it with such grace and dignity, at least from my perspective. 
2.  Trevor's job.  It's no secret that teachers are underpaid, but believe me, I will take it any day.  I am so thankful that every month that deposit is there and we can pay our living expenses and buy food.  I am also thankful for our business that makes it possible for me to stay home with our kids and it supplements our income.
3.  The mountains.  I live at the base of the mountains and their is nothing like looking up and seeing the beautiful colors and now the skiff of snow that has dusted the mountain side.  It's very relaxing and breathtaking.  It's also wonderful to ride our horses on the trails and take it all in.
4.  My friends.  I have some the most wonderful friends who are always there to listen, go for a run, help narrow picture choices down, and so much more.  They probably don't even realize what a positive influence they have on my life.  Some of these friends I have known for over 25 years, some I have just gotten to know better while serving in the PTA.  The world has a lot of evil, but the world has a TON of good-all in my friends! 

Lessons learned

Isn't he handsome?

This little guy had the opportunity to sing in the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  What a cool thing to do!  Practices began back in August and they were every Sunday for 2 hours and an occasional Saturday-including one at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City  It was quite the commitment of time-especially for a 9 year old.  The rules were EXTREMELY strict, such as no food, no leaving to go potty, legs are straight forward, no raising up of the arms, etc, etc, etc.  If a child did need to leave to use the restroom, then they could not go back to their seat.  As far as I know, most of the kids handled it just fine.  In fact, Sporty came away from this experience with a new sense of obedience and respect.  He truly enjoyed the performance-not so much the practices-and he enjoyed being in the presence of The Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and all the other General Authorities.   What a great feeling that is to be their presence. Sporty told us that it was awesome to see them in person.  What a testimony builder! 

He was on TV lots of times.  The camera seemed to always be in the general area where he was AND he constantly swayed side to side so we could spot him VERY easily!

On Sunday when we watched conference, Sporty paid attention the entire time!  Usually during the afternoon session he starts to drift off to sleep or gets pesky, but not this time.  He wrote down the names of all who spoke and he truly paid attention and even made comments!  Wowza!  He is growing up and we are loving the young man he is becoming!  Like all our kids, he is such a great kid!  And we are blessed to be their parents!

Time

Where has the time gone?  Goodness.  There are so many potential things to blog about like Diva is soooooo close to getting her back-hand-spring to Sporty starting ANOTHER season of basketball, to Lolo absolutely HATING soccer, to Z-man still stripping.  I guess it's just another day in our household.  But the heck-it's almost November.  NOVEMBER! 

Grandma Faye's funeral was last week and I have to tell you, as far as funerals go, this one was top notch.  The speakers were phenomenal, the music was tender, and the weather was perfect.  Grandma was truly one AMAZING woman and this funeral was a great tribute to her and her family. 

It was also good to see Trevor's relatives that we don't get to see often. It was good to catch up, laugh a bit, and reminisce.

One thing I took away from it was that I wanted to be a better mom-a more loving mom, a more tender hearted mom (which can get difficult when your 6 year-old's purpose in life is to push every.single.button.I.have), a mom that is more conscientious about teaching my children, and a better wife.  No pressure,eh?

Tribute to a great woman

Grandma Faye-This great lady passed away Oct. 10. 2011.  While our hearts will ache and miss her, we know she is in a better place and she is feeling much better.  She has not been herself in a long time and now her body is free from the restrictions and pain.  I can only imagine what her reunion was like with her beloved Wade.  He passed away in 2006, so this was a joyous occasion, I am sure!  Little Lolo here is actually named after this grandma.  You see, she was born on Wade's birthday, but we couldn't name her Wade or Vance.  It didn't fit... :)

Some things I remember about Grandma Faye:  She always was happy, had a spunky personality, had a great sense of humor, could cook and bake, and was always welcoming to me.  While growing up, I always lived out of state, so I wasn't around my own grandparents very much and they passed away when I was younger.  But Grandma Faye was in my life for the last 12 years and I am so grateful for those years! 

This was on Grandma's birthday back in 2009.  I was 7 months pregnant in this photo, so please, no fat jokes :)  Of course, Trevor has many fond memories of being with his Grandma from horse riding to holidays, to camping and family reunions where everyone got food poisoning (and then again, the same food poisoning at Lolo's baby blessing-eeek!)  He loved going to his Grandparent's house and visiting them and all his cousins that lived up there.  Such great memories!

Grandma Faye and her son, Grandpa Roger, with some of the great-grand kids.

"God be with you til we meet again!"

We love you and we will miss you, but we are comforted that we will see you again.  We know this because of our Savior Jesus Christ and through Him we will all be reunited again one day!  How grateful I am for Christ's Atonement and for His Resurrection.

Boring

One thing I could blog about is how I found out I have some MAJOR allergies.  I know, snooze-fest, but it's true.  I have been miserable since the end of August and last week I found out why...DARN ALLERGIES.  Cats, horses, ragweed, thistle, any weed, grass, trees, and a few other outdoorsie stuff.

When this all started back in August, I was informed that alfalfa tablets were great for the sinuses.  So I went to the health food store and the owner whole-heartedly agreed as well as Grizzly Adams who was standing in line behind me.   In his words, alfalfa is "the perfect plant to take for overall health".  Well, if he claims it, then it must be true.  After all, he looks like he lives off the land and probably takes "medicinal" marijuana for those crazy leg cramps.  So I got them home and was taking 3 pills, 3 times a day (those were the instructions).  My sinus infection was not clearing up (even on antibiotics), my nose was still snotty and congested-these pills were a crock of crap.  Flash forward to my allergy test,  Dun, Dun, DUN.   I am allergic to ALFALFA!  Who knew, who knew.  Even Grizzly Adams was wrong on this one.

Surprisingly, I am only moderately allergic to my highly-trained dog, Belle (that's a shout-out to Roger).  Good news, except for the cat and horses, they are all seasonal.  But what to do about my psycho cat, Callie.....She was a 4 on the scale where everything was a 5 or 6.

I also have to go in and have a small procedure done in a week so this will be interesting-hopefully it will help clear up some of the side problems associated with my allergies.  Maybe I will come out with a slightly new nose....  Just sayin.

absent

I know, I have been absent.  What can I say?  Nothing.  Sometimes I feel like blogging and other times I don't.  Simple as that.  Sometimes I want to go all out with a no-holds-bar attitude, and then I remember that I have family that I could possibly embarrass.  And since I don't make a buck for doing this, well, then, it wouldn't be worth it to spill all the family secrets, would it?  hee hee.  I really do have things to blog about-I just need to do it.  So here's a preview:

Sporty had one of the most amazing opportunities last week-he was able to go to SLC and sing in the afternoon session of General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Yes, we are Mormons (as the world knows us) and YES we are CHRISTIAN.  Some people, including the so-called professional that was featured on the news and referred to us as The Church of Latter-day Saints, should research what they are talking about, including the correct name.  Just saying.  But I will give her the benefit of the doubt-it is a long name :)

That's my sneak peak of what will come in the future-or at least in the near future.

New running buddy

Since I am not officially training for anything I decided to start taking my dog Belle on my morning runs.  First of all, she is crazy; second of all, she is hyper; third of all, she is frickin strong; and fourth of all, SHE.IS.HYPER.  It was a challenge the first half of the run-she kept zig zagging in front of me and the other ladies which about caused some of us to face plant.  That would not be good.  By the end of the run she pretty much stayed by me, but I think it was because she was too tired to exert any more energy.

When we finished, I put her in her dog run, fed her, and went inside to get ready.  A little while later I opened our back door (which is usually greeted by a hyper dog) to check on Belle-she was out, probably snoring even!  Some time later after that I checked on her-this time she looked at me, but still would not get up.  Poor pup-she's out of shape!  By the afternoon she was up and at 'em and ready to play.  I don't know why it struck me so funny, but it did.  Maybe it was because I have never seen her so CALM.  I took her out again this morning, but this time she recovered much faster.  Oh that funny dog. 

Look what I found..

I used to frequently say that Diva is the reason why I am going gray; however, recently Z-man has begun to rival her in a pretty big way.  Don't worry-Diva is still WAY WAY WAY ahead of him...

Yesterday while entertaining a few friends, I walked downstairs and found this

Yup, he is STARK NAKED and watching PBS cartoons.  There is actually a much better photo, but I felt that would be too invasive (I promise it is funny and all important parts are appropriately covered.)  Let me just describe to you how he was sitting.  He has his legs crossed at the ankles with his his right arm in between hanging out around the knee; the remote is sitting next to him and there is a small pebble sitting next to the remote.  I must point out how responsible this 2 year old is-he disposed of his diaper by throwing it away in the bathroom garbage-so thoughtful of him!  I love this kid!  Let's just say we all had a good laugh, and so did Z-man.

Nap time

Now that my little munchkin can escape from his crib, his nap times have been a bit sporadic.  HOWEVER, today I just gave him his blanket and he played on the floor of his room.  I shut the door and came back about 10 minutes later and this is what I found....

Yes, he is sleeping just inside of his closet.  He even slept for over 2 hours.  NICE!  Maybe this will be a new routine for him.  I certainly wouldn't mind-I am not ready for him to give up his naps.  Look how cute he is~

Follow up to Busted

Last night, Z-man climbed out of his crib and went and slept on the couch.  We have no idea what time this was at, but when Trevor went into the kitchen this morning the little man walked in from the living room and said good morning to him.  Holy Cow!  Seriously, we are in trouble.

Busted!

Look what Z-man discovered how to do....

I am not ready to put him in a big boy bed.  He's my baby and he needs to stay a baby.  However, as soon as he landed on the ground, those tears dried right up and he got a HUGE smile.  Lil' punk.

1st day

My kids are getting so big~

4th grade

1st grade

Last year of preschool

Oh goodness-three kids in school and one at home.  Whatever shall I do with my time????

True Story

Last Sunday I took the kids down South to my  nephew's baptism and his brother's baby blessing.  As I was backing out of the driveway I was prompted to say a little prayer before we started our journey.  I asked Sporty to say a prayer, and, of course, he asked that we be safe as we drove.  Five minutes later I pulled up to a red light.  The light turned green and I proceeded forward-I had my eye on a car ahead of me that was about to turn right into my line of traffic (he would have ran a red light) when all of a sudden I braked hard and out of nowhere, another car came speeding from my left through the red light and right in front of me.  I just sat there stunned.  Had I moved forward anymore I would have been t-boned by this car.  Coincidence?   I think not.  Prayers are answered-sometimes not how we would want them and sometimes they are answered before we realized it (why did I brake hard?  After all, I hadn't seen the car coming from my left-never even glanced that way).  Prayers are answered and for that I am grateful.  Our Father in Heaven truly watches out for us and guides us and I am grateful for that.  Most of all, I am grateful that I followed that small prompting to say a prayer before we left.

Summer has gone---not officially

Labor Day-the so-called "last" day of summer.  We enjoyed it.  We took the kids and met up with my family and my brother's in-laws at a reservoir for some boating and wave runnin'.  Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera, so no awesome pictures of me in a swim suit (darn!).  It was a nice day to call it "a day" for the rest of the year.  Until next time, my swimmin' buddies, until next time.

Bear Lake Part Deux (that's French)

ALAS!  Here is the post we have all been waiting for...I know you check to see if I have updated yet...and I have.  Bear Lake is quite the hot spot for my family.  We ended up having a family reunion for my mom's side of the family up there and it was Fan-freakin-tastic.   Although, I am suggesting that, instead of calling it a reunion, we call it a sister get-together.  You see, all the sisters were there and their families (at least the ones that could make it) but the brothers were a no show.  ACTUALLY, one brother did make the 2+hour drive down only to turn around and go home.  Supposedly something came up...The truth is, we missed having them there.  They probably don't know how much they were missed, but they were missed.  We are a lot of fun to be around, so they missed out on us.

Enough with the sob story so here were go:  WARNING PICTURE OVERLOAD

Yup, that's me skiing.

This little guy was all tuckered out by 10am!

3 Stooges, er, sisters.  Sandi, Mary, and Margee.

Aw!  Newlyweds!

Aunt Mary and Uncle Sam

GAME TIME!

Why is everyone covering their noses?

Is he the cutest?!?

Marty and his wife, Megan.

I know that was a TON of pictures to endure, but can you tell that we had a blast?  We did!