The Nelsons

A cruising we did go

2009-04-25T21:39:00.015-06:00

Warning: The following post may be a tad lengthy.

We returned about a month ago from our cruise to the Mexican Riviera in celebration of our 15th anniversary. We had a really great time with lots of adventures. To begin with, a huge thank you to my Mom and Dad for driving from California to Utah to stay with our kids while we were gone. We couldn't have done this without your help. The kids had a blast and the house was spotless when we got home. You guys are awesome! Zaron and I drove to L.A. on Friday (all by ourselves). Wow, 10 hours goes by so fast when you're not listening to "Are we there yet?" every 5 seconds. We, of course stopped at In-n-out in St. George. I love In-n-out so much. We stayed with Zaron's sister and her husband at their apartment in L.A. that night. Thanks guys for your hospitality. You're great!

Here we are Saturday morning getting ready to head to the ship

Nice hair! Don't be jealous of my Tuffy Tooth T-shirt.

Zaron's sister and husband and daughter and daughter #2 soon to arrive.

We cruised on the Sapphire Princess

This was the only picture that we were able to get of the whole ship. It was ginormous!

Formal night #1
We went the conservative route and took our own picture. I was amazed with all the pictures they wanted to take of you and then charge you 20 bucks per picture. Are you kidding me? We did buy the picture that they took of us as we were getting on the ship the first day.

Our 1st stop: Puerto Vallarta and a ride on the zip line.
We got off the ship and they took us to this tiny motorized row boat which took us through this canal past some very nice yachts and boats to these WWII jeeps. All 14 of us in our group climbed in the back and then we held on for dear life. It was so cool! We drove through some very poor areas of Puerto Vallarta. It was very humbling to see how some of the world has to live. It made me very grateful for all that we have in our country.

After a 45 minute ride in the jeep, we arrived in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta, where we were outfitted with hard hats and harnesses. Don't be jealous, I know we look "so fine". We had such an adventure on the zip line; definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. We had the best guides ever; they were so hilarious. They certainly made the experience a blast. I can't say that I wasn't scared at practically every platform, which was the equivalent of being 20 stories off the ground, but it was so exhilarating. I'm actually proud that we were able to accomplish this. We're now ready for the next "Amazing Race".

Who is that fine guy?

Next stop: Mazatlan, the most beautiful place I've seen so far
Here, we are taking the tram from the ship to the open aired taxis.

The taxis took us to the Golden zone and to this quaint amphitheatre where we saw some amazing dancers and performers. These guys climbed this pole that was at least 75 feet tall and they sat on the square at the top. The guy in the middle stood up and started dancing as he was also playing a whistle type instrument. The other four were then extended by a rope and they all circled the pole. It was amazing. I have never seen anything like this before.

After the show and shopping (we actually did some pretty good bargaining),we walked to the Playa Mazatlan, a super nice resort right on the beach. It was here that we had the most delicious Mexican food that I have ever tasted. It was the best food that we had on the whole cruise. One of these days, Zaron and I are going to fly to Mazatlan and stay at this resort. It was great!

We forgot to get a picture of our cabin, so this is the hallway just outside our room. We were on the Aloha deck. We were shocked at how long the hallways were on the ship. They went on forever and ever.

On the first day of the cruise, we purchased drink cards. This was by far the best purchase we made. These cards entitled us to all the soda, ice cream, smoothies, and non-alcoholic drinks we wanted. My drink of choice was the virgin pina colada. I consumed at least 5 a day. By the end of the cruise, I knew which bar made the best pina coladas.

Final stop: Cabo San Lucas and a ride with the horses

On our itinerary, it said that in Cabo, tender was required. I assumed that tender meant money. Boy was I wrong. It meant that the ship couldn't dock close enough for us to walk off, so we had to ride to shore in the tender boats (life boats). I always wanted to ride in the life boats, but then I also didn't want to, because if we were riding in the life boats then it meant the ship was sinking. And that wouldn't be very fun. So, this was so cool to ride in the life boats and not have to reenact the sinking of the Titanic.

Here is our authentic Mexican cowboy on his authentic Mexican ranch with his authentic Mexican horses and funny dogs. I'm not sure why, but it was so shocking to me to hear him speak Spanish to his dogs and they understood him.

We were able to ride through the desert on horseback.

It was cool to see real cactus in the real Mexican desert.

After the desert, we rode right along the Pacific ocean. Wow!!

Zaron - the natural born horse rider. Ride 'em cowboy.

Cabo is really beautiful and such gorgeous weather.

This is the life!

Our 2nd and final formal night

This anniversary was one to be remembered - Great fun, good memories!

Now, on to our next adventure - Life!

I'm back

2009-03-06T11:08:00.007-07:00

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post (about a month and a half to be exact). So, to celebrate I am posting about my birthday. I have to start out by saying that I have the best husband, family, and friends in the whole world. I'm sure everyone can relate about their own husband, family, and friends.

Anyways, the night before my birthday, I met my sister in law and two of my cousins for dinner at Cafe Rio. It was so much fun chatting and getting caught up on life.

Thanks guys for the way fun time.

When I got home that night, I walked in to a fully festive, birthday house. Zaron and all the kids had decorated with streamers, balloons, signs, etc. It was so much fun!

Thanks guys, you are way awesome.

On my birthday, Zaron got me two dozen beautiful roses and all the donuts that I could ever want. I love, love, love donuts and flowers. I'm not sure if anyone knew this, but the only day of the whole year that donuts aren't fattening is on your birthday. It's so great! Zaron also took me to P.F. Chang's for lunch; so delicious. Thanks baby, you're the best!

The celebration doesn't stop there because this morning, Melanie took me to breakfast. It was so fun to get caught up on what's been going on. Thanks Mel for the yummy breakfast.

It has been such a great week of celebration! I guess having birthdays aren't so bad, no matter how old you're turning.

Thanks everyone!

To be sick or not to be sick

2009-01-23T14:41:00.004-07:00

Holly stayed home from school today because she was sick (and I had the evidence in a bowl this morning to prove that she was sick). I've been around a while, so I know all the kid's tricks for playing sick. She was really sick! But, you sure wouldn't be able to tell that now, four hours later. Here she is sitting on her bed with a cute cap on her head, watching Psych, eating Coco Puffs and rearranging her stuffed animals.

I've heard of the 24 hour flu and maybe even the 12 hour flu, but come on, the 4 hour flu. It's just weird!

Totally awesome 8th grade field trip

2009-01-20T16:52:00.003-07:00

Today I chaperoned on the 8th grade field trip. It was really great! It was a two day BYU/UVU field trip today and tomorrow. Since there are 600 8th graders, I wasn't sure how it was all going to work out and how organized it was going to be. For the most part, it was organized and a really good experience for the kids. The group I was with today went to BYU. We got to see a presentation in the new Hinckley visitor center, the Bean Museum, and the Planetarium in the Eyring Science Center. It ended with a tour of LaVell Edwards Stadium including the locker rooms. Way cool! I had never been inside a real live college football locker room before.

Overall, it was totally awesome. I wished they would've done something like that when I was in Junior High. I really think it gets the kids thinking about college at a fairly young age and it helps them see that college really is a possibility for them.

The only thing I regret is not taking my camera with me. Oh well, fun times! And I don't think Jill was too embarrassed to have me along.

Better late than never

2009-01-11T18:46:00.009-07:00

We returned a week ago from our Christmas trip to California. We had a really great time once we got past the car sickness and the throwing up. We enjoyed the nice weather and the fog. Since I grew up in California, fog (not snow) always reminds me of Christmas. I'd actually even be okay if I never had a white Christmas, imagine that. We devoured lots of yummy food, which included homemade Chinese, Mexican, and American, a traditional breakfast at the bowling alley, and New Year's Eve homemade clam chowder. Our visit would not have been complete without many competitive games of Perudo, Malarky, Settlers, Apples to Apples and lots of family time.

Here are a few highlights from our trip:

Cousins and sleepovers are the best. It's always the coziest in Grandma's (Nana's) bed.

Hangin' with the cousins.

Great Grandma and Grandpa are the best - Thanks for the delicious prime rib and shrimp cocktail.

Ready, Set......... New Year's Eve

Just waiting for the festivities to begin

Inseparable cousins and best friends

Here's Grandpa (Shrimps) taking a little break before the clock strikes midnight.

The two little men

Jill and her little shadow

Monopoly - the All American non-competitive game - Not!

And finally, announcing 2009 (even though it was really only 11:00 p.m.) The younger kids were falling asleep and we knew they wouldn't make it to midnight, so we poppered early.

The poppers can make you crazy.

The explosion of the poppers. :)

I think it could really start a new trend.

Friends for life

Who is this "old lady" with the huuuuuuge glasses?

Oh, to have such long locks of curls.

Is it a clown? Is it a fancy lady? Or is it Kevin?

Amazing Grandparents

Another set of amazing grandparents

Thanks for the great times and the good memories.

The best of 2008

2008-12-31T13:42:00.018-07:00

This is my final post for the year 2008. Thanks for the tag Krissi. It was fun reminiscing about the events of the past year.

Here goes:

My Top 12 events of 2008
1. We purchased our first SUV. It became a necessity for me, when I got stuck in the snow for 3 hours in my van.

2. I received the calling as Primary Chorister - for the first time ever. I guess they think since you can play the piano then you can also lead. It's been a lot of fun. The kids are great.

3. I was finally able to have all my varicose veins treated. Although a long and painful process, definitely worth it in the end.

4. Our third child, Megan was baptized. We had a great experience and it was a lot of fun to have all the family together in one place.

5. We made our summer trip to California and had a very memorable time. We visited with lots of friends and family, and we even made it up to Sacramento to our old stomping grounds. Great fun!!

6. We took Jill and Kevin to Magic Mountain for the first time. What a blast!

7. Camping at Bear Lake for the first time was a definite hit. It made it even better to be there with family. I think it will become a fun tradition every year.

8. Our youngest, Holly, started first grade which means that all of our kids are in school all day. Wow!! I was able to start substituting in the schools. Fun times.

9. Our oldest, Jill, became a teenager this year. She's a great kid. Teenagers are actually pretty nice people.

10. I was able to pull off the first ever, real surprise for Zaron for his birthday. Very fun!

11. Kevin started and ended his first successful football season injury free.

12. I watched a marathon for the first time and what made it even more memorable was my sister ran it and very successfully. It was her first marathon. Great job Sis! I also ran in my second 5k race and didn't do too badly.

Bonus event #13 (I know I said 12, but 13 is such a lucky number.)
We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving and Christmas with lots of family this year and we made lots of great memories. I learned that you can brine a turkey successfully as long as it's cold enough outside and you have an ice chest large enough to hold it.

2008 was Great! Bring it on 2009!

One of life's happy moments

2008-12-24T08:48:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Zaron and I decided to take advantage of some of his free time off from work. We went to Salt Lake and attended the temple and then went to lunch at The Garden. We had a very nice time. When we returned that afternoon, as we drove up to our house, we saw all four of our kids out in their snow clothes playing together in the snow. It was a happy sight to see.

This picture doesn't show it very well, but the mounds of snow in front of our house are "ginormous".

One of Life's happy moments!

Baby what a big surprise!

2008-12-22T14:36:00.017-07:00

Boy were we surprised seven years ago when Holly was born. Not surprised that we were having a baby of course, but surprised that she was a girl.

When I was pregnant with each of my kids, I never had an ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. I just always had a strong feeling about what it was going to be. I was always right.....up until Holly. I was so sure that it was going to be a boy that I had filled the changing table with all the baby boy clothes and hadn't even considered a girl's name. I even told all the nurses when we got to the hospital that we were having a boy and his name was going to be Kyle. I could not have been more surprised when she was born and the doctor said, "it's a girl". I, of course, was very excited, but the first thing I had to do was call my mom who was at our house with the rest of our kids and ask her to dig out the baby girl clothes and wash them and bring an outfit to the hospital with a pink blanket.

So, as Zaron left the hospital to grab some dinner after Holly was born, he turned on the radio, and no joking, the song that was playing was "Baby what a big surprise" by Chicago. He just had to laugh.

Holly continues to surprise us. She is such a joy to have in our family. She is all girl and a total princess. She keeps us laughing.

I love the baby mohawk!!

What a cutie pie!

We celebrated Holly's birthday on Saturday by going to Jump On It. It was such a blast. Who would've thought that jumping in a room full of trampolines for an hour could be so much fun and so exhausting.

What's a birthday without lunch at Chadders?! Delicious!

Holly is a girl after my own heart. She doesn't care for cake, so each year for her birthday she asks for donuts. Yummy!

Happy 7th Birthday Holly!! We love you!!

Let it snow! Let it blizzard! Let it snow!

2008-12-20T13:59:00.003-07:00

Okay, so I know I live in a state where it snows, but sometimes I wish it wouldn't so much. Yesterday, Jill and I were supposed to meet my Sister-in-law and her daughter in Salt Lake. We were going to go to the movies (to see Twilight, of course), and go out to dinner. It was going to be perfect. We were supposed to meet for the 4:00 showing at the Gateway. My plan was to help with Kevin's class party from 1:00 - 2:00, then send my three youngest home on the bus, pick up Jill from school at 2:15, and then head into Salt Lake.

I left for Kevin's party and the sky was actually partially blue and the sun was starting to peek out. It was perfect.....Or so I thought. That perfectness all changed in a matter of 20 minutes. It seriously started to blizzard like nobody's business. It was nasty. The wind was blowing, the snow was falling, the visibility was zero. I however, was not going to let a huge blizzard keep us from our plans.

I knew when it took me 30 minutes to get to Jill's school, which was two miles away, that our plans were headed downhill, and fast. It was inevitable; the snow was getting the better of me. What makes the story even better (or worse) is that I had called Jill's school so they could tell her not to ride the bus (Jill wasn't aware of the plans when she left for school), and they said they couldn't tell her. What? Are you kidding me! How lame is that. So, unfortunately, by the time I made it to the school, Jill was already on some bus, somewhere. At this point, I was just hoping that I made it home before midnight. The streets were serious parking lots. So, much to our dismay, Jill and I obviously never made it to Salt Lake.

It's just really frustrating when you really want to do something, and then something completely out of your control (like a dang blizzard), keeps you from doing it.

Oh well, what do you do? You go to Little Caesars and get $5 pizzas and bread sticks. That's what we did. Delicious!

I love Christmas

2008-12-13T13:28:00.006-07:00

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love just about everything about it. I love the feelings of Christmas, the hustle and bustle, the surprises, the songs, the goodies, the presents, the Christmas movies, the lights, etc.... There's only one thing about Christmas that I don't care for. And that is the Christmas traffic. We encountered that Christmas traffic last night on our way to Temple Square to see the lights. It was pretty bad (I don't think it had anything to do with the Tabernacle Choir concert that was going on last night). It would of made for a bad mood had it not been for the Christmas music that we were listening to and the fun people that we were with. Once inside Temple Square, all the traffic and the fact that we had to park 6 blocks away were forgotten. The lights were so beautiful and well worth the tradition. I am always amazed at how perfect the lights and nativities look. It is so fun. It was a bonus to be there with my sister in law and her kids (minus my brother and their youngest, who unfortunately got sick on the way to the temple and they had to turn around to take them back home). We always have such a great time together. This tradition is definitely a keeper. Thanks guys for the great time. We look forward to next year!

Note to self: Next year, park the car in Sandy and ride Trax into Salt Lake. Fun!!

Dear Santa......

2008-12-11T13:59:00.007-07:00

Holly came home from school yesterday with the cutest letter that she had written to Santa.

Dear Santa,

How are you? I am great. How is your job and how is Mrs. Claus? How are the reindeer? I hope you have a good Christmas. Thank you for all the presents that you gave me last year. I have been good this year. Please bring me a snow globe. I hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Love, Holly

I wish all my kids could stay this little and innocent forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but for longer than they do. I can't believe my baby is going to be in second grade next year and my oldest is going to be in high school. Life goes too fast sometimes.

I guess that's why we need to enjoy the journey.

Enjoy your journey today!!!

We survived the gingerbread house.....barely

2008-12-01T20:54:00.013-07:00

Whoever said that making a gingerbread house with your family would bring you closer together? Well, maybe no one has ever said that. Actually, no one should ever say that. I bought a gingerbread house kit last year around this time with the hopes of making it with my kids. Well, I kept putting it off and putting it off until July when I looked in the pantry, saw the box and realized "Oh hey, we never put that house together". And I threw the box away. Well, today at the store I bought another one and decided that we'd put it together tonight for family night. What a great idea! I've been trying to start new traditions with my family so I thought this could be one of them. After tonight's experience, I'm seriously rethinking this tradition.

After dinner, we quickly cleaned off the table, turned on the Christmas music and opened the gingerbread house kit box.

Oh, and then it began..... "Stop touching!", "Get away!", "When do I get a turn!", "I said stop touching!", "Don't put that there!", "What are you doing!", "I don't want to put that there!", "Be quiet!", "Why are we doing this anyway!", "You're not my boss!".....

I'm sure you get the idea.

I wanted to get a picture of the kids with their masterpiece,

their very first gingerbread house.

Well, as you'll see it was a process to get that picture.

Ignore the blurriness in some of the pictures; the camera was acting up. It couldn't have had anything to do with the person taking the pictures.

Ta-Da

Now on to finding more new traditions! Wish me luck!

A day for giving thanks!

2008-11-28T12:30:00.008-07:00

I love Thanksgiving! It is one of my favorite holidays and this year was no exception. It was so great. Brent and Krissi and their kids spent the night at our house on Wednesday and we had a blast. We talked, we laughed, we cooked, we ate, we stayed up late (adults until 2 a.m., kids until 4 a.m.), we cooked some more, we laughed some more, we ate some more........

Great food, great times and great memories!

Wednesday night, Brent and Krissi made exactly 96 rolls.

And they were delicious!

Kevin and Andrew made a yummy banana pudding

Doesn't that turkey look good enough to eat?

And the kids aren't bad looking either.
We cooked the turkey in the roaster this year to save

the oven for the other dishes. It turned out so juicy.

Everyone ready to dig in.
After all the preparation time, I told everyone that they had to take more than 10 minutes to eat. They all did a good job; it took at least 30 minutes. And that didn't include pie time.

Here come the after feast pictures:

Brent and Krissi checking out the Black Friday ads

Alex, Henry, Megan, and Holly hanging out watching a movie
(the picture turned out kind of blurry.)

Andrew, Zaron, and Kevin watching the Cowboys game

Hopefully I don't get killed for posting the next three pictures. I couldn't resist.

Brent resting from his hard labors

Samantha catching a few zzzzs.

Jill in dream land.

Thanks guys for the yummy food and the fun times!!

Pilgrims and Indians and Vampires, Oh My!!!

2008-11-26T14:58:00.005-07:00

I went to Megan's 3rd grade Thanksgiving program yesterday. Usually when I hear the words school program, my mind says "ugh, do I really have to go". Because I being the supportive mother that I am, would never say this out loud. So it is an understatement to say that yesterday I was sincerely shocked. It was seriously the best 3rd grade program that I have ever seen. It was so cute; I loved every minute of it.

Here is Megan with her friend. They were Native Americans. Aren't they so cute?

The kids sang the cutest songs with the funniest actions.
After the program, I went straight to Orem and spent pretty much the rest of the afternoon Christmas shopping. I'm happy to report that I am completely done with all of my Christmas shopping. Yay, and before Thanksgiving even. That's a first for me!

And finally, I finished the day with another viewing of Twilight. Yes, Jill and I have seen it twice now. We took Shaelee, Jill's friend with us. We felt stupid standing in front of this sign. Oh well, good memories. I have to say that Twilight is even better the second time around, if that is even possible. We totally love it!
And so you don't think we just ditched the rest of our family on the night before the night before Thanksgiving (because this was last night, two days before Thanksgiving), we didn't. Zaron took Kevin, Megan, and Holly to see Madagascar 2 at the same theater. They didn't want their picture taken, but they loved the movie.

5 Stars

2008-11-22T09:29:00.006-07:00

Jill and I went to see the 10 pm showing of Twilight last night with her friend Erika and her mom Annette. We had such a blast. The girls wanted to get there at 7:00 because we didn't have reserved seats and they wanted to get the best seats. Well, it paid off. We were second in line and we literally got the best seats in the theater; third row from the top, right in the middle. The waiting time went pretty fast too; we took lots of card games.

I love Skipbo!

Jill and Erika in their Team Edward shirts.

They made these shirts; I think they turned out pretty professional looking.

Annette is so great and she's very fun to be with!
I was kind of skeptical going into the movie because I have become very disenchanted with the Twilight books.

Whoa, was I surprised. The movie was sooo good; better than I even imagined. I think I liked it even better than the book.

I totally want to see it again.
Thanks girls for the fun time!

The grades are in

2008-11-18T12:09:00.006-07:00

Last week, all four of our kids brought home their 1st quarter grades. I don't mean to be braggy, but they did really well. Holly got all checks and pluses. Kevin and Megan each got all A's and one B+. Jill got staight A's and she's in 8th grade; amazing. So, we told the kids that instead of paying them for their grades that we would take them out to dinner. We asked them where they wanted to go; they chose Costco pizza and churros. Yea, score!! Costco pizza is delicious and cheap. We went out last night and we had a great time. It was fun to reward the kids for their hard work.

Hey, what do I get for helping those kids get such good grades? I mean, afterall, with the exception of math, I put a lot of effort and sweat into these kids and their homework, which equals good grades. I think I deserve something..... I wonder.....

Tag, I'm it.....twice

2008-11-07T19:07:00.010-07:00

I've been tagged twice this last week,

by my friend Carrie and my sister-in-law Stacy.

Lucky for me, they were both the same tag.

Here goes............

Eight things I'm passionate about:

1. Zaron

2. My kids

3. Food

4. Surprises

5. Candy and popcorn

6. Time to myself

7. Not looking stupid

8. Not hurting people's feelings

Eight words or phrases I use all the time:

1. Did you brush your teeth?/Did you wash your hands?

2. Did you read? Are you sure?

3. Did you do your jobs?

4. Pick up your stuff right now

5. You're kidding/Are you serious?

6. I'm not going to tell you again.....

7. Do you think you could stop fighting?

8. I love you, have a good day or good-night

Eight things I want to do before I die:

1. Finish the basement

2. Go on a mission with Zaron

3. Have grand kids, whoa

4. Be retired preferably before age 65

5. Travel

6. Learn to ski

7. Visit Paris and Rome

8. Attend all the temples in the world

Eight things I currently want or need:

1. To lose weight

2. To go on a cruise

3. To be debt free

4. Painted walls (in my house)

5. A new wardrobe

6. A library (in our city)

7. More time in each day

8. Grass and a fence (in my backyard)

Eight places I want to visit:

1. Hawaii

2. Puerto Rico

3. California

4. Caribbean

5. Mexican Riviera

6. Disneyland (again)

7. Alaska

8. South America

Eight favorite restaurants:

1. Carrabbas

2. El Pollo Loco

3. Cafe Rio

4. Chadders

5. PF Changs

6. Benihana

7. Famous Dave's

8. Taco stand on 2nd west in Salt Lake

Eight TV shows I watch:

1. Monk

2. Psych

3. McBride

4. Jane Doe

5. Quincy MD

6. Perry Mason

7. Little House on the Prairie

8. Brady Bunch

Eight people I tag:

1. Amy (my sista)

2. Anyone

3. else

4. who

5. wants

6. to

7. be

8. tagged.

Random!!

2008-11-03T19:00:00.005-07:00

This is a totally random post! Oh well!!

On Saturday, I took the girls, Jill, Megan, and Holly to see High School Musical 3. It was so good; fabulous songs and excellent choreography. We had such a great time; fun girl bonding. We ate so much popcorn to last us a lifetime, though. But we had to. If you bought the large popcorn then you got, not a free refill, but a refill for 50 cents. We all know what a rip off the concessions are at the theater. So we had to take advantage of getting the additional large popcorn for only 50 cents. I guess it's the same as buying something that you don't really need, but it was on sale and such a good deal that you couldn't pass it up.

Moving on......

This is the result of eating too much Halloween candy,

suckers start growing out of your mouth.

I have the most! No, I have the most!

And finally.....

I was driving to the grocery store this morning and I turned on the radio. What did I hear? It couldn't be Christmas music already. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love Christmas and Christmas music. I'm just a big fan of enjoying one holiday at a time. Last I checked we haven't celebrated Thanksgiving yet. Time already flies fast enough without the holidays being crammed all together. Oh well, by the time I was home I realized I was actually enjoying the Christmas music. It does make you feel good!

I do love this time of year!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T16:26:00.004-06:00

I love holidays, but I wouldn't say that Halloween is one of my favorites. I love trick or treating and I love all the candy. I don't love spending $30 or more dollars on a costume for one night. I know, I'm such a cheap skate. So because of this, my kids have learned that they need to be creative when it comes to dressing up for Halloween.

This year Kevin got a $5 wig and $3 glasses.

He never did figure out what he was, but I think he looks pretty cool. He did win the best costume prize at a class party. Thus, proving my point that you don't have to be a big spender to be a winner.

Holly got a $3 grass skirt (which ended up breaking and falling off by the end of the night, thank goodness for shorts underneath, what did I expect for 3 bucks, I'm not sure), a Leigh that was in the basement, a borrowed hair flower, and a homemade coconut top (the coconut shells were from sorbets that we bought at Costco last summer, delicious).

I think she's a super cute hula girl.

By day, Megan was a Gothic girl and by night she was a witch. She went to school dressed in Gothic attire and her friends told her she looked really scary. She decided that for trick or treating, she didn't want to look so scary and she went as a witch. It's good to know that witches aren't that scary. We scored big with Megan this year. Her cape was a black trash bag and her hat was from the basement. Her Gothic costume was leftover from her sister's costume last year. Net cost - $0!!!!

This year Jill wanted to be batman. Being the big spender that I am, I bought her a $2 mask, $1 black gloves, $1 black snow cap that I was going to going to turn into the pointy black batman cap, a yellow belt made out of some leftover fabric, and a cape from the basement. In theory and in my mind, this was totally going to work. Well, the mask looked more like Zorro, the cap ended up looking like Mickey Mouse, and the cape had huge holes in it. Sorry, Jill we'll have better luck next year. I think we'll look into renting a costume.

Last night, Jill was going trick or treating with her friends later in the evening. Therefore, she wasn't ready to have her picture taken before I left to take the two little girls trick or treating. I left the camera with Zaron and told him to get her picture before she left. Well, the first thing Jill told me this morning when she woke up, was "I got out of having to have my picture take last night, nanner, nanner." She did end up wearing the black snow cap, the gloves, the mask, the cape, and the belt and she told everyone she was batman, but she wouldn't let Zaron take her picture. What a stinker!!

But, I didn't want to leave Jill out on my Halloween post, so here is Jill when she was four years old, all dressed up as a nurse for her preschool Halloween party in Michigan.
Isn't she adorable!! Nanner, Nanner, Jill

A quick trip to the pumpkin patch...........Or not!!!

2008-10-27T22:01:00.009-06:00

For family night, we decided to take a trip to the pumpkin patch. I've been feeling like a lame mom since I haven't hung up any Halloween or Fall decorations. I thought it would be fun to let the kids pick out their own pumpkins and carve them. (It was actually Jill's idea, but I thought it would be fun too.) So we ate dinner early and headed out to a favorite pumpkin patch about 20 minutes away. We finally arrived at our destination and what did we find? They had just closed, it was 6:45 and they had closed at 6:30. What kind of a pumpkin patch closes at 6:30 on the last Monday before Halloween, and in Utah no less? Don't they know that procrastinating Mormon families buy their pumpkins on the last Monday before Halloween? We aren't super familiar with the pumpkin patches in Utah county, or in any county for that matter, so we decided to go to Wal-mart. What did we find at Wal-mart? They had just sold their last pumpkins for the season. Are you kidding me? At this point it was getting late and we were running out of options. We decided to stop at Smith's on our way home, as our last ditch effort. Right about this time, the pumpkin spirit was gone and the finger pointing began. "We should've...... You never....... I told you........ Who's idea was this anyway?....." We were almost to Smith's when we spotted this random pumpkin stand on Main Street and it looked open. We pulled in and this nice, nice older man came to the window. We asked if he sold pumpkins and if he took checks. He said, "Absolutely." Yea!! The hunt for the great pumpkin was over. To top it off, the pumpkins were huge and cheap. The pumpkin spirit had returned. As we were getting back in the car, all the kids said, "Let's come here every year." So, an hour and a half after our search for pumpkins began, we found them less than five miles from our house.

What an adventure!!!

My sentiments exactly! That stuff is pretty slimy!

Yummy, raw pumpkin with seeds

Whoa, don't mess with Kevin, he's a man on a mission

Careful with the knife there, buddy!

Of course, Holly found the heart shaped seeds
(they're kind of hard to see in this picture)
She was very excited!

Scary!!
If looks and knives could kill (actually knives do)
It's kind of hard to see the knife in this picture, it's in Jill's hand

I wish they looked this excited to eat my dinner

I'm not exactly sure what Megan's planning to do to the pumpkin
It looks like some sort of martial arts

Dramatic poses with the end product

I think Jill is trying to blow her head up

Megan is attempting to eat a cookie through the pumpkin's mouth

Holly is reenacting Romeo and Juliet (I think she's Juliet.)

Kevin is stabbing the pumpkin

Once again, careful with those knives, guys!!

They all did a great job with their pumpkins, very creative

They did most of the work themselves

P.S. I did finally hang up Halloween decorations tonight, after the kids went to bed.

Look out 007!!!

2008-10-25T20:40:00.005-06:00

This post is per Jill and Erika's request. They were hanging out at our house last night and were extremely hyper and goofy. They decided to go outside and play "cops and robbers". Go figure; I didn't know 13 and 14 year olds got into that kind of stuff. Leave it to them to have a fun time together; they are hilarious when they get together.

James Bond's new girls!!!

(We tried this picture outside, but they were too embarrassed by the passing cars.)

I love these girls

Aren't they so beautiful!!!!
Shortly after cops and robbers, we got doorbell stayed by two of their friends, Cody and Josh. For those of you who don't know what doorbell staying is, I will explain. Instead of doorbell ditching, you ring the doorbell and then stay on the doorstep doing random things, such as singing, laying on the porch, looking up at the stars, telling jokes, etc. You then ask the person who answered the door to join you in the activity. Crazy kids, what will they think of next? The four of them ended the night with a few rounds of doorbell staying (only to people that they knew, of course).

A Dad With His Daughter

2008-10-24T12:22:00.006-06:00

Last night, Megan and Zaron went to their first Daddy/Daughter activity. It was a Halloween dinner and party with trick or treating for food for the food bank (what a great idea). For the last week, Megan kept changing her mind about wanting to go to the activity; one minute she wanted to go, the next minute she didn't. Yesterday morning, before she left for school, she told me that she just didn't want to go. When she got home from school, I decided to try one last thing. I asked her why she didn't want to go. What a novel idea, I know. She said she was afraid there was going to be dancing and she was afraid that Zaron was going to embarrass her. I couldn't help it, but I started laughing. I told her that there was definitely not going to be any dancing. I then told her to call her dad at work and tell him that if he would agree not to embarrass her than she would agree to go with him to the activity. Too Funny!!!

Megan was trying to be very serious in her Gothic costume.

She was excited that she got to wear so much make-up.
What a cute dad and daughter pair!

Zaron wasn't allowed to dress up,

Megan said it would embarrass her.

They really did have a great time and

Megan was glad that she went.

Good job Activity Day Leaders!!

The reasons for my weirdness

2008-10-16T16:41:00.008-06:00

My sister-in-law Krissi tagged me. I'm supposed to list my 6 quirks. I know, it's going to be hard to limit it to six, I'm pretty quirky!!

Quirk #1

I am deathly afraid of crowds, a crowd meaning more than about 8 people. Okay, maybe not deathly afraid, but it does cause me anxiety and feelings of panic in my stomach. I try to avoid them at all cost. Ward parties are definitely out!

Quirk #2

I am completely obsessed with mysteries, whether it's books, t.v. shows, or movies. They absolutely fascinate me. I could read them or watch them over and over again, and I do.

Quirk #3

I love to sleep with the window open, but I can't sleep with anyone touching me. I need my space. I know, so sad for Zaron.
Quirk #4

I am extremely afraid of the dark. I don't know, maybe it's from all the scary movies that I watched as a kid at our cousin slumber parties. (Watcher in the woods, Changeling, Wait until dark, Something wicked this way comes - total classics, but totally scary.)

Quirk #5

I am a freak about conserving electricity and water, as I'm sure my family will tell you. I hate it when the lights are left on and no one is in the room or water is left running unnecessarily.

Quirk #6

Actually this isn't a quirk anymore, but I used to have to have the kitchen spotless before I went to bed. It's no longer the case. I can totally go to bed with the table full of dinner dishes and the counters cluttered with who knows what.

And the list could go on and on and on, but I think that's enough for now!!

The bittersweet end to football

2008-10-15T08:25:00.006-06:00

Last night was Kevin's final game of the football season. It was a happy/sad game. It would have been great if they could have won their last game, but it was still fun. I will miss watching the games and the socializing; we really did have a great time at the games. But I won't miss driving to practice 3-4 times a week and driving all over Utah for games. Kevin had a great time and he really improved his game. So, I guess that makes it all worth it! He even wants to play again next season. Yea!!!

This was taken right as they were kicking off. One of the positions Kevin played, was on the kick off return team. It's kind of hard to see him, but he was #51 (in the middle).

Jill, Megan, and Shaelee (Kevin's biggest fans)
We made two banners for the team to run through after half-time. We wanted to make sure that more of the guys had a chance to break the banner on their last game.
Such a cutie pie!!!
Our great friends, the Whitings, came to support Kevin on his last game. Yes, that really is Melanie on Jill's shoulders. They made their own pyramid.
Now, on to Dance, but let's wait til January!!!

My Sister, My Hero!!!

2008-10-06T22:33:00.005-06:00

This past weekend, my sister Amy ran in the St. George Marathon, in the rain. She is so incredible!! She and I started training for this marathon almost a year and a half ago. Because of some medical issues that were out of my control, I had to drop out of the training and was not able to return to it. Amy continued the training by herself and she made it all the way to the finish line. She is amazing!! It was an awesome and at times emotional experience, as we stood near the finish line waiting for her. It was neat to see the expressions on the runner's faces as they neared the finish line. Some had the look of pain, some had the look of joy, some had the look of wanting to die, and some had tears streaming down their faces as they neared the end of what I'm sure at times seemed like an unattainable goal. I stood and watched in utter amazement anxiously awaiting to see a glimpse of Amy coming down the home stretch. As we saw her coming, through our tears, we started yelling her name. She had finished the race. All her hard work had paid off.

Good job Amy! We are so proud of you! We love you!!

She makes it look too easy. I guess it was only 26.2 miles.

I ran a block and a half to meet her at the finish line and I was totally dying.
Amy's cute family: Ty, Sydney, Ambri, Troy, and Amy
Holly with her Aunt Amy
Very cool women!!
Fun times with cousins
What a handsome guy!
Sydney was trying really hard not to smile
What awesome parents!
Crazy times in the hotel room playing sick; the suckers were their thermometers. I love the mask.
This trip was just me and my three girls, Jill, Megan, and Holly. I am so glad that I got to spend some quality time with them and I am also glad that I got to be a part of this amazing experience. Great memories that will be remembered forever!

Go Spartans!!!!!

2008-10-06T21:08:00.004-06:00

After playing five games, the Spartans, Kevin's football team, finally won their first game. Yea!!! It was very exciting for all of us, even in the rain.

Kevin doesn't look very excited in this picture, but he was. We had to travel about 30 minutes to get to the field and then his game didn't start until 8:45 p.m. Needless to say, we didn't get home until around 11:00 p.m. We were all exhausted, but excited.
After the very first game, Jill and her friend Shaelee, who also has a brother on the team, decided to start their own Spartan Cheer Squad, complete with homemade Spartan cheer shirts, peppy cheers, and banners that the players run through after half-time. They really get the team pumped up.
Megan and Holly love the games because they get to run around and play crazy with their friends and "second cousins through marriage". (My sister Amy is married to Troy who has a brother named Trent who is married to Anna, and their son Hayden is on the team. Did you get all that?)

Even though this football season has been intense and at times a bit much, it has been fun to watch Kevin play and really get into the game. He has turned into a really good football player. Who knows, maybe he will end up on the NFL and on a box of Wheaties, just like his dream. Or was that my dream?

Jill turns 13 - Whoa!!

2008-09-30T20:00:00.003-06:00

Yes it's true!! We officially have a teenager in our house now. Jill turned 13 yesterday and what a party it was. It all began when Melanie and her kids (our neighbors/friends) came over to sing to Jill and give her a gift. The gift sent Jill into flip out mode; it was the Jonas Brother's new CD. Needless to say, the rest of the party was filled with the sounds of the Jonas Brothers. Yea!

Jill had invited a few friends over and they went on a "bigger or better" scavenger hunt. I was amazed at the stuff they got. They started out with a tiny goldfish, which they traded for a sucker, which they traded for a pack of gum, which they traded for a box of brownie mix, which they traded for a poster board (I know, how random), which they traded for a box of mac n' cheese, which they traded for a bag of chips, which they traded for an over sized zucchini, which they traded for another box of brownie mix, which they traded for a box of Capri suns, which they traded for a 2 liter bottle of Sprite, which they traded for two pieces of cake, which they traded for an empty bottle of exercise powder (whatever, it was bigger), which they traded for a television. Seriously, a television. They didn't actually physically trade anything, so they ended up with all the above mentioned stuff (I can't remember the exact order, but it was a lot of stuff). I couldn't believe it. I don't think I would've given a whole box of Capri suns to some strange girls that knocked on my door and asked me if I had anything bigger or better than a .... Oh well, they had fun!

Jill is amazing and beautiful! She has a fun personality and a great sense of humor. She is a good friend and a great daughter and I can't believe she is 13. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital as a newborn.

We love you Jill!!

Lizzy, Jill, Alyssa, Shaelee, Erika, Tamsyn

We definitely did not have a shortage of junk food.

What's a birthday party without Scotcheroos?! Delicious!!

Fun circle of friends

Jill has really great friends. She received a lot of nice gifts. Among them were several bottles of nail polish which sent the girls to nail polish heaven. The smell was lovely.

The party ended with some pizza and a spontaneous round of doorbell ditching. I guess that is still fun even when you're 13.

I've been tagged

2008-09-22T23:14:00.005-06:00

Okay, so my sister Amy tagged me ages ago.

Sorry, I'm kind of slow!!

Here goes, I've never done this before:

3 Joys

My husband

My children

Planning for our cruise in March

3 Fears

Losing my husband

Losing one of my children

Not being able to go on the cruise in March

3 Goals

To be a good wife and mother

To finally get all my recipes typed and in a binder

To save enough money for our cruise through substitute teaching

3 Regrets

Not finishing college

Being too shy at times

Quiting the violin

3 Current Obsessions

Saving money for the cruise

Blogging

Saving money for the cruise

5 Facts about me

I am afraid of the dark and bad guys

I love to stay up late and hate to get up early

I love to do dishes, laundry, and vacuum,

but I very much dislike and hate to dust

I love, love, love surprises

I can't wait for our cruise in March (as if you couldn't already tell)

So, there you have it. ME in a nutshell; whether you wanted me in a nutshell or not!!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE :):):):)

2008-09-17T20:59:00.020-06:00

Going on dates with Zaron

Laughing with my four cute kids

Fridays

Friday night slumber parties with Zaron and the kids

Watching re-runs of Brady Bunch, Emergency, Adam-12, Chips, and Greatest American Hero

Friday night homemade pizza

Watching a good football game

Inn-N-Out

Cafe Rio salad

Diet Coke

Reading a good mystery

Disneyland

Magic Mountain

Roller Coasters

Going to Amusement Parks with family and friends

Scary movies

Romantic movies

Popcorn

Milky Way candy bars

Donuts

Camping

Homemade waffles

Little House on the Prairie

Perry Mason

Quiet time to myself

Unexpected flowers from my husband for no reason

Watching Kevin play football and not get killed
Smiles
My kid's fun personalities

Driving home from Costco with a weeks worth of food, and having stayed within the budget

Monk

Psych

Hallmark Channel mystery movies

The Amazing Race

The Mole

80's music

California

Spring

Watching the snow fall through a picture window while wrapped in a blanket, reading a book, and drinking hot chocolate

Playing the piano

Yanni

Josh Groban

Barry Manilow

The Carpenters

Pride and Prejudice (the old one)

Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea

Michigan thunderstorms

Spontaneity

Good friends

Laughing

And the list could go on and on and on..................................

GO BLUE!!!!!

2008-09-02T09:27:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, we went to the BYU football home opener game against Northern Iowa. We had a great time!! BYU killed Northern Iowa; poor little guys. I kind of felt bad for their 25 fans who had traveled so far. Actually, I didn't feel bad at all. I'm glad we won. Who wants to pay $100 to watch their team lose, I certainly didn't; I don't care how good the nachos and hot dogs are.

Who's that random guy in the background?

Did I say we all had a great time? Well, most of us did. Megan was only happy if she was eating or drinking something. I have to say in her defense, it was a tad bit hot during the game; about 100 degrees to be exact.
Jill loved to "rise and shout" after each of our touchdowns!

Way to go Cougs!!!

Whoa, who's that good looking girl?

2008-08-28T10:19:00.006-06:00

All summer, Jill had been dying to get her hair cut and highlighted and she finally had her appointment yesterday. (Mind you, I paid for the cut and she paid for the color.) To me, she has always looked older than her age, but now she really looks older. I have mixed emotions about that. I think Zaron is going to need a bigger shotgun.

You are beautiful, Jill!!

You know you're getting old when......

2008-08-27T10:01:00.006-06:00

Okay, so not really old, but you know you're getting older when..........

I went to the DMV last week to get a Utah driver's license. I know, I've only lived in Utah for two years, but I thought it was time. Zaron and I actually went together. It all started off great. We got the paper work, we filled it out with no problems, and after waiting for probably five minutes they called my name. I took my paperwork to the nice older gentleman and we started the process. He asked the usual questions and then he told me to look into the eye machine. He told me to read the first line. After a few seconds of staring at the first line, I asked him "Are those actual letters?" He gave me the look and I proceeded to tell him what I thought was on the first line. He asked me "Do you wear glasses?" I said, "Yes, I have glasses for reading and dri...." As I was about to say driving, he gave me the look again and said, "I'm going to try and help you out here." He shut off the right side and I read the letters on the left. He shut off the left side and I read the letters on the right. He said I answered enough of them correctly that he wasn't going to restrict me this time. Then he told me, "I know it gets hard as we get older, but if we need glasses, we just need to suck it up and wear them." As WE get older; did I seriously look as old as did. He was probably 65 years old; not that that's old, because it's not, I just don't think I look 65 yet.

To make the story even better, I took the written test and it was open book. One would think, "Aw, this is a no brainer, a piece of cake". Well, they twist and turn the questions around so much that by the time you're through, you're no longer sure what your name is. I was done with the test and I was double checking my answers. One question was still stumping me; it was True/False. It seemed obvious, but I wasn't sure. Like I said, they twist and turn. I put true, but after reading in the book, I thought it was false. So, I changed it to false and hit finish. My score came flashing on the screen. I passed, but I missed ONE. And guess which one it was. Yep, the one I changed. How annoying. But to make it even better, I asked Zaron what he got. He said, with a smile of sweet victory on his face, "100%". Of course! (Not to mention, my picture turned out fabulous. Not!!)

The moral of the story, driving is so overrated!!!

And so it begins!!

2008-08-21T10:32:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that summer is over and a new school year is beginning. It's a milestone year for me, now that all my kids are in school all day. Oh, what shall I do with all that time? I love my kids and miss them while they are away, but it is nice to have some time to myself to work on some projects that I've been putting off until my kids were in school all day. I'm also going to substitute teach and possibly go back to school myself. Right now, I'm just trying to enjoy the silence.

Aren't they so cute!!!

Jill - a cool 8th grader
Kevin - a big bad 6th grader
Megan - a sophisticated 3rd grader
Holly - an ecstatic 1st grader

Gettin' ready for school 2008

2008-08-13T12:36:00.002-06:00

In honor of school starting in less than a week, Megan and Holly decided that they wanted new hairstyles.

Megan has been growing her bangs out for a few months now and she does some really cute styles with her hair. She's very creative. She just wanted a "trim", "not too short mom". Megan is sporting the swoop bangs and a new school outfit.

Holly has been growing her bangs out for a year now, and she has been begging me for a few weeks to cut her hair to the length of her bangs. I kept putting her off because I thought it would be too short and she wouldn't like it. Who would've thought it could turn out so cute? And all done by a non-professional for free. Maybe Great Clips will hire me. Notice the side part and the new school clothes.
Let School Begin!!!!

Last few tidbits of summer

2008-08-07T16:20:00.003-06:00

Wow, what a busy, fun summer this has been. I think we are done vacationing for the time being. I can't believe that school is going to start in a little over a week. I thought I would post the last few miscellaneous pictures from our summer. They are all in random order.

While we were in California, Zaron and I went to the L.A. temple with my mom and dad and sister, Amy. We had a very nice time. Zaron and I love going to this temple; we were married here a little over 14 years ago and it's one of our favorites.

Also while in California, we made a spontaeous trip to Magic Mountain. We took Jill and Kevin along with Amy, my sister, and my cousins Becky and Will, and Brad and Lisa. It was just like old times. When I was growing up, every year my Grandpa Davies would take the whole family to Magic Mountain for his birthday. Our favorite thing to do was ride a ride, get off, run around, and get right back on. Good times!!!

Jill and Amy with Flash Gordon and Batman. They thought Flash was cute. We went for a day to a family reunion that Zaron's aunt and uncle had up in Midway. They rented a huge house for all their kids and grandkids. They invited us up for the day. We had a great time. This is a few of the kids on the trampoline.
Tommy's is one of my favorite restaurants in the whole world. They serve greasy yummy chili hamburgers and fries. It's sooo good. While growing up, as a youth, after doing baptisms for the dead in the L.A. temple, we would always stop at Tommy's on the way home. So, this summer, after we went to the L.A. temple, we had to make a stop for old time's sake. It was just as good as I remember.

Going to the movies is the best, especially with lots of popcorn and candy.

Grandpa H., Grandma H., Jill, Kevin, Ty, Amy, Sydney, Megan, Holly, and Ambri.

It has become a tradition during our trips to California, to go out to breakfast at the bowling alley. It may not sound appetizing to eat at the bowling alley, but it is delicious.
Here are the kids with Uncle Leslie, Zaron's youngest brother. Everyone loves Uncle Leslie, he's like a kid himself.
I just had to put this picture because it looks Megan is walking on water.
These are my grandparents (the same ones that used to take us to Magic Mountain every year). And actually, when my grandpa heard that we were going to Magic Mountain he was trying to figure out a way so he could go with us. I love my grandparents.

Camping at Beautiful Bear Lake

2008-08-06T17:00:00.004-06:00

We just got back from camping for three days at Bear Lake with my brother Brent, his wife Krissi, and their kids Samantha, Andrew, Alex, and Henry. We had such a fun time with lots of laughs and we made some great memories. We now know how to fit all of our camping gear in the back of our Sequoia, make hobo dinners for twelve, make peach cobbler in a dutch oven without burning it, and make a delicious dutch oven breakfast fit for twelve hungry campers. The kids played Speed, Skipbo, and Uno for hours and enjoyed the rec. room, playground, and mini golf. It was all so great. We decided while we were there, to make it a tradition every year; camping or cabining at Bear Lake. Thanks guys for the yummy food and the great times!!!

Isn't this view of the lake gorgeous. I don't think a picture can even capture the beauty; it was breathtaking.

Sunbathing on the lake, now this is the life. Especially if you're all covered in sand. Holly loved to get in the water and then roll around in the sand. I'm not quite sure why. The beach access was within minutes of our campsite; it was great.
Andrew, Jill, Samantha, Megan, and Kevin
Henry and Alex
You gotta love Skipbo. Some of the older kids (Jill, Sam, Andrew, and Kevin) tried to pull off an all-nighter on our last night by playing card games. It was all good until Jill and Sam left to go to the bathroom and when they got back, Kevin and Andrew were already asleep. Oh well, maybe next year.

One of the highlights of our trip, besides getting raspberry shakes and yummy shaved ice was renting 6 person bikes and riding along the bike trail. It was hilarious and at times dangerous, especially when all six of the older kids were riding one of the bikes without any adults. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I wished we had a video camera to capture the whole experience and all the screaming. Good times!!!

These bikes aren't as easy as they look. It really gives you a workout.
Playing in the mud, it's great for your skin.

(Henry, Andrew, Kevin, Sam, and Jill)
Alex and Holly were working on the perfect sand castle.
We had two great campsites. We were kind of away from everyone else which made it really nice.

Paradise in California

2008-08-02T12:12:00.002-06:00

We love the beach! It's one of our favorite pasttimes while vacationing in California. Some of our past beach experiences have been colder than others. This time, it was perfect. The weather was great and the kids were actually able to play in the water in their swim suits. Holly and Megan were especially excited because their cousin Ambri came with us (my sister's daughter).

You can't leave the beach until you've been completely covered in sand and your swim suit has been filled with sand.
I was surprised that Holly wanted to be buried. She's pretty particular about getting dirty.
This is the life!!
I would be totally fine to live on the beach.

A visit to Sacramento

2008-08-02T11:11:00.005-06:00

While we were in California this summer, we made a trip to Sacramento for three days. We lived in Sacramento for 6 years before we moved to Utah and we made some great friends and memories. We haven't been back to visit since we moved. It was great too see the sights, family and friends.

Here we are with Zaron's grandparents who live in Galt which is 15 miles south of Sacramento

The Sacramento Temple was completed just after we moved. I'm sure the members are loving having a temple so close now. Before this, their temple district was Oakland (a 2 hour drive one way). It was so great to see this beautiful temple completed. Pictured below are our kids and a second cousin: Kevin, Megan, Holly, Olivia, and Jill.
What a cute couple!!
Don't they look like twins? (Holly and Olivia)
Of course, no vacation to California would be complete without a trip to Inn N Out. This was our first of many stops to Inn N Out during our two weeks in California.
When we lived in Sacramento, one of our favorite places to visit was Old Sacramento. This was in front of the candy store where they hand out free samples.

Here are the kids with one of my very favorite aunts, Aunt Di. She is my mom's sister and lives in Sacramento. We spent a day with her swimming, visiting, and eating yummy pizza at Giovanni's Pizzaria. Thanks Aunt Di for the great times and for the delicious peanut butter cookies. We weren't able to share them with anyone in Bakersfield, they didn't make it that far.
This is Zaron's cousin David, his wife Heather and their youngest child Derek. Olivia, pictured above is their daughter. They also have two more boys, Nathan and Mattingly. Thanks guys for letting us crash at your mcmansion for three days. Thanks for the yummy food and the great swimming pool.
Here we are again in Old Sacramento at the school house. My Aunt Di volunteers here and every year we would come during the gingerbread house contest to see Aunt Di and the gingerbread houses. A couple of times, after we were done, Aunt Di would take us out to lunch and on a horse drawn carriage ride to the Capitol. Great memories!!! We tried to do the carriage ride this time, but we were told it was too hot for the horses. Oh wow, I wonder how people used to get around in the olden days when it was too hot to use their transportation. Horses are so spoiled these days.
A true California girl!
They look so smart sitting at the school desks. I hope it didn't ruin Kevin for life, entering a school during summer break.

Good times with cousins

2008-07-30T23:06:00.000-06:00

A big highlight of our summer is spending time with cousins.

We wish we all lived closer.

Ty and Jill

Kevin and Ty hanging out playing Playstation. With so many sisters and girl cousins all around, the boys have to stick together.
Ambri, Sydney, Megan, and Holly
A favorite pasttime, swimming in Grandma H's pool as much as possible.

Holly, Seth, and Megan

Eating at the mall is always fun; don't they look like they're having fun? =)

Holly, Alex, Megan, Kevin, Henry, and Andrew

Too much eating at the mall, it'll do weird things to your eyes (notice Megan's eyes)
Megan, Sydney, Jill, Holly, and Ambri

Gotta love the trampoline

Ambri and Holly both lost a tooth on the same day. Here they are with their teeth. For those of us with weak stomachs, I say ewww!!!! (I can't handle loose teeth.)

And more swimming

Austin and KevinKalie and Teryn - love the goggles.

Wow!! Lots of summer fun in July

2008-07-30T22:42:00.000-06:00

This month has been so great. We were so lucky to have our family here with us for the first two weeks of July to celebrate Megan's baptism. We really had a memorable time. The last two weeks of July we spent in California; it was so awesome. We have made lots of good memories this month. It's going to take me some time to write about everything so, I thought I would start at the beginning with our trek to Timpanogos Cave. I and my three girls went with my mom, my sister Amy, her husband Troy, and their three kids, and some of Troy's siblings and their kids. It was a treacherous but amazing experience. There were times when I didn't think I was going to make it up to the cave, but once inside the cave, it was seriously cool and well worth the previous pain I had experienced.

The girls were freezing inside the cave. I thought it was a welcome coolness compared to the 100 degrees outside.

At this point, we were so relieved to be at the cave opening.

From left to right: my niece Ambri, Megan, my sister Amy, my nephew Ty
From left to right: Holly, my mom, Jill
This was on the trek down. We thought going down would be easier. It was a lot faster, but a killer on the toes. It was so steep going down we couldn't believe we had actually walked up it.

Megan's Baptism

2008-07-10T10:56:00.000-06:00

Megan was baptized on her birthday, July 5th. It was such a special day. She was both nervous and excited and she looked beautiful. She told me after she was baptized, that she felt like a different person. We are so proud of Megan that she made the decision to be baptized. We are so grateful for the support of our many family members that traveled various miles to support Megan on her special day. We love you Megan!!!

Camping 08

2008-06-25T16:36:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited to finally have my blog up and running (thanks to the help from my great friend Melanie). It's definitely a work in progress, so be patient, more is coming!!

We started our summer by going camping. This was our first camping trip since we moved to Utah. We went to Wasatch Mountain State Park, which is just outside of Midway. We had a blast. We went for 3 days and 2 nights. The first day was rainy and cold but after that, it was gorgeous. We went hiking, bike riding, and ate lots of yummy food. Here are a few pictures.

We love camping!!!