BFF

When I was 3 years old my family moved from California to Utah. Shortly after we moved in a little girl named Rachel came to our door and asked if there were any little girls her age she could play with.(Or so I've been told) several months later another little girl named Tiffany moved in a few houses away and the three of us have been friends ever since. I have known Rachel and Tiffany for as long as I can remember. Some of my best memories are with them. Hours spent playing Barbies, Playing house between the 3 trees in Tiffany's front yard, making cookies together, almost wrecking my mom's car at the age of 6 when we accidentally put it in neutral and it rolled down the drive way. Late nights playing kick the can or sardines. Hanging out listening to music and wondering what the lyrics "like a virgin" meant. As we got older we all ended up going to different high schools and haven't always kept in touch like we should but whenever we do find our way back into each other's lives we pick up right where we left off.


We were 16 or 17 when this was taken.

Last Summer at Liberty Park.

Tonight my 2 life long friends and I got to spend some time together. Tiffany is living in Arizona and is a wife and mom of one cute little boy. Rachel will soon be moving to California and is a wife and mother of 3 beautiful girls she is also a school teacher. It is so neat to see the different paths our lives have taken and what great women they have become. I'm so luck to have these 2 great ladies in my life. I know that no matter what we will always be Best Friends Forever.

Weekend Fun

Memorial day weekend was always fun when I was young. We didn't go camping or anything like that, but we always made our way down to Spanish Fork to decorate graves. This may not sound like much fun, but some how it was. This year with the recent passing of my Grandma Faye, I felt like I needed to go down there again. We recently purchased a new camera so I had a lot of fun playing around with it and got some really great pictures of my girls.
The cemetery there has always displayed a flag for each veteran buried there.



As a child we would always want to be the first to find the name with my Grandpa's name on it.


They have recently added a War Memorial with each name listed on a wall of honor.

My Grandpa Jack's flag.

Carly and her Grandpa Gary.

After visiting the cemetery we got lunch at our favorite drive in called Glade's. It has been around forever and is a very important part of the tradition. We ate at the local park and the kids had a great time playing with some of their cousins.

I love this one of Bri and her Uncle Rob.

Monday we spent the day at home getting stuff done around the yard. Carly's teacher gave her a Slip and Slid and they had a blast playing in the water.

I'm so glad we bought this camera. It is amazing the pictures you can get with a great camera. And I happen to have some beautiful things to take pictures of.

The Graduate

Last week Carly had her preschool graduation. We are so lucky to have found Miss Marla. She puts on a great little program.

This is all the kids reciting the pledge of allegiance.

The kids preformed several other songs and poems, and for each one they had a different prop to put on. they were so darn cute and they knew it.

This is Miss Marla and the class of 2009. Carly actually has another year of preschool.

Marla asked all the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up and to my horror Carly's answer was, Hanna Tanna. No more Disney channel at our house.

We really are so lucky to have found Miss Marla. She was also Brianna's teacher and we love her so much. She truly loves everyone of the kids she teaches. She seems to have endless patience and I know she loves what she does.
Thanks Marla! We can't wait to come back next year.

Lunch date

Once you have kids it often gets pretty hard to get any alone time with your honey, and Jon and I aren't always very good about getting date nights in. This year, kind of by accident, we started going on a weekly lunch date. Jon works really close to our house and has always come home for lunch, which is something we all love. Carly's Preschool starts at 12:30 so this year, at least once a week, we drop Carly a school and then we go out to lunch. We don't go anywhere fancy. Our favorite place is Taco Time, but it is so nice to eat a meal with out ever having to tell anyone to sit down or beg them to just eat one bite. Sadly today is the last day of preschool so it's also our last lunch date. We'll have to find another time to sneak away.

Broken

Last Friday Brianna had a run in with another kid's head on the playground. The school called and told me that she had bleed on her clothes and needed a change. When I got there her nose was still bleeding and I she looked pretty banged up. I decided to take her to the insta-care because her nose looked crooked. Sure enough it was broken. We had to wait for the swelling to go down, and we saw the doctor yesterday. He thought that it needed to be put back in place. So we went in this morning.

When I asked her if she was nervous she said she would be Brave and she was. She played her DS while we waited to go in.

This is when they brought her back in. She was a little loopy.

Popsicles make everything better.

They put the heart rate monitor on her toe and she asked us about 5 times what it was for.

She thought is was fun to ride in the wheelchair out to the car.

So far she is feeling fine and not in any pain.

We'll see how it goes from here.

Bompy

A year ago today I lost one of the greatest men I have known.
Growing up my Bomp was always there for me making sure I had the lessons I needed and always being such a great example to me. I spent almost every weekend with him and my grandma. He was always helping others and would often bring me with him when he delivered food boxes to the elderly and so many of the other things he did.

He loved my girls, and they loved him. Brianna called him My Bompy when she was little. We spent many afternoons at Liberty Park where he would tell us about the trees or stories from when he and my Grandma were raising their family.

Bomp, Bri and my Mom at Liberty Park.

Bomp and Atticus ( he called him Butch)

When Carly was a baby Bomp fell and broke his arm. He needed help , so I would drive up town several times a week to make sure he got lunch and was okay. This became a habit and we spent many afternoons over the next few years having lunch with Bomp. I'm so grateful for the time I had with him and I hope that my girls will have some memory of him. Sometimes when Carly is having a rough day and I ask her what is wrong she will tell me that she is sad about Bompy, and Brianna told us soon after he died that we should think about him ever Sunday, and we have done this, often telling Bompy stories during dinner.

The last time I saw my Bomp was on Mothers day. As we were saying goodbye he told me that I needed to see a doctor and get my weight under control. Bompy was always very concerned about my health and how my weight was affecting it and I didn't always appreciate his concern. He had lived with diabetes most of his life and taught classes at the Senior center on how to manage it. The day after Mother's day as he walked home from the Senior center, he had a massive stroke. I rushed to the hospital as did the rest of my family to be by his side. He was in a coma and could not speak but I was able to tell him how much I loved him and promised him I would do as he asked.

Soon after his passing I began the very long journey of losing weight. It has been very slow going but as of today I have lost 45 lbs. People keep asking how I'm doing it and the answer is the same boring answer. I've cut my portion sizes, cut down on sweets and I don't eat in the evenings. I also have started exercising. I've never had a problem with my appearance and in many ways my extra weight was a shield. I could tell a lot about people by how they treated me. I never thought that I was an emotional eater but food was my reward. If I had a bad day I would reward myself with chocolate. I also ate when I was bored, so I have taken up sudoku and I often quilt in the evenings to keep my mind of wanting to eat. But the most important thing is that I was just ready.

It my not look like I have lost that much weight but I sure can tell. My feet no longer hurt and my heartburn is almost gone. Every time I pick up Carly and think how heavy she is getting I realize the she weights less than the amount of weight I have currently lost. I have so much more energy. This past weekend I participated in my first 5K. I did the Race for the Cure and although breast cancer is a very important cause that has affected many people I know and love including my Grandma Faye who recently passed away and my good friend Jill Puriton, I ran this weekend for my Bompy. I know he would be proud of me for all I have done this past year, because I can feel him near me and know he is helping me along. I still have aways to go and know my weight is something I will have to battle with for the rest of my life, but I know it is a battle worth winning. So I will keep it up, for my Bomp, and for my sweet family.

Birthday Round-up

For Brianna's 7 th Birthday party she wanted (big surprise) A horse party.
So we asked the people at the stable she rides at if they would do a party for us.

Each of the kid got a turn to ride on a horse.

Miss Carly on Taffy.

They took a picture of each of the kids on the horse and then we painted horses and horse shoes to put on a frame for their picture.

We opened presents. (She is one spoiled girl)

And ate cupcakes. I went the easy route and did cupcakes with a little plastic horse on each.

The wind was blowing so we didn't get to blow out candles.

Yummy Cupcakes! I think everyone had a great time. If anyone else has any horse crazy kids you should think about having their party at The Stable Place. They were really great.

Happy Birthday my Beautiful Brianna Banana

My sweet Brianna is celebrating her 7th birthday today.

We waited so long for our sweet baby girl. It took us almost to long years to get pregnant with her and my pregnancy was pretty rough and I was on bed rest for the last 2 months of it. Brianna was born 3 weeks early but was perfectly healthy and happy. I think she was born smiling.



Everyone agreed that she was the most beautiful baby they had ever seen.

She has always been such a happy kid. This is her favorite picture of herself.

She has always been photogenic, and I still get stopped and told what a beautiful girl she is all the time.



I learn so much everyday from Brianna, She has such a great attitude about life. Everyone is a potential friend, and she has such a kind heart.

I'm amazed everyday that this beautiful, smart and kind girl is my daughter.

I've said before that Brianna is my tomboy princess. For about 2 years she would only wear dresses, yet she most of her friends were boys and she was never afraid to get dirty or play hard. She has always had a love for animals and a very inquisitive mind. She is so creative. She is always drawing or wanting to make something. And she has the kindest heart.

I'm so very proud to be her mom.
Happy Birthday my sweet girl!