Sew Happy Together

Jumping

2012-01-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted anything horse related. Bri is still riding and she is getting so good. Here is a little video of her and one of the other girls she rides with.

If you give a mouse a paint brush?

2012-01-13T08:59:00.001-07:00

I really want to paint my basement.......but if I paint my basement, I'll want new carpet.......Then I'll want a new rug.......Then I'll want a new couch..........And new pillows.......And new drapes.....You get the idea.We've been in our house almost 13 years, we've redone almost every room in it, the cycle is starting all over again.

Some Very Serious Dancing

2012-01-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Before Christmas we got to go watch Carly's dance class. We changed dance studios this year and we are seeing a huge improvement in Carly's dancing.

He teacher made the comment that there was some very serious dancing going on. You can see how serious Carly is by the tongue hanging out of her mouth.

One of the best parts of Dance Class is that she is in the same class as her cousin Zoe.

Leaping ladies!

Carly really loves dancing and she is really good at it. Sh always has pointed toes and pretty hands. We are very proud of our little dancer.

Pre Christmas Fun

2012-01-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

There are so many fun things going on this time of year. Here are a few of the thing we did leading up to Christmas.

First up was a visit with Santa. Carly came prepared with a list ( the only one of the kids to have one) which included a crab with a shell that comes off. (No!)

Bri's turn.

I think they made the nice list, but only because they are so darn cute.

We had 'Elf Day' at school.

Too Cute!

Carly's class made gingerbread houses and Carly was so excited that Daddy came to help.

Brianna sang with the Choir. They were fabulous!

On the last day before the break the school does a sing along. Parents are not allowed, but I snuck in and took pictures. Here is Carly and her best friend Grace. So cute!

December is so much fun!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve might just be my favorite part of the holidays. We always go to my brother's house where we have lots of really good food and have so much fun with my favorite people.

After dinner we made cookies for Santa.

Then it's time to open presents. We make the kids take turns, and I love how they all gather around to help each other open.

Baby Henry

Carly got a makeup kit and she and Zoe wasted no time getting made up.

Brianna loved her collection of hats from Grandma Phyllis and really love her markes and coloring book.

Still doing makeup.

We had so much fun and were so tired when we got home. We opened up some PJ's and went to bed.

Christmas Morning

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning the girls were up bright and early. We made them snuggle in bed with us for a few more minutes.

Anxiously waiting at the top of the stairs to see what Santa brought.

Santa brought us some fun stuff.

We always let the girls pick out gifts for each other. This is Brianna's gift to Carly.

One of Bri's favorite gifts.

Carly checking out her loot.

After we finished opening up our gifts at home we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Swedish pancakes.

My little hipster.

This was my favorite moment of Christmas. After Carly opened her present for her sister she ran over to her and gave her a hug and said she loved her. I have sweet girls who I love so much.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-05T21:42:00.001-07:00

We set up our tree this weekend. I was feeling very uninspired to do any decorating or do anything Christmas-y for that matter, but it had to be done. So we spent the morning cleaning and then got out all the decorations. Once we started decorating I remembered how much I enjoy it.

How could I not with this sweet girl smiling at me.

I love how each ornament has a story to tell and how we tell the same one's every year.

Bri put the star on.

Carly made some adjustments.

While we were decorating Bri asked me where is Drammy's ornament. I love that even thought her great-grandma, who we called Drammy, passed away when Bri was just a baby she knows all about her and the special ornament that she gave us.

This ornament is special too. It was given to me by my Bompy, my grandpa and Drammy's honey. He kept up her tradition of giving us an ornament every year. I love all the memories we get to share this time of year.

Another fun tradition we have is a family ornament that my Brother and his wife Misti always get for us. We look forward to getting them every year.

Our tree.

I really don't understand people who do different themes on their tree every year. Our tree is 15 years old this is it's 16th Christmas. Somewhere along the way we wired on lights and every year we say that if some of the lights don't come on we will get a new one, but this year there is a dark spot we just hid in back. I love our little tree, and I'm starting to feel more Christmas-y.

Thankful

2011-12-03T20:09:00.001-07:00

We had such a nice Thanksgiving. I am very grateful for my family that I love very much, but even more, I like them. There is no one I would rather spend time with than my brothers and sister These little guys make it all the more fun.

Better Late than never.........Halloween

2011-11-18T21:46:00.001-07:00

It has been one heck of a month, but here are our Halloween pictures, finally!

My Little snow princess and a pirate.

I had lots of fun making this one and it turned out better than I imagined

AArhg, I love my little pirate

Brianna's class

Carly in the parade.

Atticus and Henry came to trick or treat with us. We had a very fun Halloween.

Fall Cabin Weekend

2011-10-29T22:07:00.000-06:00

We spent last weekend up at my Brother's cabin. We always have such a good time there.

We went into Vernal for the the day to see the Dinosaur Quarry.

We went there many years ago when Brianna was 2. She went around roaring at all the dinosaur bones.

The Quarry has been closed for about 7 years because the building wasn't safe and it just recently reopened.

The whole wall is filled with bones. It's really worth a visit.

Grandma came with.

The girls also got a Jr. Ranger badge. That is their 7th of the year.

We also got to see petroglyphes

And explored a cabin form the 1800's

More rock art.

Two sweet girls.

Last month at a neighbors garage sale Jon bought a raft. I'm not really a boat person

But daddy and his girls had a great time rowing around.

We had such a fun relaxing weekend. We can't wait to go again.

4 Little Pumpkins

2011-10-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

We went pumpkin picking the other night.

Oh how I love these little Pumpkins!

Happy Autum!

lost tooth

2011-10-05T22:02:00.000-06:00

So I missed blogging about so big events last month So I'll play catch up. Just a few days after school started, my baby Carly lost her first tooth.

So cute even with a gappy smile. Love that kid!

When we were on vacation this summer inYellowstone we met a woman at the falls painting an oil painting. I got her card and an when we got home I contacted her and we bought it.

I'm so excited to have it. I'm not really big on souvenirs, but this is my favorite spot in the whole world and it is really a beautiful painting.

2011-10-03T21:40:00.001-06:00

When we were on our trip this summer I found a boxed set of all the Little House on the Prairie books. I loved these books and the show when I was young and I couldn't resist buying them for my girls.

So we read a chapter every night and it is my very favorite part of my day. I love these book and I love snuggling up with my girls to read with them every night. It's funny to me to see how much Mary and Laura are like my little girls. Tonight we finished the 2nd book and it's kind of a cliff hanger the girls are so excited to start the next book. I really love to read and I hope my girls are leaning to love reading too.

What are you reading to your kids?

sigh of relief

2011-09-27T22:15:00.000-06:00

I know, I know it's been a while, but I have a good reason. This past week we had our PTA Carnival. I have been dreading this day for the past year and a half, pretty much since the I agreed to be the president. I have had anxiety and panic attacks, and pretty much though of every thing to get me out of this including hoping for major injury (I was seriously jealous of your broken ankle Stacey!) and even having a baby.
In the end the anticipation was worse than the reality. I had such great people to help me out and such a strong foundation to build on that things ran so smoothly. If fact my biggest worry the week of the carnival was that things were going too well and I was sure that I had forgotten something.
It was stressful and the day of was crazy trying to get things set up in time. There were a few minor glitches, but in the end it was really fun. Near the end I got out the hula hoops and had the kids do a hula hoop contest. It was such a great moment to see dozens of kids all smiling and dancing, it made all the work and stress worth it. In that moment I felt like I had done something good, something that I didn't think I could do. I'm still kind of on a high from it.
The past year and a half has been hard. We've had some big changes around here that I haven't really wanted to talk about here and this night was exactly what I needed, when I needed it to make me feel like I could still do good things. To see and be seen by people who I haven't been around for a while and have them know that I'm still me and I'm still part of the community. I'm so relieved that it's over, and even though I still have the rest of the year to get through, I feel like the hard part is over, and hopefully I won't be such a stress case anymore.

I blinked

2011-08-30T09:31:00.003-06:00

And she grew up.

Carly started 1st grade today. I can't believe my baby is so grown up and will be gone all day.

I guess I'm weird because I have been dreading my kids going back to school. We had such a fun summer and I felt like August was a blur. I need a few more weeks with them.

Her backpack is as big as her!

A goodbye hug form Sis.

She is really excited to be in school, and I'm excited for her. I have just gotten use to having her around she is my little helper and little buddy. Luckily I have to help monitor lunch all week so I will have excuses to see her.

Bri started school yesterday. She is so excited for 4th grade. She really likes the teacher she has this year and I like her too. I think it will be a great year. Fourth grade is a big deal in my opinion, it's when they go from being little kids to little people. Go look at a 3 grade class then a 4th grade and you'll know what I mean.

Brianna's best buddy Lindy.

So both my babies are in school all day now. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself. Oh yeah, PTA.

Uintas

2011-08-23T23:02:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we spent a few days in the Uinta mountains. My sister and her family came with us. It was such a lovely weekend because we pretty much didn't do anything. On most of our trips we are out seeing the sights so it was nice to just hang out in camp and relax, read and swat mosquitoes.

The three stooges. They had so much fun together.

They loved playing in the 'river.'

These two are trouble.

Henry.

My little nature girl. We did go fishing (I didn't bring my camera down to the lake) and Brianna finally caught a fish. She is hooked and wants to go fishing again very soon.

We had some visitors in our camp ground one day. The kids are checking them out.

A doe and her fawn.

What a great way to end our summer.

Tour of Utah

2011-08-18T23:05:00.002-06:00

My brother is a cyclist, and I've always enjoyed watching him ride. I also really love watching other bike races. Last week was the Tour of Utah. It's a stage race that takes place all over northern Utah. My bother invited us to watch the last stage with him.

Cycling is really exciting. There was quite a procession of motorcycles and support cars.

The leader of the race wears a yellow jersey.

Since this was the last stage of the race this is the guy who won. This was the first year that the race was all professional riders. Levi Leipheimer is an American cyclist and has won stages of the Tour de France. It was really cool to see.

The kids even had fun.

Copper Mine

2011-08-18T22:47:00.001-06:00

We took a trip out to Kenecott Copper mine last week with all our cousins.
It was pretty impressive, and the kids had lots of fun.
Jack really love it and wanted everything he saw for his birthhday. Such a cute kid!
We have so much fun with our cousins!

Drama Camp

2011-08-16T22:23:00.005-06:00

The girls both participated in drama camp this summer. Bri's was 2 weeks and they sang and learned all about putting on a show.

They wrote their own play and preformed it at the end of camp. Bri's was called the 'Alien's Egg'

She had so much fun!
She made lots of new friends too. She really had so much fun.
Carly was in another group with younger kids. For their play they did Where the Wild things Are.

Cousin Atty was in Carly's class and got to be Max in the play.

It was so cute! They had so much fun and both girls want to do it next year.

Daddy and grandpa both came to see the shows and played games with the kids after.

Zoo!

2011-08-15T22:04:00.002-06:00

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to the zoo. This year our zoo has turned in to Zoorasic park and has lots of dinosaurs all around.

We went just a few days after we got home from our trip with our cousins Atty and Henry.

Whoops I forgot to rotate. Love this sweet baby boy.

On the train.

We love the zoo!

Rodeo girls

2011-08-14T21:59:00.003-06:00

Before we left on our trip we went to the Days of 47 Rodeo.

We had so much fun that night.

We may be watching Bri in one someday.

Carly loved it too.

Such a fun night. We can't wait to go again!

Travel Log; 10,11 & Home

2011-08-06T20:37:00.008-06:00

Day 10 we moved camp again (I know we moved around a lot) Once we were settled we headed of to see the park. First stop was, of course, Old Faithful, and it was faithful.

We stopped for lunch at the Old Faithful Inn.

Then we stopped to see some other geysers.

You should all take your kids to Yellowstone. It is the perfect vacation. Even if you think your kids don't do well in the car, it is so great because you drive a bit then stop and see something really cool. Then drive a bit farther and see something else cool. Even if you just have 2 days you can see so much.

Gibbon Falls, they have been working on the road here and this spot has been closed the past few years.

Such a pretty spot.

Grandpa and his girls.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Artist's point. My very favorite spot in the park and quite possibly the world. There was actually an artist there that day painting a picture, I got her card and I hope it will be my Christmas present this year.

A coyote pup, we wondered where mama was.

We stayed over night at the Fishing Bridge Campground and there were all these little huts kids had built all over. The girls loved it there.

My favorite picture from the whole trip. I love that when ever they pose for a picture they hug each other.

Day 11

Bri and Norris geyser basin. Carly was asleep in the car with mom.

Liberty Cap.

Mammoth Hot Springs.

Usually we see tons of elk all over the park but this time we only saw them at Mammoth.

Grizzly Bear in the Lamar Valley

Ice Cream at Tower falls.

We had actually planned to leave on this day, but I really wanted to see the upper loop of the park, and this is why I'm glad we stayed. The mountain sides were covered with flower. It was so beautiful. I had to get a picture of the girls in them. When stopped to take this about a dozen cars stopped to see if we were taking pictures of an animal.

I love the flower in Yellowstone!

Two years ago this same mountain side was covered in purple flowers. This year all mountains were yellow with Flowers.

I'm so glad we took the time to go on this trip. I love spending time as a family and a road trip is such a great way to do it. This was a great trip, we saw 3 National Parks, 4 National Monuments, got 6 ranger badges, and drove about 3,000 miles. We had so much fun. I can't wait till our next vacation.

Travel Log days 7,8 & 9

2011-08-04T22:14:00.005-06:00

Day 7 we headed into Wyoming to see Devils Tower National Monument.

It is really cool to see it rising up out of the middle of no where, and it was very interesting to learn about he geology of it.

A rare picture of Grandma Alice. What a cute couple!

They got their Jr. Ranger badges of course.

Family Photo.

Day 8 we moved camp then drove into Montana to see Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument.

This is one of the places we went to on our trip 16 years ago and it was really interesting and a little eerie.

It had changed a lot from our last visit. Mainly they have added many things to help honor the Native Americans who fought and died that day.

I thought this was such a beautiful wreath that someone had left.

They added a very big monument that tells about all the different tribes and even the Indian Scouts. It was beautiful.

During the Battle of Little Big Horn all the men were ordered to kill their horses so they could use them as a shield. Over 250 horses died that day. This is the monument that marks where they are buried.

After the battle was over the army came and buried all the soldier where they fell. Many years later they were moved to a mass grave, but they put up a marker in each of those spots. The Black marker in the middle is where Custer fell. Some of the markers just say soldier, some are even for civilians.

As you drive through the area you can see markers dotting the prairie.

Custer's headstone.

The monument where the mass grave is. It lists all the names of those who died.

They got another Ranger badge. 6 total for the trip.

Day 9 we had to move camp again, but our drive took us through some beautiful mountains in Wyoming. We stopped for a bit at the summit and took some pictures.

I Love these sweet girls.

We got to our next camp in Cody,WY, just outside of Yellowstone NP. Our campground had a swimming pool, so we spent most of the day swimming.

I saved the best for last. Still to come Yellowstone!

Travel log; days 4,5 &6

2011-08-03T12:58:00.016-06:00

One of the main reasons we went on this trip was to see Mt. Rushmore again. It is really an amazing sight. We actually went there on the evening of our 3rd day because we had heard how great the night program was. I'm so glad we saw it.
It had changed so much since we had gone 16 years ago. One of the things they added was the hall of flags. There is a flag for each state. This is the girls by the Utah flag.

Family Picture with the monument.

So we had heard a lot about the night program. They play a movie were they talk about each of the presidents on the monument then the light each one. After they light it up, they retire the flag for the night. When they do this they invite all the Veterans to come up on stage.

Jon's Dad is a Vet and it was a very special moment to see him up there saluting the flag.
Usually they pass the flag around and let each Vet tell his name and rank and where her served, but because there was such a large crowd that night they didn't do that.
They did ask all the Vietnam Vets to step forward and honored them. This all made me very proud of my father in law. I'm very glad my girls got to see this.

Day 4 we decided to drive to Badlands National Park. Grandpa loves his girls.

Badlands kind of remindes me of Bryce Canyon but with out the pretty red rocks.

The girls had so much fun climbing on all the rocks. We even did some climbing.

The girls got their ranger badges here too. The Ranger that swore them in made them promise to bring him a pizza next time they came. Badlands was very interesting. They are still finding lots of fossils in the area.

Day 5 we had to move our camp site, and we were a getting a bit tired so once we got to our new campsite we took it easy for most of the day then drove into Deadwood for the evening.

Jon and I really loved the HBO series based on the origins of the town of Deadwood that was on a few years ago, so visiting this town was really fun for us.

Bri and Carly outside of Saloon No.10 where Wild Bill Hickok was killed.

Each night during the summer they do a reenactment of the capture of Jack McCall, the man who killed Wild Bill. It was very fun to watch. Many of the actors walked around and interacted with the audience before the show got going.

The Bullock Hotel, named after Seth Bullock the first sheriff of Deadwood, and my favorite character from the show.

Day 6 we went back to Mt. Rushmore, because we didn't get to see some of the stuff the night before and the girls needed to get their Ranger badges.
These girls are just so cute!

I wanted to put up the picture of Jon and I in front of the monument from 16 years ago but I couldn't get my scanner to work. But here we are, many pounds heaver but still as happy.

After we left Mt. Rushmore we went for a drive on the Needles Highway.

It was so very very beautiful. There are several of these beautiful bridges.

One of our stops along the way.

There is a great stop along the way to view the monument.

One of the other fun things about the Needles Hwy is all the tunnels. There are 7 total and most are very very small. You have to honk your horn before you go through to let people know your coming.

And again, so many beautiful views.

This is called the Eye of the needle. (Sorry about the raindrop.)

This tunnel was so narrow that Jon and I both put our hands out the windows and could touch the sides and we drove through.

We really enjoyed our time in the Black Hills. If you ever get the chance to go I highly recommend you go.

Still to come Devils Tower, Little Big Horn Battle Field, and Yellowstone.

Travel Log Days 1,2,and 3

2011-07-31T21:30:00.004-06:00

We have been on vacation for the last 12 days. We had so much fun, but we are very glad to be home. We decided to go see Mt. Rushmore and make a big loop through Wyoming into South Dakota and into Yellowstone. I think my kids are the perfect age for these kinds of trips. They are good in the car and are interested in learning about all the places we visit. Plus we really love the national parks and monuments.

Our first stop was Independence Rock, in central Wyoming. This was more of a rest stop on our first day traveling, but the history around it is very interesting. It was a stopping place for many pioneers on the Oregon Trail, and they would carve their name in the rock.

It was very windy, but a nice place to stop.

Day to we made it to South Dakota and stopped in at Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave is the 2nd longest cave in the world. The tours to go through were all full for the day, but the girls still got their Jr. Ranger badges and Brianna got to learn more about Bats, one of her favorite subjects.

The next day we went to Wind Cave National Park. Wind cave is the 5th longest cave in the world.

We were able to go in this cave. It is different form most caves in that it doesn't have very many stalactites or stalagmites but instead has what is call box work and other mineral formations. It was 54 degrees inside.

They also got their Jr. Ranger badges here

On the way home we drove through Custer State Park.

We drove the wildlife loop that had some fun animals including these burrows that wanted to get in our car. Check out Carly inside the car.

I'll post more pictures in the next few days of the rest of our trip. Still to come, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Deadwood and lots more.

Star struck

2011-07-13T20:22:00.003-06:00

One of my very favorite shows of TV right now is Modern Family. Not only is it so darn funny but I think it is opening up minds and showing that families are families no matter what they look like. One of the funniest characters on the show is Ty Burrell, and this morning I got to meet him. He was such a great guy. He really wasn't much like his character was is so down to earth and just plain nice.

I couldn't resist getting my picture with him.

Bri on Black and Ty on Buck.

I love that he shared his lesson with 3 little girls.

We had a very fun morning.

The Amazing Brianna jumping her pony!

2011-07-06T22:21:00.004-06:00

Bri and her pony are getting so good together. Today at her lesson she jumped him 3 times. I only got it on film twice. She really does amaze me. I'm so proud of her.

Enjoy!

4th of July Fun

2011-07-05T14:54:00.006-06:00

We had lots of fun this 4th of July weekend.

We started it off going fishing on Saturday at a local pond. We didn't catch anything, but we still had fun.

Sunday we met up with our cousins at Grandma's pool for some swimming.

I love making fun outfits for the girls for the holiday. These were done at the last minute but turned out so cute.

It wouldn't be the 4th with out a BBQ with our family. Here are all the cousins.

Carly and Zoe are 6 months apart in age and are BFFs Carly gave Zoe a friendship necklace.

They are inseparable.

My sister live near a city park that puts on a firework show so we always go there to get our fix.

Sparklers.

Our whole crew watching the show.

We had such a fun holiday. We hope you did too!

Take a Hike

2011-06-17T22:35:00.003-06:00

We went on a little hike the other day with some of our cousins.

My sister in law and her kids.

Me and my girls.

We hiked a portion of the Bonneville shoreline trail. The kids did really great. I'm glad we have cousins close by to play with.

Future Horse Trainer

2011-06-08T21:42:00.006-06:00

Bri didn't get to ride a whole lot this winter, but we started up her regular lesson today and she was very excited.

Her teacher had her start with what they call ground work. They basically use the crop to direct the pony around the arena, it helps them with trust and to know who is boss. Many of the horses at the stable we go to are rescued and have been abused. This little black pony one had a bit (the part that goes in their mouth) made out of barbed wire.

Bri has a way with naughty pony's and by the end of the lesson he was following her around.

She has been a little scared of cantering since her incident last year when her horse got spooked, but she cantered on the little black pony and even though she told me she was scared, She still was smiling.

She is getting really good.

These two make me laugh.

Willow is Brianna's teacher's daughter. She decided to give Carly a lesson while her mom was working with Bri. So these 2 little girls (5 and 6) saddled Little Bill (with a little help) and Willow gave Carly a lesson.

They are just too cute.

First swim of the year

2011-06-07T22:08:00.006-06:00

We are so lucky to get to go swimming at Grandma's every week. This week we started up our regular Sunday Swims. We have so much fun

I love these little fishes.

We can't wait for next weekend!

Fashion show

2011-06-07T21:36:00.007-06:00

We had the cousins sleep over this weekend. We always have so much fun with them. One of the girls favorite things to do is to have fashion shows. This one was for their 'pets'.

Carly and her pet kitty.

Zoe and her elephant.

Bri and her giraffe.

They are so creative and I'm glad they are so close and have so much fun together.

A really big swing!

2011-06-07T21:28:00.002-06:00

Last week we met my sister and her boys at the park for a picnic. While we were there a man threw a harness over a tree limb and started letting the kids swing.

Carly has no fear. They got really high and she loved it.

Bri's turn. She loved it too. It was a very fun little break in our day.

Schools out for summer!

2011-06-06T22:50:00.004-06:00

This was a really great school year for both girls, and we are really excited for summer.

Bri and her teacher Mr. Ault. Bri got her Eagle award, National Fitness, and an award for singing in the choir.

Carly and her teacher Ms. Larsen. Carly got her Eagle award.

Both girls did so well this year and really loved their teachers.

Retiring

2011-06-06T22:44:00.003-06:00

After more than 20 years teaching my Dad retired last week. This is him with his grand kids and his turtles.
He will be missed.

Weekend away

2011-06-06T22:32:00.003-06:00

We were lucky enough to be able to spend Memorial weekend at the Cabin. I was really bad about taking pictures, but we really didn't do much but hang out.

We did go fishing, though we didn't catch anything.

Henry still thought it was pretty fun.

Bri was very patient and daddy and her even went out a second time to try again.

Carly and Atticus weren't quite as patient.

If you look really hard you can see some prong horn in the distance. It was a very relaxing weekend, and we are very lucky to get to spend time there.

Thank You!

Tea for ......7

2011-05-20T22:23:00.004-06:00

I have to confess, that I really don't like Mother's day. April and May are always so busy for me and this year it has been even busier than normal. Jon is great to help me out that day, but I still always end up making dinner (sometimes brunch too) for someone. This year Mother's day was just as busy for every one else in my family too, so we decided to celebrate Mother day a week late. So just us girls went to the Grand America Hotel for tea.

I forgot my camera so I stole these for my sister in law. This is my sister, my mom, me, and a sliver of Brianna in her hat.

Miss Carly and Miss Zoe.

Me and my girls.

Our whole group. We had such a lovely time. I can't wait to do it again.

Annie Oakley

2011-05-16T21:44:00.004-06:00

Brianna had to do a report on a famous person then they had them dress up like that person and they do a 'Wax Museum' Where they have to hold still and we all walk around and look at them. Brianna chose Annie Oakley, of course.

She really was an interesting person and very fitting for our little cowgirl to pick her. Her outfit is mostly out of her closet, but we did make the skirt, she even sewed it herself.

Pretty close.

They let them rotate sitting and standing.

Some of the other kids. It was so cute! I've never seen that many kids standing that still for so long ever.

Dancing Girls

2011-05-14T22:09:00.006-06:00

The girls had their dance recitals this past week.

They danced to Ease on Down the Road. As always she did great and it was very cute.

This time they danced on different nights.

Carly's Class danced to Somewhere Over the Rainbow. At the end of the dance they all ran across the stage with their little ribbon sticks flying. It was so sweet, I cried like a baby every time I saw it.

9

2011-05-05T21:35:00.008-06:00

I can't believe my sweet girl is 9.

She has always been so happy and so beautiful.

She is so loved.

Our little princess.

Everyone is a friend to Brianna.

She is our nature girl. She loves animals, space and the stars. She is always asking questions.

She is so smart, she love school, and reading.

She is such a good big sister.

We just love our Brianna and are so proud of the amazing girl she has become.

The Party

2011-05-04T22:16:00.005-06:00

This time of year is so busy for us, so busy that I didn't know when I was going to fit a party in for the girls, but They wanted a party so bad. So at the last minute we decided to have a tea party. Daddy was out of town for it but we decided that since it was a girl party it was okay.

I felt like the party gods smiled on me all week. I was able to find 2 teapots at the second hand store for $2 each. They were kind of ugly so I let the girls paint them.

I love how they turned out.

I'm glad the girls were happy to have their party together. This is Carly's friend and her cousins in their hats that we decorated.

Here are Brianna's friend's in their hats.

Blowing out the candles.

Round two.

Cheerers!

Ladies who lunch.

Gifts

My fancy lady.

We had such a fun time at our party.

6

2011-05-01T21:24:00.009-06:00

My sweet baby turned 6 today.

She loved her Binky and still loves her blanky.

She has always been full of spunk and mischief.

She is so happy and always makes us smile.

She keeps me on my toes.

And is so sweet (when she wants to be)

I can't believe how grown up you have gotten. We love you so very much. We couldn't imagine life without you.

Happy Birthday baby!

What exactly is the small stuff?

2011-04-27T22:35:00.004-06:00

So you hear all the time "Don't sweat the small stuff." So what exactly is the small stuff. I have some decisions to make about the girls, to keep them in dance or pull one out and put her in soccer and the other in a different studio. This may not seem like that big a deal, but I feel like it IS a big deal. Bri wants to try soccer and since she has to try out for her dance class next year it seems like the right time to pull her out, but I hate the thought of her not dancing, but on the other hand I never did sports and I sometimes wish I had. If we pull Bri from dance, then we want to change where Carly dances, but it's lots more money and she would have to pick ballet or tap, because we can't afford to do both. I think I've made my decision about all this, but I'm just really stressed about it all. I feel like it does affect them for the rest of their lives, and that seems melodramatic, but it did me.
We also have to make a decision about Spanish immersion. They offer it at our school and it seems to be all the rage to put your kid in language immersion, but I have some reservations about. Again I know this will affect the rest of her life and it seems a bit crazy to have to make a decision like that for a 6 year-old. She keeps changing her mind about it too, she currently says no, but do I let a 6 year old make such a decision.
See big decisions in small packages.
It's all giving me a headache.

More Easter

2011-04-25T21:15:00.005-06:00

We had a lovely Easter. The girls woke us up very early to tell us the Easter bunny had come.

He always leaves a trail of eggs from their room to where their baskets are hidden.

We had lots of eggs.

They got hula-hoops, clothes and outside toys.

Bubbles.

We had a very relaxing day which is good because we have a busy couple of weeks coming up!

Some early Easter fun

2011-04-23T22:00:00.005-06:00

We had our family Easter party early this year. We started out by dyeing eggs.

Henry wasn't very interested.
After we dyed eggs we went outside to hunt for some. It was drizzling rain but they had fun anyway.

They all got lots of fun stuff.Three little sweethearts in matching dresses.

We had all the kids sleepover. The next morning they decided to have a tea party.Such fun. We love our cousins.

We hope you all have a lovely Easter.

Best part of Easter

2011-04-18T15:02:00.003-06:00

Every year when we were little my mom made my sister and I matching Easter dresses. They were my favorite part of Easter and still are. I kept having second thoughts about the fabric I chose for these dresses, but in the end they turned out so cute. They are knit tank dresses so they can wear them all summer. I'm not usually a fan of shrugs, but these really make the outfit.

We took the girls to hear my mom sing the Rutter requiem. It is one of my favorite pieces of music, and it was beautiful. Even though Jon is not a fan, he and the girls came with. There weren't very many kids there and every one there was so impressed with how well behaved the girls were. I'm glad they enjoy good music. We also got stopped and told how cute they were. I agree! It was a really lovely evening.

Baby Henry

2011-04-05T22:13:00.003-06:00

Baby Henry is finally here! He is the cutest sweetest baby, and I'm already in love. I was honored that my sister let me be in the room for the birth, and it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. My sister was awesome. Sweet baby boy.

Big boy! 9 pounds and 20 inches long.

Mama and her baby.

Daddy and Atty meeting his new brother.

Grandma

Grandpa

Brothers

These 2 little girls are very excited about their new cousin. I can't wait to go snuggle him some more!

Oh Henry

2011-03-31T21:55:00.004-06:00

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my nephew Henry. He will be my sister's second little boy and I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. Every time the phone rings I jump up hoping it is her with good news. So while I've been waiting for him to get here I've been working on this....

I think this might be my favorite quilt I've ever done. I did a similar quilt top last year and decided I like the patern enough to try it again. I did a smaller zig-zag but I didn't really plan it out I just mixed the colors as they came.

The boys room is in Bronco's blue and orange, and I just love how these colors turned out.

Hurry Up Baby! We can't wait to meet you!

Career Day

2011-03-24T22:34:00.004-06:00

I'm going to be giving a career day presentation in Carly's class tomorrow. I'm sure your all thinking 'What career?' What can I say, they were desperate, actually when I mentioned that I could come and talk to the kids about sewing, her teachers thought that would be really neat. I have lots of visual aids so I think the kids will be pretty interested. I'm going to bring some quilts and some clothes, and lots of my tools. Is it weird that I'm a little nervous to get up in front of 5 year olds?

Butt Dialed

2011-03-20T19:27:00.002-06:00

I'm usually the very first number in people's phones and you wouldn't believe how often I get butt dialed. I have a friend who it seems the only time I talk to her is when she accidentally butt dials me. I also get lots of calls about lost phones, they dial me and expect me to know who's phone it is. Today I got call from my 4 year old neighbor. He was playing with one of his parent's phones and since I'm the first number, it dialed me. I tried to tell him to to go give the phone to him mom or dad but he wanted to tell me about going poop on the potty. He was very cute!

Sick and busy

2011-03-11T11:11:00.002-07:00

I was starting to feel pretty smug about making it through winter without getting sick. Then last week it finale hit. I tried to deny I was sick for a few days and just kept going, but I finally succumbed Tuesday and spent the day in bed. I had to because I was going to be very very busy the next to days. Wednesday and Thursday we had parent teacher conferences (both girls are doing very well) at the school and if your are the PTA president that means busy. We run a book fair during conferences and we also feed our teachers dinner on Wednesday night and lunch on Thursday after noon. That means almost 2 whole days spent at the school, and I was just the helper on this one. Two other ladies were in charge of those things and spent many more hours than I did pulling it off. It did strike me as a bit ironic last night when the principal came to tell us goodbye as he was leaving and we (the volunteers) stayed for at least another hour cleaning up. The teachers are all so grateful for what we do and it is nice to hear it, and make me feel go to be doing good things with my time.
Now though, my house looks a bit like a bomb went off. Added to the fact that I haven't been home or useful for about a week, out dryer is not drying. I'm hoping Jon can fix it this weekend, but it is at least 15 years old so it might be time for a new one. Ah the timing, we just paid of our RC Willey bill.

Package Pals

2011-03-02T09:38:00.003-07:00

My mom found this cute sign and gave it to me for Valentines. Too cute! I love it. I need to find a spot to display it, all year round.

About a month ago one of my Facebook friends posted a link to a blog about package pals. A package pal is just someone you exchange fun packages with just for fun. She asked if any one was interested in being her package pal. Even though we live close to each other we don't see each other very often, but our husband's do because they work together. So we decided to exchange packages through them. Our first exchange is today, and this is what I sent off.

I sent of 3 of these hare things for her 3 little girls.
And this apron.
I'm hoping she likes her stuff and really excited to see what is in my package.

Crush

2011-02-18T21:56:00.004-07:00

Sorry for another slightly lame post but I'm sure you will forgive me because it has pictures of beautiful men.

I have a crush. I don't think I have been this obsessed with a celebrity since I was 12 and had a crush on the Newsies boys. My crush is Timothy Olyphant.

Isn't he beautiful? He has been in lots of things but no one ever knows who he is.

I fist saw him in Deadwood, it was an HBO series many years ago, where he played the sheriff of the old west town of Deadwood.

He has been in several movies since then and then last year he started doing a show called Justified. Again he plays a sheriff. It is so good, you should watch it. He has been doing the talk shows to promote his show and a movie he is in and he is just so cute. Half the fun is that my sisters are crushing on him too and we talk about him like he is Justin Beiber or something.

He is also in the movie Catch and Release from a few years ago. It is a good movie, he is very sexy, and has the best last line ever.

But, no one will ever beat the crush I have on this man.
So Sexy. I really love this man.

2011-02-16T19:44:00.003-07:00

How often do you eat out?
I try really hard to cook on weekdays, but we usually eat out on Friday and Saturday. This last week though we have been bad. Last Thursday I helped all day at a school fundraiser and when I got home Jon went and got us In and Out. Friday was date night and Saturday we hit Taco Time. Sunday was a family dinner at my Mom's, by the time I got done with 3 Valentine parties on Monday I was exhausted so we went to Red Robin, We got such bad service that they gave us our meal for free. Last night Chick-fillet sponsored PTA night so we ate there. I finally managed to cook dinner tonight. I made meat loaf and it was good, I put cheese in the middle. I have no clue what I am going to make tomorrow. I don't mind cooking I just really hate trying to figure out what to make everyday. My sister in law is so good at planning out the meals for the week, but I'm just not that organized. Jon got me new skillets for Valentines day, romantic I know, but that is what I wanted. Most of our kitchen stuff I got when we got married which means it is now 15 years old. My friend says we should get to have a 'we stayed married for a long time so our stuff is old shower,' So we can get new kitchen stuff.
Now that I've rambled on...... Are your kids picky eaters. And, what is your favorite thing to cook. I need some new ideas. Share your good recipes.

2011-02-09T10:49:00.002-07:00

To my friends, who shall remain anonymous. Please, Please keep looking at my blog. I love that some stranger is interested in what I'm sewing up. Your right I didn't go private for that reason, I just wanted to invite every one to post comments. Some times I feel like no one is looking or caring about what is on here. Knowing you are out there checking me out makes me want to post more often and better stuff. In fact feel free to add me to your blog role. Some of my best friends I have made over the Internet. See. Please don't go.

Trying not to procrastinate

2011-02-09T09:53:00.004-07:00

I'm a huge procrastinator. I think I just work better under pressure, that and I'm not very organized and things sneak up on me. So every year I think I'm going to do something different and cute for my kids to give as valentines, because I hate the store bought ones. But I never seem to be that on the ball. This year is different I've got a lot going on so of course I feel the need to add to it. I had this great idea for Bri's Valentines.

We've made cards that say 'Straight from the horses mouth' and this picture will go inside.

For my little Carly we are repeating a melted crayon project we did a few years ago and are putting it with a mini coloring book.

We've also got to make a hundred days poster due Friday, Bri has to make a Valentines box, and I am in charge of a craft for Carly's party. I know not that much stuff, I've made a good dent so hopefully we won't be doing it all on Sunday night.

2011-02-02T10:07:00.001-07:00

I know lots of people look at my blog, and I love it. But, I'd love to know who you all are. So please, even if I don't know you, say Hi.

Real or Fake

2011-01-30T20:55:00.002-07:00

Last week one of my favorite bloggers decided to quit. I'm so very sad about this news as hers was one I really looked forward to reading. Seriously So Blessed, is a blog about a perfect woman living in Utah and raising her twins, she is LDS and her husband is perfect too. She was always telling stories about how wonderful her twins are, and how great her life is and how she feels bad for people who aren't as righteous and wonderful as she is. But it was all fake, but every story she told you could think of someone who really had done or said some of the things she blogged about. I'm not sure why she quit, we all keep hoping it isn't really true, but I will miss her as she was often a reality check for me.

Another blog I love to read is Soul Mama. Her blog is very real and that is why I love it. She is a Author, photographer, craft er, and mom, living in Maine. She and her family recently moved into a 200 year old farm house. The blog documents this family who are not farmers, but are trying their hand at it, as they figure things out, renovate their house, and raise their family. She is a little on the hippy-dippy side for me. She is very 'green' which is great, she makes her own bread, home schools her children, and makes or thrifts most the their clothes. I think these are all great things, but I could not keep up the life she leads. The thing I like about her blog is that you get the feeling that she does these things because this is the way she is, she doesn't think every one should be like her and she rarely comes across as preachy. You can tell she enjoys life and her children and husband, but she doesn't feel the need to gush about it and tell every one how lucky and how blessed she is every post.

There was recently an article on Salon.com written by a feminist atheist, who talked about how she is addicted to reading Mormon Mommy blogs. She says she likes to read about how their lives are simple and they are all so happy. I thought it was interesting because I read so many blogs that make me think 'these people are trying way too hard to 'look' perfect'. My life is pretty good, and since I have never been much of a scrapbook er, this is a great way to document our lives, but I try hard not to come off as sounding like everyone should be just like me, or that I think I am the worlds best mother. The past few years I have tried hard to be real, I feel like I spent a lot of years trying to please every one and to have people like me and I didn't like that person. I've been trying to be 'authentic' this past year and have made some big changes. I needed to be true to myself, and I'm starting to like me better now too. I hope you will all like the real me better too.

Aquarium

2011-01-19T21:30:00.003-07:00

We had an extra long weekend so we decided to go to the aquarium.
Daddy came with us this time.

It was a very fun afternoon.

A project

2011-01-17T22:23:00.004-07:00

I decided that the cure to my winter blues was to find a project. I mentioned it to Jon and he agreed. The only problem is that post-Christmas, funds are a little low. So we decided to update our down stairs bathroom. It has been several years since we did this bathroom, and it really needed a paint job and a new look.

Here is the before picture.I really liked how I had it done up

And this is the new and improved bathroom. We did paint it though you can't really tell from the pictures. It was white before and we had some paint left from when we painted our house a few years ago, but decided we didn't like the color. It's a nice taupe now, much warmer.

I changed the butterfly babies for pictures of wildflowers that I've taken over the years on our trips. I'm really happy about how it turned out.

January Blues

2011-01-10T22:00:00.005-07:00

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to look through the rooms of our lives.....not looking for flaws, but for potential.~Ellen Goodman

A friend of mine recently posted this on her Facebook status. And I have been giving it a lot of thought. I really hate January. No matter how prepared I am for the post-Christmas let down, January still leaves me feeling down in the dumps. For a month we are bombarded with exercise and diet commercials, and organization tips. Try as I might, I will never be skinny and my house will always be messy. I don't always make resolutions, but one year I did make the resolution to 'Listen more.' It was one I actually kept and I learned a lot that year. I've been trying to decide if I should try one this year and after reading my friend's post, I think I will.

So I have decided to try to be more social. I'm sure anyone who knows me just laughed at reading this, thinking that I already am a social person, and that is true, sort of. I do love a good chat and am happy to have my sister and my good friend Jill to indulge me in these chats, but when it comes to going out or having people over, we are kind of hermits. I love nothing more than to spend my weekends curled up on the couch in jammies with my honey, so we really don't go out much and we rarely go out with other couples. Twice last year we were invited to dinner at friends houses, and went but never returned the favor. And just recently a friend invited us to a get together with some people I'd love to meet, but when she told us it was a bit of a drive I immediately thought I don't want to drive that far. So my resolution is to get out more. I have the potential to make new friends and hopefully become closer to friends I already have.

Playlist

2011-01-06T21:09:00.003-07:00

I am probably way behind the times here, but I have just made an amazing discovery. Pandora Radio. Really it is amazing. For those of you even farther behind than me, it's an internet radio station where you enter in what music or artist you like and then they play music from that person and other music similar to it. Brilliant! Since making this amazing discovery I almost (almost) look forward to doing the dishes. It's great. So far I love my Glee station, but when I get sick of show tunes and Journey, then I switch it to my James Taylor station, who knew I was such a fan of 70's classic rock.
And.........
On the subject of music. In my family we like to make each other mixed Cd's. My sister was telling me about a mix Cd's she recently got and it was so depressing. This got me thinking about what my 2010 mix would be. My taste in music runs a few years behind and tends to include tiny bopper music, as I am forced to listen to Radio Disney, but here are some songs that I have liked this year.

Hey Soul Sister, Train (I know, Please don't hate me)
Lucky, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat
Fire Flies, Owl City
Smiling Face, James Taylor
Losing My Religion, REM
My Life, Billy Joel
Defying Gravity, Wicked
Seasons of Love, Rent
I Could Not Ask For More, Sara Evans
Love Story, Taylor Swift (Remember I have an 8 year old daughter)

So what would your 2010 playlist be? Really? I want to know!

New Years

2011-01-01T21:17:00.005-07:00

The best part about this time of year, is spending so much time with our family. This past week we have gotten to do some fun things, the best by far was bowling.

This was the first time we've ever taken the kids bowling. We play Wii bowling all the time so it was fun to go see the kids bowl in real life.

My brother is such a cute daddy and Jack is such cute little boy.

Carly tied to bowl the right way a few times but eventually would just sit down and give the ball a good push.

Bri was actually pretty good.

Friday night we all got together for New Years. Grandma had made all the kids sweaters for Christmas but hadn't quite finished them in time so the kids got them for new years.

Then the mom's and dad's left and the kids and grandma slept over.

We did a count down early but the kids all stayed up till midnight anyway. We had a very happy new year and we hope you do to.

2010-12-26T22:33:00.002-07:00

Before....................

After...............

Christmas

2010-12-26T21:58:00.006-07:00

We started our Christmas fun on Christmas Eve. We made cookies in the afternoon. Then we headed to my brother's house for the real fun. We ate lots of good food. Then we let the kids get in the hot tub for a few minutes.

They had so much fun!

After they dried of we frosted cookies for Santa.

Then presents!

They both got pillow pets, and couldn't be happier. When we got home, we got to open up one gift, Jammie's, of course. Then set out the milk and cookies and carrots of course.

The girls were spoiled as usual.

They both loved their guitars, Bri is a budding Taylor Swift.

Carly loves her kitty. We also got a telescope.

More gifts.

Next we were of to Jon's parent's house for Swedish pancakes and for presents.

We gave their cousin Courtney a bag of dress up clothes, which she loved.

Putting on make up. Then we headed up for so much needed napping.

We had a great Christmas! I hope you all did too!

Nutcracker

2010-12-26T21:28:00.003-07:00

Once again we were able to go to the Nutcracker. This time daddy came with us, his first time at the ballet. I think he even enjoyed himself. He bought the girls their own nutcrackers. I love this new tradition we have started.

Santa!

2010-12-19T21:24:00.003-07:00

One of the best parts of the holidays is spending so much time with family. We love our cousins!

They are so silly!

Every year Santa comes to our family party. Carly couldn't think of what she wanted.

Brianna asked for a telescope. Last year she asked for a microscope.

All the cousins. and Santa.

Why I have the best sister in the world

2010-12-17T22:17:00.003-07:00

I have the best sister in the world, and here is why.
http://sewperfectgifts.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-gift-ever.html

My little singer

2010-12-16T09:44:00.003-07:00

Brianna sings in the school choir and they had their concert last night. They were all so cute and did a really good job. There is just something so beautiful about children singing. Even if they aren't perfect they sound like little angels.

She really enjoys singing.
I really enjoyed watching and hearing her.

Ballerina girls, You are so Lovely

2010-12-13T21:36:00.004-07:00

The girls had their Christmas dance recital this last weekend They are just so cute!

Carly looked like a little princess.

Bri, as always is my little cowgirl.

They love getting all dolled up, and couldn't wait for me to put makeup on them.

Carly danced to a song called Christmas Vacation.

Bri danced to Christmas time's a coming. We didn't get great pictures of them this time

One of their favorite things about their recitals is getting flowers at the end.

Love my little Ballerina's

Christmas Cards?

2010-12-06T20:59:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite things about this time of year is Christmas cards, I know there are a lot of people out there that do not love them, but I love going out to my mail box everyday and wondering who I will hear from that day. When I was little I remember my mom would get a card from an old college friend and it always included what I call the "look how wonderful we are" letter, it would always make her so sad, so I do have some mixed feelings about the year in review letters. There are some letters that I totally admit to groaning as I read and entire paragraph about potty training a 3 year old and how they are the most gifted child ever born, but over all I enjoy hearing about my friends and family.

For my card I stick to some simple pictures of my family through the year. I started sending cards out several years ago to the members of my online book club, who lived all over the country and some of my family that lived out of town, but my list grows every year. This year I ordered 75 cards. Some of them will be included with neighbor gifts, and I don't receive near that many in return. Some of the people I get cards from, it is the only time I ever hear from them, but it is nice to know that they still think of us. So what about you, do you send out cards? I'd love to hear from you all. I know lots of people check out my blog, but no one ever leaves a comment , so even if I don't know you, let me know you're there.

Proud Mama

2010-11-20T22:55:00.003-07:00

This year both Carly and Brianna entered projects into the Reflections competition. I am so proud of both of them and impressed by what they came up with.

This is Carly's entry. It is called 'Pretty kitty' Not surprisingly Brianna wanted to make a horse. Hers was called 'A girls best friend.' It is basically a self portrait in clay of her and her horse Taffy.

She really did such a great job. She was so cute with all the details

They both received awards of excellence for their projects. I'm so darn proud of the both of them.

Six trips around the world

2010-11-13T21:31:00.005-07:00

Over the past few months I have made six trips around the world.

I've been working on these for the past 6 months. They are for my friend in Florida. She has six kids and I made one for each of them. I love how they turned out. I have one more to make for the parents, I will use left overs from all the kids quilts to make the parents quilt.

2010-11-02T21:18:00.003-06:00

Then.......

Now.........

Jon and I celebrate 14 years of marriage today. We've actually been together for more than 17 years which makes me feel so old. I can't believe that at 15 I was able to find such a good man. I really am a lucky girl and I look forward to many many more tears together.

HalloweeFun

2010-10-31T21:01:00.007-06:00

We've had so much fun this year. This year we spread Halloween out over 3 days. We started off with the parade at the girls school. They we so cute!

Our Little Ballerina.

A beautiful Princess.

Our next stop was the Stable Place, where Brianna takes her riding lessons. They had a Spooky Woods, fundraiser where the kids got to ride horses through the woods.

Carly and Cute Willow, the princess on a horse.

Brianna and her trusty pony Blue.

Waiting to go on a ride.

A ballerina on a horse.

A Princess on a horse.

The nest night we went trick-or-treating.

A beautiful princess.

A pretty ballerina.

Cousin Atty joined us for trick-0r-treating. He was a ninja turtle.

It was really rainy but they still had a great time.

Tonight we had a party at our house will all the cousins, and Grandma and Grandpa. We ate soup, did some ghost bowling, made a craft, and got a little crazy on the dance floor. Ghost bowling.

All the Cousins.

They are so goofy and we all have so much fun.

I Love Halloween!

First snow of the season

2010-10-27T21:06:00.004-06:00

We usually don't get snow quite this early, but the girls were very excited to make their first snowman.

Weekend at the Cabin

2010-10-18T21:12:00.009-06:00

Every year for the past 4 years we have taken advantage of my brother and sister-in-law's kindness, and stayed for a long weekend at their cabin.

Grandma always comes with us, and we love it.

We went for a drive in the Unitas, and took a few photos.

Sassy pants

Best Friends

Our favorite thing to do at the cabin is lizard hunting.

The girls each caught one.

We drove to Flaming Gorge one day.

And at night we played marathon games of Uno.

We always have so much fun up there.

Thank you Jon and Misti!

Tonsils

2010-10-06T21:41:00.003-06:00

You wouldn't know it to look at her, but my sweet little girl snores like a lumber jack. (I've never actually heard a lumber jack snore, but I assume they are pretty loud) She also stops breathing while she sleeps so we decided it was time to get her tonsils out.

She wasn't nervous

They take them to surgery in this little wagon. They let her take her blankie too.

She wasn't very happy after and even the Popsicle didn't help.

She just wanted her daddy, and to go home.

She slept most of the way home.

She had a good day. She slept a lot, had 5 bowls of ice cream, at least 6 Popsicles and had several bowls of soup. She probably ate better today then most days.

Lets hope tomorrow goes as well.

Quilt show

2010-09-25T20:05:00.004-06:00

It has been another crazy week around here. Jon has been out of town all week, and I'm just no good without him. I needed some time away so I took my mom to my favorite quilt show.

It's called the Quilt Show in the Barn. It is on the most beautiful estate and a beautiful barn.

Sorry for the blurry pictures, I just brought the little camera and it's seen better days. I love how they had quilts displayed everywhere.

This was my favorite quilt at the show.

Me and my mommy.
It was a lovely morning and I'm feeling very inspired.

End of Summer

2010-09-20T20:56:00.004-06:00

Brianna has continued riding this summer and loves it as much as ever. In these pictures she is ridding Buck, but she has mostly been riding a pony named blue. Ponies are notorious for being stubborn and naughty but she does a good job with him.

We've also done a lot of swimming this summer.

Goofy kid

I love these three kiddos. They make me smile and I will miss our Sunday swims.

Carnival

2010-09-17T17:48:00.004-06:00

I know...........

It's been a while, but I have been very very busy. Last night we had our school's PTA carnival, of which I had a very big part in. I wish I had pictures to show you, but I never had a chance to even think about pictures. We had games, bounce houses, food, a boutique, bake sale, and silent auction. I helped with the planning and of most everything but my main focus was the silent auction. We assigned each class in the school a theme and then asked the kids and parents to donate things to make a gift basket. We also got some donations from businesses, this year we had over 40 baskets. We also were able to get footballs signed the BYU and U of U teams. Our carnival was hugely successful this year. I'm so proud to be part of such a great group of women who all worked so hard to do this. This was months in the planning and we all worked so hard, and it is so satisfying to know that all the hard work and stress had such a great out come. I couldn't feel my feet at the end of the night but it was all worth it. I know this sounds cheesy, but I really love being a part of the PTA. I have met some really amazing women (and men) who have become great friends, and I feel like I am doing something important.
Hopefully life will return to normal soon, althought as I look at our upcoming schedual it doesn't look like that will be happning anytime soon.

Growing up

2010-09-03T19:54:00.003-06:00

My baby started kindergarten today!

I can't believe how old she looks.

They always hold hands when they walk next to each other. It's so sweet.

Waiting in line to go in. When she had her meeting earlier this week with her teacher she was so shy she wouldn't answer any of her question, her teacher said she was more comfortable today and talked and participated a lot. She is a little smarty pants and I know she will do great.

I actually did pretty well with her going to school this morning. I was babysitting my niece and nephew so I was pretty busy. Good thing I have plenty to keep me occupied while she is at school.

Week in review

2010-08-30T21:33:00.005-06:00

I'm a little late with these. Bri started school last week. She looks so big and grown up.

We all walked her over the first morning. Carly doesn't start for a few more days.

We are really excited about her teacher and class this year.

Friday night we returned home from dinner to find our tree looking like this.

So Saturday we started cleaning up.

It just kept getting worse. We love our big trees and the shade they give us but I don't think we can save this one.

We tried to go swimming this weekend, but it was a bit chilly. Carly and Atty sat poolside wrapped in towels.

Brianna and Daddy were the only ones who braved the cold.

Today Carly started dance. She really likes dance and she is quite a good little dancer too.

We have another busy week ahead of us, but we are looking forward to lots of fun.

School Shopping.... Ugh!

2010-08-25T21:11:00.003-06:00

We procrastinated going school shopping till pretty much the last possible minute. We only ended up buying a few things because I couldn't find anything that didn't reminded me of the 80's. Seriously, The clothes are so ugly. I don't want my eight year old looking like Madonna. It was a bad bad decade for fashion. Lets not repeat it.

A Grand Adventure

2010-08-17T11:32:00.008-06:00

We really hadn't planned on taking another trip this summer, but after listening to Jon's parent's talk about their recent trip to Yellowstone we just couldn't resist. We decided to go to Grand Teton National Park, and it was so beautiful.

Our little family on the shores of Jenny lake.

The girls actually went up the day before we did with Grandma and Grandpa and had fun without us. Jon and I drove up a day later, just the two of us and we had such a nice drive in. So our first day there all together we went on a boat ride on Jackson Lake.

Grandpa and his girls by Jenny Lake.

Sisters.

We just couldn't resist driving into Yellowstone one day. We saw this guy on the way there.

It was very cold and rainy that day but Bri wanted to walk around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin anyway. Carly and Grandpa hung out in the lodge.

Lewis falls.

The famous entrance picture. We managed to get to 5 national parks this year.

We always love to have Grandpa Gail with us.

We went to a spot called Oxbow Bend and saw lots of wildlife. There were 3 beavers swimming around a coyote, and some really neat birds.

This is the top of Signal Mountain.

such a great view.

Another view from Signal Mountain. We went up here twice just so we could see the sunset.

On the way down the mountain we saw 2 cow elk and when Jon got out to take the pictures he saw this bull elk there too.

The girls had a great time playing on the lake and would as to go down every day.

Carly called this her 'boat.'

Both girls got their Jr. Ranger badges. Their 4th of the year.

We really wanted to see a moose, but didn't have any luck. We did see this guy on our way home.

We have had such a great summer and have had so much fun on our trips. We feel very lucky to have the chance to visit so many great places.

Saturday fun.

2010-08-10T19:31:00.004-06:00

We got to go to Jon's company party on Saturday. Small amusement park. The girls have been very excited for it. The pictures are not the best, but here they are.

Mommy and Carly on the Racetrack.

Daddy and Bri on the bumper boats.

Mommy and Carly on the bumper boats.

Golfing. Carly was actually pretty good at it.

Our family self portrait.

Summer is winding down, I'm pretty sad for the girls to go back to school. I'm very nervous about my responsibilities with PTA. I really don't like being the one in charge, I'm also often reluctant to ask for help with things, two things I'm going to have to do a lot of. I've actually been having anxiety attacks about it. We are having a carnival, which I'm in charge of, I know I have good people to help me, but I'm still not sure how I'm going to pull it off.

I wish summer could last a little longer.

My new favorite thing

2010-07-26T15:06:00.004-06:00

A month or so ago my wonderful hubby got me a new toy, an itouch. I'm a little behind the technological times and have never had an ipod before. I love it. You might think that I promptly filled it with all my favorite music, but I have discovered podcasts. My new favorite thing is to find a nice shady spot under the misters and listen to my shows and play solitaire while Bri has her ridding lesson. I'm even looking forward to dance classes to start so I will have even more time with my shows. I've been working on a big quilt order and have to tie 7 quilts.I have 4 tops done click here to see them. I was a bit worried that the tieing would be very boring, but I tied one this morning and it was quite enjoyable because I had Ira Glass to keep me company. My favorite podcasts are This American Life, an NPR show, and another called The Parent Experiment. The Parent Experiment can get a bit naughty, but it is basically two ladies and a guest who talk about being parents, it reminds me of conversations I have with my best friend, and makes me feel normal to know that every mom freaks out a little sometimes. So cyber friends, do you listen to any podcasts that I should be listening to?

The best summer ever

2010-07-22T22:24:00.005-06:00

So remember how I complained a few weeks ago about going a little crazy, well we finally got out of the house and have been having lots of fun.

Last Friday I took the girls to Farm country. We always have so much fun there.

Of course, we have fun there, they get to ride horses. You'd think that the novelty of riding the ponies around the exercise wheel would be gone since she rides real horses all the time. But, Brianna never met a horse she didn't want to ride. Carly got to ride too.

We also went on a wagon ride.

These horses were named Bell and Holly.

Last week was a rough week. Our good friends and neighbors grown daughter died suddenly, then later in the week our other very good friends and neighbors announced that they had sold their house and were moving. I spent the better part of the week trying to help my neighbors, so Friday night we dropped the girls off at my Mom's and after attending the viewing for our neighbor's daughter we headed up the canyon and had dinner on the patio of our favorite restaurant. It was so lovely and I felt totally recharged after a good nights sleep.

The girls got to do lots of swimming with grandma and Saturday afternoon we took them to see Despicable Me. (very cute show, we all really enjoyed it)

Monday I took the girls to the float preview party for the big Pioneer Day parade this weekend.
They both got their faces painted.

Jon called me Monday afternoon and said he had tickets to the Rodeo that night. Remember my Mommy guilt over the parade? Well I also have mommy guilt about rodeos. When I was young, we always went to the rodeo, every summer, and I loved it. So I've felt huge guilt over the fact that I have the worlds most horse crazy little girl and I've never taken her to a real rodeo.

Needless to say we were very very excited to go. Sadly I didn't take a camera so I have no pictures of this even, but we had a blast. Durring the rodeo Jon asked Bri if she was having fun, she told him that this was the best summer ever. I haven't been to a Rodeo since I was a teenager and I had forgotten how much I liked them. We are hoping to get to another one soon.

Bri is still taking horse lessons, as she calls them, and is currently riding a pony named Blue. They make a good pair.

While Bri has her lesson, Carly gets to play with her little friend Willow. She is Brianna's teacher's daughter. They drive around the 'tractor' and deliver hay to the horses. Such cute little girls.

Wednesday, the girls and I convinced Grandpa Gail to go on a hike with us. We wanted to go to Lisa falls but couldn't find the trail head. Then I fell and messed up my ankle, so we called it a day.

Honestly, they are just too cute.

Thursday (today) we went to the Zoo with all our cousins. Cousins make everything funner.

Cutest bunch of kids!

Can you guess tomorrow's plans?

SLEEP! I'm exhausted!

Hope your all having a fun summer!

2010-07-14T22:16:00.003-06:00

As promised, here are some pictures for the all horse parade. There are a lot of parades in month of July around here, and I'm not really a parade person, It's one of those things I feel mommy guilt about. When I was little my Uncle managed a bank that was right along the parade route for the big 24th of July parade, so every year we would sleep over at the bank and get up in the morning and watch the parade. it was so much fun. But now I would rather poke out my eyeballs then brave the crowds to watch the parade. That is why the All Horse Parade is the best. It's short and sweet, not many crowds and parking is great.

This is our little gang at the parade.

I also went on a hike with my cousin to Silver lake. It was a very relaxing morning.

These three goofs make me happy.

So you might remember last year when Carly cut her hair, Well you'd think my kids would be scarred from the tantrum I threw, but apparently not, because just last week Bri decided to cut her hair. Really? I thought we were past this. So this is how her hair turned out once my friend Tammy worked her magic. She didn't want bangs, but she really had no choice. She look pretty cute. She also looks so much like my sister it's a bit scary.

Note to self

2010-07-12T12:13:00.002-06:00

Do not publish posts written when feeling melancholy.

Sorry for the Debbie Downer post. We actually had a fun weekend. We went to the all horse parade and swimming. This morning the girls and I went on a hike with my cousin and her kids. I would still like to go out to the copper mine and I'm planning on taking the girls to tour a candy factory. If anyone is interested in joining us we'd love the company.

2010-07-09T10:18:00.002-06:00

Since Bri started school a few years ago we've been on a year-round schedule which means a short summer. I've always felt like we have to pack as much as we can into those few weeks, and always felt like we didn't get to do all the things we wanted before school started.
This year is different. We have a normal 3 month long summer. We aren't even half way through and we are going a little crazy. I feel like I have to be doing something fabulous every day and I'm failing miserably. So may of the things I want to do cost money and the thing that are free, it's just too hot to do. Also, I don't want to go alone. My sisters are working moms, so they can't go in the day. I've tried to make plans with a few of my friends but it seems they are busy with other friends. I wanted to do some hiking but I worry about taking the girls without help. We also like to do things as a family, so the thought of going bowling with out Daddy to see the girls the first time makes me sad. I guess I need to just quit being afraid and go do it, cuz these girls are going a little crazy and taking me with them.

Fireworks!

2010-07-05T16:49:00.004-06:00

We had a really great 4th of July weekend. Saturday we went to 2 different BBQ one at my friends house and the second with my sister and our families.

My sister lives a few blocks from a park that puts on a fireworks display.

We did a few fireworks of our own before the big show.

I sure love these two little firecrackers.

Extreme Cowgirl Challenge

2010-06-27T19:03:00.006-06:00

This weekend Brianna participated in an Extreme Cowgirl Challenge. Many events your used to seeing at a rodeo like pole bending and barrel racing don't really require a lot of skill by the rider but rather a horse that knows what it is doing. So the point of the Cowgirl challenge is to make your horse do different things that show the riders control of the horse.

First, Bri had to get her horse from the arena, take her to the platform and get on.

There was a whole series of obstacles, like taking the horse between a rock and a fence, past some cows, weaving through trees and picking some flowers. One of the last was to get the horse to go over a large log.

Her horse Buck was more interested in eating but Bri managed to get her through the course.

She did another event that was like a modified Barrel run, where she had to pick up a curry comb off the barrels and put it on the next one. She was so high on her horse that the lady had to had it to her.

She did well enough to place third. I'm very proud of how well she cares for and handles her horse.

One of her friends was riding the pony Little Bill and Bri decided she wanted a turn.

We had a fun day and she learned a lot.

Bryce Canyon

2010-06-22T10:34:00.007-06:00

Sorry I've been a lame blogger lately and haven't updated. I have actually written several posts, but I don't know if I should post them, as they are about somethings I've been dealing with lately and I'm not sure I'm ready to share.

Anyway....

On to our latest vacation. We started out our summer by getting out of town. We decided to go to Bryce Canyon NP. We hadn't been there since Bri was a baby.

We started out in the visitors center, where Bri promptly found a horse.

The first day we drove up to the top of the Canyon and made some stops along the way. We met this Raven at one of our stops and he posed for a picture with the girls.

On our second day there Grandma Phyllis and Aunt Jenny and Atticus joined us. We took the Shuttle that day and saw some of the great views, and went on a hike. These three little goofballs had so much fun.

Our little family at Bryce Point.

Me and my Sister.

The kids on the shuttle.

Grandma and the kids.

Day three we went on a hike to see Mossy cave and a waterfall.

One of the amazing views on our hike.

Our group after the hike.

Another group shot.

We stoped for ice cream after out hike and these little misfits got put in jail.

This is my favorite picture from this trip. Carly is just to funny!

The boobs are the right size but I wish my waist was this small.

The kids at the entrance sign.

Our 2 little Jr. Rangers. This is their 3 badge of the year.

On our last day we took a hike to a place called Fairyland point. This was a really long hike so we didn't go far, but it was neat because we could get closer to some of the hoodoos.

Our last hike. The Bristle cone loop. Some truly amazing views.

One last pic of our cute little Brianna.

We had so much fun on this trip. Bryce is a small park, so we spent a lot of time just hanging out in the camp ground relaxing. We can't wait for our next trip!

Holiday weekend

2010-06-04T21:27:00.003-06:00

I know it's a little late, but it's been a busy week, but we had so much fun I just had to share. Even though we didn't go out of town for the holiday we wanted to do something fun. We decided to take the kids to the zoo before it got too hot. My sister, brother-in-law and nephew as well as Grandma also came.

Such a cute bunch of kids.

I was very excited to see the baby elephant. she is about 8 or 9 months old now and she is just stinking cute.

Three little Monkeys!

We also got together as a family for a BBQ.

Popsicles for everyone!

My little Graduate

2010-05-30T21:44:00.004-06:00

Earlier this week my sweet little Carly graduated from preschool. Her teacher puts on quite the show. So, many cute little poems, every one with different props. They are so cute.

This was for the months of the year song.

This was, It's raining, it's pouring. They are the old man.

This is her best little buddy Jonah. We carpool with him and it is so cute to listen to their conversations every morning.

The best preschool teacher ever! We really love Miss Marla, she is amazing.

Both Bri and Carly had Miss Marla and we are sad we won't be seeing her so often.

Good Reads?

2010-05-20T12:33:00.004-06:00

I recently joined Good Reads, mainly because facebook told me to but I'm slightly embarrassed to post what book I'm reading. My friends all seem to be reading great biographies and very serious book, but my taste run along the lines of smut. That's right I love a good romance novel, the smutty er the better.

When I was young I read a lot. Then came came high school and all the forced reading and dissecting of every book really ruined my joy of reading. Then shortly after we moved into our house, my Dad came to stay with us, and shortly after that he fell and broke his femur. It was a very very hard time in my life. I was taking care of my dad and I spent a lot of time in waiting rooms so I started reading again. Reading was my escape and I was reading 5 or 6 books a week. It was such a stressful time of my life and books helped me to not dwell on all the hard things I was dealing with and instead escape to the world of my romance novel. I didn't want to read things that were serious or depressing. I've even had the chance to meet some of my favorite authors and chat with them, and they were all so nice.

I'm not completely opposed to reading more serious book, but when all is said and done I'd take a good Nora, or Rachel Gibson any day.

So if you are my friend on Good Reads, don't judge me for my taste in reading matterial, give one of them a try.

Me and Nicholas Sparks

Me and Nora (why didn't anyone tell me how bad my hair was?)

Me and Rachel Gibson ( I was 7 months pregnat with Carly)

Convention

2010-05-16T10:00:00.002-06:00

This last week I had the chance to attend the state PTA convention. I accepted the job of President Elect for the coming school year, a decision I'm still not comfortable with, so I was excited to go and hopefully learn a lot and get an idea of what I was in for. It was just what I needed after a hard week and I was surprised at how much fun I had. I attended with two other ladies one, was the president this year and will do it again this next year and the other was our treasure this year and will work the the Jr, High next year. For me one of the unexpected benefits of the PTA has been all the friends I have made. It has been so nice to meet so many nice ladies who all care as much about our kids, school and community as I do and want to do something about making it better. It was so interesting to look around the convention at the variety of different women (and even a few dads) there, and know that all of us had something in common.
I did learn a lot and get some really great ideas for the coming year. I'm still not convinced I can do pull it off, but hopefully after a year of training under a really great lady I feel better about things.

What do you do to relax?

2010-05-10T23:39:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I threw myself a whooper of a pity party. Last week was a roller coaster to say the least and I struggled to stay upbeat all week. I think it all caught up to me yesterday and so when my washing machine broke down, while holding my clothes hostage, I broke down in tears. Then it rained, and ruined the dinner I had planned to grill, more tears. Thank heaven for Taco Time, and an understanding husband. Anyway once the kids were finally in bed Jon and I sat down to watch our shows, I turned on the lap top and started a marathon session of free cell, it made me feel much better.

A friend of mine once asked me what I do to relax. I like to play free cell, sudoku, sew or quilt, I also like to read. Reading saved my sanity during a particularly rough time in my life, but lately I'm in a slump, when it comes to good reading material. I basically need to do things that force my mind to focus on something else besides the problem that is plaguing me. My friend laughed because most of the things that calm me down stress her out. So what do you do to relax?

BTW, my washer is still holding the clothes hostage which is giving me huge anxiety, and the repair man can't get here till tomorrow.

Birthday Cowgirl

2010-05-09T22:00:00.003-06:00

My little cowgirl had a birthday this week. She got lots of books(about horses)

And a Barbie from her sister.

She got a book about a little girl who gets a bike and pretends it's a horse.

And she got a new bike.

And since it's been a while since I put up some horse pictures, here is my current favorite.