a day in the life of the walkers

Happy Christmas

2012-01-01T19:43:00.001-08:00

As I reflect on this Christmas past, I wonder why I didn't mind when my sweet hubby didn't want to put lights on the house. Why I didn't feel like decorating the entire house with the 6 trees that reside in my basement. Why it took me until Dec 20th to get all the obligatory Christmas cards in the mail. Why I didn't stress about the details so much. Is it a bad thing? I begin with a quote from Dr. Seuss that I believe sums it up quite nicely...

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!”

Maybe it means seeing my 16 year old on Santa's lap.

Maybe it means seeing my mother in law engaging ALL of her grand children (even the skeptical teens) in a silly game.

Maybe it means watching the boys and their cousins sit n' bounce the night away.

Maybe it means spontaneous displays of brotherly affection.

Maybe it means having something snuggly for Christmas Eve after a long night.

Maybe it means loving those who can't tell you how much they love you back.

All of these things are the moments I will remember when looking back on this Holiday season. The moments, not the momentos. The people, not the purchases. The love, not the loot.

Happy Christmas.... Happy 2012!

Vegas for Veterans Day

2011-11-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

I realize that I do waaaay to many baseball posts. I really do try to even it out with other things, I promise. Jake has been living and breathing this sport since he was 7 years old. He has played on a few different teams but eventually settled comfortably into the 'Rebels' when Wade took the leap and decided to coach. They have steadily improved as a team, dropping and picking up players when necessary, and basically practicing their butts off year round.

They play in about 1 tournament a month. We have traveled all throughout the state of Utah, into Arizona and Nevada. For some reason unbeknown to us that elusive First place has been frustratingly out of our reach. Always going home with 2nd or 3rd place. Until now that is....

We decided earlier in the year it would be fun to go to Vegas in the Fall to play at the Big League Dream Park. We paid our $500 registration fees, rented a house, packed up the truck and hit the road. 4 Pool play games were challenging but our boys played flawless defense, and our deep pitching bench held up. On to championship day with a 1 seed. We were excited, but had been here so many times before that we were also carefully optimistic.

Well, the old saying 'Hard work pays off' finally came true. The Rebels went to war with a Nevada team and a California team. They won both games by a margin of 1. They were both immensely intense games. I was a pacing, nail biting, photo taking, nightmare bundle of nerves. I wanted it so bad for them I could taste it. When that final run was scored to end the game I literally dropped to my knees and cried. Have you ever wanted something so bad for your kids and you finally see them achieve it and it brings you to your knees? Incredible feeling.

I'm glad it didn't come easy. I'm glad they had to work hard for it. It makes victory so much sweeter when there is blood, sweat and tears to back it up. Way to go Rebels. This Rebel mom is Proud as a Peacock!

Utes & Us in San Fran

2011-11-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Wade & I took our annual road trip to watch the Utes play an away game a few weeks ago. We pulled out the football schedule months ago and decided that San Francisco in October sounded grand. Here is our Hotel Monaco in the heart of the city. Notable quote from the concierge. "When you leave the Hotel, always go right. Never go left, left is bad very bad."

Upon our arrival we hit the Fisherman's Wharf. First stop... Boudin Bakery for the original sourdough bread. Holy shitake it was delicious.

We wandered the waterfront, stumbled into the nickel arcade with all it's refurbished puppet shows, peep shows, and games. Here's Wade trying to get a peep at the Triple XXX show. Sorry kid, built around 1950 the only skin was a bit of knee.

When the hunger pangs returned, we stepped up to the crab bar and got us some fresh Dungeness. Fresh off the boat and dropped in the steamer just for us.

The next morning we caught the morning boat to Alcatraz. A lifelong dream of Wade's! It was creepy, historic, and fascinating. We took the audio tour, and then spent some time wandering around the Island.

Amazingly there is a very active botanical group that nourishes several indigenous plants and flowers. A strange backdrop for such beauty.

It was also game day so we caught the F-train to Bart to Giants Stadium.

As has become tradition, the Utes took a beating. I'm starting to think we're a jinx. We had a great time at a beautiful stadium though and It was nice to be around some friendlies.

Customarily a day of Football is followed by a day of shopping. Give and take. We had fun exploring Chinatown and Union Square. Found a few treasures and trinkets. My fav? $35 silk robe and pajamas.

Rode a trolley car.

We were in need of a real adventure. The next day we rented some mountain bikes and unknowingly set off on a 14 mile bike ride. Almost got hit by a bus, Almost died of exhaustion, Almost didn't find one of the biggest bridges in the world! We had peddled for hours. Saw a lot of beautiful things....

The painted ladies

The Observatory in the Golden Gate Park...

The Japanese Tea Garden...

Floral Delight in the form of my favorite, Hydrangeas...

Glorious Redwood...

and then finally there it was... sneaking out of the fog... like a magnificent sunset...

It is 1.7 miles across the bridge and the wind speed had to be about 50 mph.

We gorged ourselves on lunch in a little seaside town called Sausalito then found the nearest Boat back to the mainland. Look out baby, that birdie might just poop on you!

Some leftover photos from the trip that made my short list of favorites!

Until next year....

Luke 3.0

2011-11-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Since I seem to be blogging all about Luke today here is a final post. We talked him into playing club soccer this Fall to keep his skills alive through the High School off season. It was indeed a struggle and he was a very busy boy trying to juggle Golf Team and Shooter Soccer at the same time. Needless to say he didn't make it to many practices and about half the matches. I did manage to snap a quick pic with my phone at the end of the year though...

Luke is bottom center... the good looking one. ;-)

In contrast here is a pic of one of his early shooter years.

Homecoming

2011-11-01T15:52:00.001-07:00

To say that I'm a controlling, Type A, Pushy Mom is for lack of a better word, an understatement. Luke has not been too excited about the High School 'Dance' life. He managed to completely avoid it his Sophomore year. I was not having any of that his Junior year. The kid is handsome. Has a job. Has a car. What could be more datable? Well, I bullied him into getting a date and going to Homecoming this year. Of course I dragged his BFF into the mix. I picked his outfit. Ordered his corsage (with a custom silver band from Austin Texas of course), made dinner reservations, planned his day date, and planned his after dance activity. It was going to be a fabulous day! Duh!

Well he last minute changed my day date activity, and threw my dinner reservations in the G-file and went with a large group of 10. The more the merrier. I'm just glad he finally showed a little initiative. They had a great time. He looked absolutely studly. On to the next bullying. Christmas Ball!

Luke and Lexi, Lewis and Nicole

Grandma Patsy pinning on the boutineer.

Third in State!

2011-11-01T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well, another year of High School Golf has come and gone. The Maple Mountain High School golf team did really well this year. The school is only 3 years old, and they have already managed to put together a winning program. The team took Third in 4A state competition this year. Beaten only by powerhouses with a long standing reputation for fine golfers. First was Woods Cross High School and Second was Highland High School. We were fortunate enough to sneak away from our busy days and go watch for a few hours each day. I was astounded at the mental toughness and control of the game these young men displayed. They put many of the 'Adult Golfers' I know to shame. I was a very proud Mom to have my Luke included in this group of athletes. Golf is the game he loves. Golf is the game he lives for. Golf is the game which will hopefully pay for college?

Wade and Luke after his final day of competition.

Luke, Nick, and Kendrick watching Logan finish up his final 18.

The Varsity team celebrating and stopping for photos after the scores were all posted.

Great job guys. Proud of you.

Jake's Giant Dream

2011-09-30T13:45:00.001-07:00

About 3 months ago, Wade and I, trying to motivate Jake into being a better more consistent pitcher, made a deal with him. We promised that if he ever pitched a no-hitter Wade would take him to San Francisco to see a Giants home game. Parents make these far fetched promises all the time right? Well, about 3 weeks ago he did it. Wade tried his best to argue himself out of a potentially very costly bet.
Wade: That wasn't a no hitter, kids got on base, runs were scored!
Jake: Those weren't my fault. Those were fielding errors Dad.
Wade: I still don't think that counts as a no hitter Jake.
Jake: Oh yes it does. Look it up. You didn't bet me that I would pitch a perfect game. You bet me that I would pitch a no hitter and that's what I did so pay up Dad.

As you can see, Jake is a very persuasive arguer. Future in politics? Well, Wade finally acquiesced and booked the trip. It had to be done in a very quick fashion as the Giants were on their last home stretch of the season the following week and were not going to make it to the playoffs. Plane tickets were booked. Game tickets were bought. Game on!

Jake in his 'First Class Southwest seat'. This was an early wake-up time even for him. Up at 4:30, out the door by 5:15, Flight left at 7:15.

After a quick flight, shuttle ride, Bart subway ride, and short walk they were there. AT&T Park, home of the Giants.

They were a bit early for the 12:15 game time so they spent an hour, and a Benjamin Franklin in the Gift shop gathering up souvenirs for the trip. Then it was on to the entrance gate. Open, Open, Open....
Wade does not do nose bleed seats when he has to fly to a game. He found these seats on EBay. Front row. Right by the dugout, right in front of the Bull Pen. Heaven.

Jake, along with being a persuasive arguer, is a very persuasive beggar. His goal was to get a game ball. He started early. He started loudly. He started pathetically. Voila. A very nice Field Umpire came over a chatted with them and gave him a game ball. Score #1.

This game happened to be the last game for Pat Burell who sadly has contracted a career ending foot disease. Here's a distant pic of Jake's hero Tim Lincecum giving Pat a high five after his retirement ceremony.

It was a great game even though the Giants succumbed to a loss. Weather was beautiful. Father and Son had oodles of bonding time. Jake was frequently heard saying "This is the best day of my life" Way to be a hero Wade.

Well, you had to know that my persuasive little beggar walked away with not 1, not 2, but 3 game balls, One signed by Pat Burell himself.

Jake is a hardworking ball player that we hope has a fun future ahead of him. He is driven, dedicated, and determined to succeed and we have no doubt that he will. This was truly a 'Giant Dream Come True' for him. Funny thing is... I think Dad had just as much, if not more fun!

The game of Golf

2011-09-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, finally a sports post about something other than Baseball.

Luke is my golfer. I love that he is a golfer. The game of golf teaches so many valuable lessons applicable to everyday life. Stress management, how to work as a team, how to work alone, how to be a leader, how to power through when you've really screwed something up, competition, physical fitness to the extreme (did you know walking 18 holes is usually 6 miles!), inner calmness, and a myriad of other things that I don't even know about because I don't golf often enough.

I love golfing with Luke. He is a patient and kind teacher even though his pupil may be less than desirable. I truly believe that golf courses are the most beautiful places on this earth (next to beaches). It's quiet, green, and lovely. Until someone drops an f-bomb and a hybrid club comes flying through the tree line towards your head.

It's been a challenge to get pictures of Luke golfing in tournaments.
1. Because of that 6 miles mentioned above.
2. Because every dang tournament happens to fall on a day I work.
3. Because the sound of camera's and mom yelling 'Cheese' are very unwelcome in this serene backdrop.

Finally I made it happen though. He had a High School tournament at Hobble Creek Golf Course a few weeks ago so I planned accordingly and followed him for the 6 miles and 6 hours of entertainment. My Dad joined me for this sojourn because he has been a huge part in Luke's golf education. They have spent countless hours together learning the in's and out's of this sport. They often sneak away to St. George for a weekend of nothing but.

Currently his team is in second place in their region, behind by 15 strokes. They have one more regular season match at Soldier Hollow next week, then it's on to State

Keep up the good work bud. Someday I'll be coming to watch you play in Ireland or Hawaii or something.
Go MMHS!

Sister Trouble in Texas

2011-09-19T10:17:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about having kids a little older, more independent, and mature, is that it frees up time for Mom to do her own thing once in a while. One of these rare, beautiful instances occurred just last weekend. I was able to take my 5 days off and go stay with my little Sister in her new home town of Austin TX. This is my third trip to Austin. The first was mostly busy with bridal fittings, remodeling her newly purchased home, and some quick fun with a girlfriend I had dragged along. The second was completely consumed with Wedding Hoopla. This time was total fun, relaxation, and bonding time.

We started our trip with a lazy evening at home. I cooked. She ate. Lots of leftovers to keep her nourished. We stayed up late catching up and watching a movie in our jammies, and eating ice cream out of the containers. What better way to spend an evening?

On Saturday we decided to spend the 103 degree day at Barton Creek. This is a local swimming hole where musician's can be heard, nudists are sometimes spotted, weird guys do Yogalates on the pool deck, and co-eds try their hardest to be seen. What an eclectic group. Count on Austin for that! We laughed often.

Later that night I am ashamed to admit was used up watching college football. I know, I know. This was a girls trip! We should be at the spa or something, right? I couldn't miss my beloved Utes vs USC game, and University of Texas just happened to be hosting BYU while I was there so I wanted to watch that too! Pathetic. I am truly a product of my house full of men. We found a quiet local sports bar, watched both games at the same time while sampling about 5 different types of appetizers and beverages. I think we left a permanent imprint of our butts on their leather sofa.

Sunday dawned a new day. After a lazy sleep-in morning and coffee on the deck, we managed to shower and went to Magnolia Cafe for breakfast. Delish as always. It's become a tradition. We spent the remainder of the afternoon cruising shops and vintage stores on South Congress. I fulfilled a dream of hunting down the 'perfect' cowboy boots in Texas. It was pretty dang easy. LOTS to choose from. Just looked for the ones in my price range and color palette. And yes, in case your wondering, they did 'speak to me'. Love them already. Have worn them 4 times since I've returned home. Great investment.

Lynsey snagged her first pair also as you can see in the pic.

We also sampled some delicacies from the local 'trailer food lot'. We had carrot cake cupcakes, and sno-cones flavored with Iced Tea!

Went to the Oasis on Lake Travis that evening for Margaritas with a side of Guacamole and Pico De Gallo. This was supposed to be a pre-dinner festivity, but of course we stuffed ourselves and had no room for more!

That night we went to an outdoor showing of 'Ferris Beullers Day Off' in downtown Austin. Parked our car, walked a few short blocks to the venue, watched the movie, walked back to the car...car not there. Walked a 2 mile radius adjacent to where we remembered parking. Car still not there. Saw other dumb-founded people holding camping chairs. Discovered that the area that we had parked had been recently re-signed for Austin Police Dept. from the hours of 10 PM - 2 AM. Shiz. Called the police. Caught a cab to the impound lot. Laughed nervously. Sprung the car from car jail. Finally made it home. Laughed a lot more the next morning. Total damage... $225.00 for not properly acknowledging the new sign.
Lynsey's Mug Shot

Lynsey had to work Monday morning so I spend the day making more food to stock her cupboard just like a big sister should. Later that day we went for a walk along the lake to see where Austin City Limits (huge music festival) would be held the following weekend. I don't know how people in Texas manage to exercise in that heat! I was melting just going for a leisurely walk and people were doing hard core running and biking around us. Crazies! Had to find air conditioning quick so went to Abels on the Lake for cocktails and Oysters... yum!

Grabbed a quick dinner at P Terrys (Austins answer for In n Out) then went back to South Congress bridge to watch the bats fly...(google it). After schlepping home we watched a little Monday Night Football so I could see how my Fantasy team was doing (beat-ya Luke), looked at miles and miles of wedding photography negatives, and watched another movie!

Sisters are like no-one else. You can laugh with them & cry with them. Get into trouble with them. I love my sister like no other. Even though we are 11 years apart in age, we are painfully alike in spirit. I loved having this special time with my sister, and hope to repeat it annually. Prepare yourself APD.

Love your guts Lynsey Lou...

First day of School!

2011-09-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

I guess it's required to do a first day of school post so here I go.
First day of school this year was a mixture of emotions. (mostly relief and happiness) We truly had the best summer ever. Lots of milestones this year. Luke turned 16 and became not such a chore for me to haul around. Love his new independence and maturity. He budgets his own time and money now. He is never late for curfew (unless getting pulled over by a suspicious copper). He always checks in when he gets home. He is oh-so-busy being a responsible, involved, teenager. Can't tell you how thankful I am that we have pushed him through life, and he has tons of his own drive, to get him to this point. High School, where he is busy 5 days a week with MMHS golf team (which is currently in 1st place in their region), and 3 days a week with super league soccer. My only problem with Luke is putting weight on him. He is lean and strong and so busy that he forgets to eat. He also gets all his homework done without being prodded, has recently gained a tolerability for reading, and is often seen helping his friends with their homework. Love him. Proud of him. Can't wait to see what his future holds.
Jake was apprehensive to start school this year which is new for him. He has always been my 'no fear' type kid. I think this new found shyness is linked to our fabulous summer and not wanting to let it go! Once there though, he quickly got involved in things that interest him (orchestra not being one of them). I think he digs being the oldest grade in the school. Having an A and B day just like Luke. He has mentioned several times that he wants to go in and meet with the principle and propose having 'Hat Day' more than once a year. I think this is a wonderful show of leadership. Being the smart Mom I am, I told him to go tell her she happens to look lovely in hats and he would like to see what else she can pull off! Baseball is still running his extra time slots, but not nearly as busy as in the spring. Wade has promised him if he can pitch a No Hitter this season he will take him to see a San Francisco Giants game this year. Lofty goal but totally reachable for this kid. Favorite day so far for Jake? Playing a team with kids 2 years older and 3 feet taller than him. Striking them out. Picking them off on first base. Making them cry. Stud.
Zac is a party animal at heart and hates being cooped up for long. He can still be heard at 9 PM yelling "I don't want to go to school tomorrow!" You can imagine how much sympathy that cry receives in this house. His teacher seems great though, and I'm sure will help him and I through another year. It's a wonderful thing when you can e-mail a teacher about a reading level error in the morning, and get a response and proper level reading material home that afternoon. Zac is also FINALLY on his own little super league baseball team. He has dreamed of this moment for a cagillion days and nights. His new team is the Spanish Fork Extreme, and as their colors are orange and blue, he has a new found love for anything and everything orange! As any 8U player, he has alot of work to do, but has already made a few great outs from third, and is battling at every at bat. My favorite part of the deal? Not having him pester me every 5 minutes at the ballpark! My other favorite part? Watching my baby boy belong to a group, work hard at something, make new friends, and learn to win and loose. Not so favorite part? Missing all of Jake's games because I'm in another time zone chaperoning Zac. So is the life of me.

The only pix allowed at my house on this First day of school...

A self portrait using the 'rule of 3's' for digital photography class...

goofing off with friends in digital photography class... (sorry about the teenage birdie finger)

Lake Powell 11.0

2011-08-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed that I have a plethora of Lake Powell posts. So as not to get confused I have decided to name them by their year. Brilliant... I know. Stop the presses. Local woman comes up with a doosie.

So here we are in 2011 and after a long wait we were finally able to coordinate a weekend on the Lake with Wade's family. (some of them. it's impossible to all be there because of the family business) It was soooooo good. Easily my favorite part was watching Lynn and Bryce relive their earlier days on the Lake and act like bonafide children again. Here you will live a day in the life at Lake Powell. Can I just pre-empt this with what a joy it is to have a decent camera to capture these precious moments surrounded by beautiful scenery!

Bryce agrees with me

Cliff jumping kid style with Uncle Greg

Blue-eyed Kole happy as a clam as long as he had a bottle and a lid to play with

Jake, Zac, Ellie and Jett on the tube

Lynn enjoying tons of uninterrupted time with her grandkids

We spent every morning doing the obligatory sandhill trip, lots of fun there, especially the last day when a Varsity Scout group from Kansas let the kids slide down their houseboat slide for an hour... I think we wore out our welcome!

Saige, Jett, and Ellie running towards the splash down

Bryce and Paiton burying themselves in the sand

Jake too...
Lexi not to be left out...

We would let the kids tube and play for a bit then find a nice beach somewhere to dig, play, and eat lunch.

play a little paddle ball

and the kids would surf and swim

We would find a nice cool shady cliff to rest under for a bit

Then on to Antelope Point Marina for some 'kiddie pool' time for the young ones, including ice cream, and some drinks and air conditioning for the adults.

Spinning contest with Grandpa
Zac and Jett regaining their equilibrium after so much spinning

Greg being asked by some poor pathetic Europeans to take them wakeboarding. He was so sympathetic and really wanted to take them.

After everyone was sufficiently rested we were off for some early evening boarding and surfing. No surfing pix this year since I was busy driving the boat, but here are a few of our boarders.

First Jake

Then Zac getting a little air with the help of Uncle Greg. (Zac finally got up on the wakeboard solo this year but didn't get very far. We're hoping to master it by the end of the summer)
Our evenings were spent having dinner, stocking up on supplies at the local Wal-Mart (we always needed something!) and then usually a campfire with smores and showers at the Campground Restrooms. The camera never made it out of the boat so you will have to use your imagination for those pictures. (don't go as far as the showers though, you'll regret it)

On our last day we took advantage of the Marina Pool for awhile after moving Jodi's campsite. We had to be on the road by 2:00 so chose the less busy of the 2 water options.

My Jake soaking in the last of our sun

My Zac (holding his favorite Lake Powell treat, Easy Cheese. I refuse to buy it any other time. 1. because it's disgusting 2. because it's expensive 3. because it's nutrient free)

My Man doing what he does best, something techie.

Pointing out which Houseboats we want to own someday..... Dream on!
Goodbye to the Lake that we love so much... until next year.

Hold the phone. Just noticed not a single photo of my gorgeous Sis in Laws in my post. I promise they were there so here you are.

Jodi loving on her sleeping Kole. She is my hero because she braved 4 days at the Lake with 3 kids under the age of 6 sans hubbie. What a woman!

Leslie with Greg. ( I claim it's out of focus not because I'm a bad photographer, but because she is so little it's hard to focus on her )
Sayonara lake dwellers. Had a great time with you. Lots of love!!!

Blog to Print

2011-08-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

I am a Groupon Nerd... so when I recently came across a Groupon for a company that take's your blog postings and converts them to a hard back book I was psyched! It was $12 for a $25 book. I went into it knowing full well that I had alot more than $25 worth of book to print. I have been blogging for 3 years now! I went whole hog and had them print the whole kit n' caboodle. It cost me $52 total with my coupon, shipping, etc. for a 135 page book! It also reached me in about a week. That's like a 3 year journal that I never had to put a pen to. We live in a modern society, and this blog thing is as close to journaling as I'll ever get. If you ever run across one of these deals I highly recommend it. My family has been having fun reading this look that's all about the last 3 years of our lives... highs and lows.

PS. The company is called Sharedbook and here is a little photo of my final product!

My All Star

2011-07-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

This week Jake was invited to play in an All Star game. 30 boys in his age group were invited from the state of Utah. It was held at the BYU baseball/softball complex. The first day was a series of skills challenges. Speed off the bag, pitching speed, fielding accuracy, running speed, hitting velocity etc. He did a really great job and was thrilled to find out that out of the 30 he pitches 5th fastest clocked at 56 MPH. The fastest thrower was 63 MPH and he outweighed Jake by a mere 134 lbs. Pound for pound my little man throws a mean ball. The following day they split the boys into 3 teams and let them vs each other moving them around a lot to different positions. They got to play in the indoor training facilities for their first game and on the softball field for their second game. Beautiful facilities, well run program, all around great experience!

Jake's up to bat...

Jake's behind the mound...

Who would have thought I'd ever catch a picture of my son in a BYU dugout of all places?

The score of their final game. They won both but this one was a bit of a spanking.

My favorite pic of all. True life David vs Goliath. My little 68 lb stud vs his 202 lb opponent. That kid is bigger than the coach!

2 of my favorite Jake quotes...
"Being small just means you have to work twice as hard."
"I am 68 lbs of pure power!"

gotta love that confidence.... Love you bud!

Lava Adventures

2011-07-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had an opportunity to go camping at Lava Hot Springs with friends and family. Having never been there I didn't really know what to expect, but Lori was well informed and had done a lot of research so we packed up our camping gear and headed to Idaho.
She made us a great campsite reservation that was central to everything. The River was a stones throw, the pool was a short jaunt, and the grocery store (where morning coffee was appreciated) was a mere 5 minute stroll. Lava was like going back in time to a dusty little town where everything is within walking distance, shoes cost $3.00, and they run out of tater tots at the local restaurant.

Grandma and Grandpa were even up for the trip, only theirs involved being turned away from their Hotel reservation at 11:00 at night.
Morning Chow Line... Gma & Gpa made delicious breakfast burrito's

One of the boys favorite activities... anytime of the day or night... was to go sit in the warm water being spewed from these rocks. The river was dang cold, but the water here was toasty I hear.

Our days were filled mostly with pool time. Lava has an Olympic sized pool with 4 diving boards, 3 dive platforms ranging in height from 15 feet to 33 feet (OUCH!!), toddler sized slides, pre-teen sized slides, and adult sized slides. We did them all, several times.

Jake and Zac tandem jumping... Jake high, Zac low

waiting in line for their turn...

Justin and Loree chillin' it in the sun...

Friends Marianne & Jeremy with their boys Oakley and Gage watching the diving chaos.

Luke braving the high platform.

A triumphant escape

Jake and Zac jumping from platform #1 (they did both eventually do #2, but Mom wouldn't let them venture up to #3)

Not to be outdone Nash jumping from up high... point your toes and cross your arms and legs!!!

Zac is ready to become a man and handle knives and things laced with testosterone so Justin and Bodie were gracious enough to teach him how to whittle with a pocketknife. He spent hours on that stick only to loose it the morning we left to come home. :(

As camping requires, we spent lots of hours sitting around the campsite chatting about summertime subjects, spraying down Shelbie with Solarcaine, feeding Jeremy antihistamines when he had an allergic reaction to corn, etc.

We talked in to the wee hours of the morning (which when you're nearing 40 means around 11:00 PM) even outlasting some of the kids.
Here's Zac snug as a bug in a pink blankie.

Our last day was supposed to be river rafting day. I've either failed as a mother, or succeeded because my boys were scared to death of the thought of it. I have spent the entire summer warning them against the dangers of moving waters and to stay as far away from them as possible. Then I put them in a tube, shove them down a river, and tell them to "Have Fun!" Needless to say, they were freaked and one time was all it lasted.
Others are braver than we... here they are tubing

and exiting the river

As I get older I find myself fonder and fonder of the 'Hotel vacations'. I knew it would come eventually. I am my mothers daughter. I do still enjoy a good camping trip now and then though and this one ranked up there. Love spending quality time with my big bro. Love eating corn on the cob straight off the grill. Love watching my dog be muddy for 4 days with a big smile on her furry little face. Love listening to my biggest boob, Luke, complain about everything camping related. Not love the 5 hours rainstorm we endured on our last night.

Later lava...

PS. My favorite part of the trip was the Hot Mineral Pools. I highly recommend them and would love to go back and sit in them when there is snow about!

Luke is 16!!!

2011-07-17T13:28:00.001-07:00

Luke is finally 16! We celebrated his big day with a surprise Birthday party in his honor. There was about 50 people there including friends and family. His best friend Lewis and Grandpa Greg helped us out by taking him golfing, then delivering him to the party at the appropriate time. I think he was mildly surprised. In these high tech days we live in it's hard to keep secrets. I sent all the invitations out via Evite and tried to field all the RSVP's before he could steal my laptop and find them himself. He caught me texting his friend one night so his suspicions started. Oh well, we did the best we could with a very computer savvy boy hot on our trail.

Me and my big boy on his special night... that's his car he bought over my left shoulder.

We had a mobile Laser Tag company come set up a Laser Tag field for us so everyone would have something to do besides be gluttonous. It was hilarious watching us all run around with goofy headsets on, but even funnier was how serious those guys who run that company are...

Some of the guys shooting the breeze...

Luke and his second BFF...Grandpa Greg...

Grandma and Grandpa Sumsion. All of Luke's family was there (with the exception of Josh in LA, and Lynsey in Austin... bad excuses)

Wade used his highly honed funeral director skills and made a video tribute of Luke, it was a great reminder of what a great kid he has always been. Brought tears to the eyes of many.

Everybody enjoying their grub. We had a bbq with lots of salads and a brownie tower. Thanks a ton to everyone that helped! There's Gma Leah and Gpa Stewart!

My handsome boy with his Gma Lynn...

Family having some nice time to visit in a beautiful setting at Canyon View Park.

Sami holding baby Kole...

More Laser Tag...

Me and Luke's friend Haley doing our best Charlies Angels pose...

Blowing out the candles on the brownie tower...

We love you Luke. You are a talented, dependable, smart, hardworking, sensitive, sweet boy. You have a wonderful future ahead of you. We will always be here to be you're biggest cheerleaders and to push you through life and make you be your best. Always believe in yourself and never let anyone change your sensitive personality into anything less. Happy Birthday!!!

Ivins Family Time

2011-06-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

We had some family time recently at the Ivins house. Mom, Dad, Me with Jake and Zac, Justin and Loree with Shelbie, Nash, and Bodey. It was a full house full of love and fun!

We rarely eat out when we're together. Too many good cooks in the kitchen! This is breakfast ala Greg (homemade blueberry buttermilk pancakes....yummy)
Mom, Dad and I had spent 3 hours the evening before hanging those blasted pendant lights. Not as easy as they look, but well worth it. They replaced the most hideous 70's track lights you have ever seen.

Lexi and Molly "Bacon please Jake?" Before breakfast we had taken a hike up Red Mountain, that's why the dogs are a slight pinkish hue.

500...but don't dive for the ball in the cactus!

We managed a little garage clean-up time somewhere in between all of our laziness. That is a ton of home improvement refuge. Hint to the wise, the land fill in Washington County doesn't charge to dump! And they have huge recycling bins there. Mom managed to smuggle out a few recyclables and placed them in the appropriate bins as Justin sped away yelling "See ya later Tree Hugger!"

Bodey is lovin' him some hose action...

The temperature, especially at night was such a stark difference from home that the kids opted to sleep out one night. We were making bets on who would be in on the couch first, but low and behold... they all made it through the night! (PS. Nash and Jake are the studs roughing it without air mattresses)

Next day the while Mom and Dad did their religious duty and the Justin and Nash hit the golf course, the rest of us went to hike the narrows. Jake had longed to do this for quite some time and absolutely loved it. I think he went up and down that crack about 8 times.

Red Rock Beauties... Loree and Shelbie

The kids posing 'Indian Style' at a man improved ruin... the cement roof gave it away.

I dig this tree that is growing right at the entrance of the narrow. How something can thrive in those conditions is beyond me but I love it. Green leaves against red rocks is one of my favorites. I am the tree hugger in this scenario.

Me braving the narrow after watching the kids do it a few times. Loree assessing the situation and deciding that her appendages won't allow her that particular adventure ;-)

Random cute pic of Jake, I liked the yellow blooms in the background.

Before going home the girls took some girlie time and did pedicures. We all went home with cute toes to remember our trip by. Butterfly...Flutterby...

These are the days of our lives...the times we remember fondly...the ones we always try to recapture, but never fully appreciate when we're in the middle of them.

Oh wait just a sec... last but not least. As I was finishing this post I realized there was not a single photo of Nash included so I began to search, long and hard, and my search was fruitful. He will hate me for this but here ya go. The only picture I managed to get of this crafty camera-dodging lad. NASH!!! Reading a book in his jammies.

Easter '11

2011-04-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter 2011! Here are a few highlights of our day.

Stuffed baskets on Easter morning... my boys are not traditional 'Peeps' and 'Chocolate Bunny' eaters. We opt for things like Pringles, Pepsi, and Beef Jerky...

I don't think it's ever been warm enough at our house for an outdoor Easter Egg Hunt, here are the little boys hunting for eggs in the basement...

On to Grandma Patsy's for Lunch and fun, couldn't resist the strawberries with chocolate in the background... yummy!

windowsill eggcellence

Ready... set... go! We all push each other down to find our designated color and style of eggs, this woman is organized! We had to be de-breifed before the hunt.

Shelbie stuffed a ton of 'Confetti Eggs' and we had an egg fight with them... So cute before.

So fun to throw at each other...

So messy afterwords!

Then we were on to Grandma Lynn's for more yummy food, and another Easter Egg Hunt.

Zac is thrilled with the amount of yummy treats he finds inside.

We hope everyone had a happy day and took a moment to remember Jesus!

Late Spring Snow

2011-04-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

During the recent late Spring snowstorm, Lexi and I snuck outside with the new camera to sneak a few pics.

Here's my cute orange beach bike, covered in 6 inches of heavy wet snow...

Sunshine and snow?

Lexi adores rolling in fresh snow. The only problem is it forms huge snowballs in her fur which take hours to melt fireside.

Ironically I had just planted pansies in a few pots the day before... serves me right!

My fluffy little lambs ear plant suffered a bit in the weather.

Colorfest 2011

2011-04-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

The boys and I went to Colorfest this year! It was a rockin good time for a Sunday afternoon in Utah County! Live Music, big crowds, and fun fun fun!

We were... in a word... filthy when we got home. It was well worth it though, even the pink hair I was stuck with for about 2 weeks.

Luke went very begrudgingly, not his scene. (probably was his scene just not with his Mom and brothers)

We were all pretty much bullied into this by Jake. He wanted desperately to go. It was raining and cold so I tried to get out of it but alas, we went and had a ton of fun.

Zac loves anything that involves getting dirty. His smile is a testament to his jolly good time.

Snowy St George

2011-02-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we started our years worth of Rebels Baseball! We traveled to Sunny (ha ha) St George for the President's day Tournament. The boys started out a bit rusty, but quickly worked out the kinks and went three for three on the first two days. Needless to say it was not warm and beautiful like we hoped it would be. The tournament ended out being rained out which was a total bummer because the Rebels were the first seed going into championship day!

Jake is one serious little base stealer, watch out wheels!!

I am loving my new Rebel zoom zoom camera. I can get such great pics from clear out in the field!

This is the picture Jake let me post of him pitching. Apparently it's a good picture showing his pitching balance and mechanics. Pitching Coach Dan would be proud...

Coach Wade cheering on his little men, they did great!!!

Jake stretching for that hit!

Rehydration...

Another sweet pitching capture. Check out the way that arm revs up!

We spent a little time working on some projects in the Ivins house, hung some new lights, washed some used tiles for future bathroom remodels, got another bed in the house, shower rods and curtains, etc.

Still no TV so the boys entertained themselves in the bad weather by playing games on their I-touch's. Their favorite was 'Words with Friends' which is fine with me! Expanding vocabulary and learning spelling disguised in a game... great!

Sunday morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow...the kids were disappointed, but it proved to be very photographic!

Heavy snow laden Palm tree in the back yard...

Chilled Agave...

Frosted Cactus Blooms...

My fellow photographer and cousin Mandy!

Powdered Sugar Scenery...

Next up Arizona in 3 weeks!!! It better be warm...

Little Sis Gets Hitched

2011-02-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is a very late post on a very fun time of my life. My baby Sister got married in Austin, TX on January 8th. Wade and I packed up the boys and our dressy clothes, hopped on a plane, and had a wild weekend in Texas. Night 1 was Bachelor and Bachelorette parties... enough said...

This is the morning after photo. We are on our way to pick up Lynseys dress!

It was my first time seeing her in it so I was a little weepy, as were we all. The poor seamstress was overrun by 8 of us descending upon her tiny little shop. It was pretty intense learning how to bustle that dress up with needle nose pliers in 9 different places and knowing I would have to remember how to do it under pressure. Thankfully, we pulled it off without a hitch.

Even with no make-up on and hair on a pony, you could tell she was going to be beautiful!

There was also a very complicated criss-cross bustier type back on it. There are better pix later that display this. Mom was in heaven.

That night was the rehearsal outdoors at the venue. It was a beautiful warm night and we got to practice our parts (belly button to the bride) and enjoy a sunset at the same time.

Is it just me, or do they both look a little freaked out in this one?

As you can see, a gorgeous setting for an outdoor wedding, right along the riverfront.

And a gorgeous sunset to boot!

After the rehearsal we all piled in cars and cabs and went to the Rehearsal Dinner. Good food, wine, family, and new friends!

Justin and Loree getting all lovey-dovey.

The proud parents of the Bride the night before her wedding, cool as cucumbers.

The day of the wedding dawned sunny and beautiful, though storms had been threatening in the forecast all week. Alas, we had faith and forged on with the outdoor plans. The afternoon for the females of the Bridal Party was spent in the bridal suite for wedding preparations.

Big Sis doing Little Sis's toenails. Hold still Kitty Kitty.

Mimosa's anyone?

What naughty little thing are you gonna wear tonight Lynsey?

Final touches on the princess by Laura, our beautician magnifique!

Finally it was time to get the ball rolling. After an impromptu serenade down the elevator of "Going to the Chapel" We were all grinning from ear to ear and ready to party! (especially Mom and Sis)

Inside was all set up in all shades of cream and greens with candles everywhere. Gorgeous.

Lynsey's not-so-typical wedding cake... The French Opera... my taste buds thank her.

The flowers were designed by Lynsey's boss, Benoit. They were in a word, Spectacular. There is much buzz about them landing a spot in a bridal magazine layout.

This is the aisle before many people had arrived yet.

And here we go! My handsome parents...

The Bridal party all lined up and ready to go. (No one fell down the stairs, phew)

Here comes the Bride, with her Daddy going very slowly and watching her every move.

Ahhh, Finally, there she is

And they're married! Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy. Such a glowing happy couple.

My handsome family was very patient throughout the entire weekend. They had to fend for themselves in an unfamiliar city for things to do as Mom was busy with the Bride. I will be eternal grateful for them never once asking why I couldn't come with them. They knew how important it was to me to share this time with my sister and allowed me to do it. I have beautiful memories that I will treasure always...

My kids labeled Lynsey's wedding as the funnest ever. There was incredible food, music, dancing, cake, beautiful girls to oogle at and fireworks at the end of the night. What could be better?

My Dad, always the life of the party, leading the train...

Mi Amore

Cutting the cake

More dancing

My favorite picture from the night. Me and my Siblings!!!

Grandpa giving every kid in the building a piggy-back dance.

Jake being paid $20 to ask the hottest girl in the room t0 dance.

Line up properly and well balanced please and we shall show them off with sparklers.

Off into the night they go, following the twinkly lights to their happy future together.

You're Big Sis loves you dearly Lyns

Christmas Day Delights 2010

2010-12-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Day was as usual, wonderful and exciting. We started with our wake up @ 4:45 by the little ones. Luke begged them for a few more hours to no avail. It was messy, chaotic, sleep deprived fun. We played games, visited with family, watched movies, had lots of yummy things to fill our bellies, and crashed helplessly into bed about 10 PM. Here's a few highlights of the boys loot...

Zacs new big barrel bat, strange that was the only wish of our & year old, I think we're in trouble

Jake looking about with Lexi trying to figure out why Mom would allow such a mess...

Lexi and our stay-over friend Demitra getting their Christmas morning loves...

Wade's favorite gift, a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign Luke made, apparently we have thin walls...

Jake's new baseball glove...time to get ready for a new season!

Luke's bright and obnoxious snowboarding jacket, It's 1980 all over again...

Me getting new slippers and a squeeze from Jake...

Jake's new shoes...

Zac's remote control car...

Luke and more clothes... it will be a re-occuring them throughout the day.

Nerf gun wartime

Sushi night at Mom's

Brand new Kitchen to play in!

Zac's new Jazz Jersey & Boston hat

Jake's new lifesize poster of himself, needless to say, he loved it.

yes, more clothes..

Everyone went to bed happy and fulfilled. It was a great day filled with family and fun, just the way we like it! Now let's put away the Christmas decorations and get cleaning!!!

A Grandma Lynn Christmas Extravaganza!!!

2010-12-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

Last night was our Annual Christmas Party at Grandma Lynns. The kids were very ready, and very anxious, and were not disappointed. Grandma had lots of activities planned for them to keep them busy, and lots of food to keep the adults busy.

The 'little ones' making snowmen place settings...

Zac's version complete with a giant Z...

Playing games waiting for the big guy to arrive...

still waiting patiently....

Ahhh, yes finally he arrives. I love the excitement and wonder that Zac feels right here. You can read it all over his face...

Luke is a very good sport, even though he is crushing Santa...

Jake is a bit unsure, but is nice about it for his Grandma's sake (and to get a present)...

And I couldn't help but add this little pic. We had a great snowstorm the day after dropping about a foot of snow on us. Zac has wanted to make a snowman for a month and finally got to accomplish his goal with the help of his big brother Luke. Our Snowman looks a bit sad, maybe because he knows Lexi is going to relieve herself on him any moment. Tee Hee Hee.

And now for my Christmas wish, I hope that dear Santa brings me a new camera so I can finally get some decent photo's of my handsome boys. Wish...Wish...Wish...Wish...Wish...

Jakey G & his Surgery (#4)

2010-12-20T15:56:00.001-08:00

Jake had his 4th ear surgery on December 8th. It was a bit more brutal this time. We are hoping that this newest of eardrums will stay in tact and be good to him. It is killing him to not be able to practice and play baseball with his team. I am determined to keep him somewhat sedentary for a month or so!

He is back to his normal self now but this is what it was like before surgery...
(boy doesn't go anywhere without his baseball hat. The Anesthesiologist chatted with him awhile, saw that his team color was red, and make sure that all his IV sites were wrapped in red coban)

This is him right when he got back from surgery. He was pretty miserable but much calmer this time. They must have added some magic juice (Ativan) to his IV...

This is a closeup of his Frankenstein stitches the day after surgery. They look really good right? Well, to me they do. Normally Jake is a showoff, but he was not fond of me making him show everyone his rad stitches.

All in all it went pretty well. He is on his way to recovery, and hopefully high altitude flying in a few weeks! His longterm wellness goal is to be ready to play hard core baseball in March in AZ.

Lovers in Chicago

2010-11-20T15:10:00.001-08:00

If you are busy do not continue, If you have time read on.....
This will be a doosey. I think I just loaded 25 pics. Too many good ones to choose.
Wade and I made the long haul to watch the Utah Utes vs. Notre Dame Irish game last weekend. It would be an understatement to say that the game was anything less than an utterly abysmal disappointment, but the trip was anything but. We had SUCH a great time!!! Wade has always been a beach vacationer, but I may have opened his eyes to a whole new world of travel this time.

We stayed at a darling little Boutique Hotel called the Indigo in the Gold Coast area. It was right in the hub of all the action. A walk away from most everything, but still super safe. It was situated right in the middle of a road lined by brownstones. My favorite! Also only a few city blocks from the water front.

Our lobby...take notice of the painted ceiling and beachlike motif which continued throughout.

The BIGGEST Adirondack chair ever!!!

Our cute little room. Loved the hardwood floors, giant bed, cozy little reading area, and seashell wallpaper. It even had a pint sized Keurig Coffee Maker...just like home.

This was my favorite of the white brick neighbors...could you just die at the cuteness?

Walking towards the stadium @ Notre Dame. This is a beautiful campus. So full of history and tradition. This pond is situated right on the cusp of the dorms, administration buildings, and stadium. What a beautiful time to visit also. The fall is just so footballish.

This is the 'Golden Dome' building which houses mostly administrative offices but also a few classrooms. It is 4 stories high and the interior of the dome is painted Michelangelo style. Absolutely breathtaking. We happened to stumble in just as people were piling up to watch the traditional trumpet playing of the school fight song. Check the end of this post for a video of that.

They are c.r.a.z.y for their football team. I kept looking around for Rudy Rutiger...

The interior of the stadium. They have so many fans that they had the Utes fans, band, and cheer and dance teams all shoved into this corner. We were out in full force though! I frequently heard the Irish fans saying "I can't believe how many Ute fans are here!" I have to give them credit for being the nicest people ever. Every single person you made eye contact with said "Welcome to Notre Dame!"....(Far cry from Utah's traditional greeting 'You suck, get the he** out of here!')

It literally rained, not just a sprinkle, but dumped rain on us for the entire first 3 quarters. We were very fortunate to be dressed warm and had our Utah poncho's! The only cheer heard from the Utah section was when Wynn came out for a few downs, and when the sun appeared!

Here we are, all lined up in our plastic glory...funny eh!

After witnessing such a horrible display of football we awoke the next day hoping to see some real plays being made on the field. Go Bears!!! They did not disappoint. The Vikings and Brett Favre went DOWN. In retrospect we may have witnessed in person the last football game Favre will every play. That's pretty cool.

Wade's lifelong dream fulfilled, he finally got to go to Soldier Field.

Once again it was freaking cold, but the sun was out, and the sky was blue, so we were not about to complain!

Da Bears Field...

My cute hubby having the time of his life. Bless his heart he kept turning and asking me if I was OKand If I wanted to leave yet. I was not about to rob him of a single minute of his dream so we stayed for the entire game.

More beautiful architecture (it will be peppered throughout this post as not to overwhelm you all at once) This is the Chicago Public Library.

We took a rainy nighttime stroll to dinner that night. So romantic!

The next day Wade was the ultimate in good sports and spent the entire day sightseeing and shopping with me. We probably walked 10 miles that day. This is the view from the 96th floor of the Jefferson Building. My ears popped 4 times going up that elevator...creepy. It actually made me a bit nauseous just being up there long enough to have a drink. I don't know how people work everyday in buildings that high.

Stained Glass windows at a beautiful downtown Catholic Church.

The 96th floor again...Wade is just happy to finally be in something besides Nordstrom Rack. It was a girls dream!

Later that day we visited the 'Millenium Park' which is the home of the Cloud Gate Sculpture or 'The Bean' as dubbed by Chicago-ites. To me it is simply photo op after photo op. We had a blast playing and posing and being goofy children around the Bean.

Wade as a double starfish...

The Chicago Skyline as reflected off the Bean...

That is one heavy Bean...

The Full Bean...you have really shiny flatulence for the remainder of the day...he he.

This is the Pritzker Pavillion which I imagine is the home of endless music and dance performances when the weather is good. For us it was just a beautiful structure with a mass of lawn in its shadow.

After the park we took a romantic evening stroll along the waterside. We were able to see the Navy Pier (which would be great fun for kids but we had better things to see) and a lot of abandoned boat docks. Very nice walk with my boyfriend.

That is Navy Pier in the background...

The Belltower on another beautiful Chicago building...

While walking about we kept seeing people walking around with these 'Garretts Popcorn' bags. Being the nosy folks we are and not wanting to miss a thing we did what any curious person would do...we Googled it. Apparently it's one of those things that Oprah is always blabbing about. We found the nearest location (which happened to be a block away) and partook. Can I just say...damn good popcorn! Oprah got that one right. Who would have thunk that a carmel-cheese combo corn would be so delicious. He walked right in to the Coach Handbag store with that thing and shared it with the hungry sales girls!

The next day we were going to do an architectural tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but couldn't find a cab all morning...apparently some big convention had just rolled into town and it was a big Muslim holiday also that day. No cabbies to be had. We decided to just explore some of the brownstones and low and behold... I found my home! Don't I look great in it? Taking monetary donations now. With each $10,000 donation you get to come spend a week with me! Any takers?!?

Chicago is a wonderful city and I am so proud to be able to cross it off my list. I am so lucky to have a Husband that likes to travel with me. He is the best companion a girl could ever want! Thanks Baby!!!

St.George for Halloween!

2010-11-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

We just returned from our weekend trip to St.George for yet another baseball tournament. We got to do a little remodeling on the vacation home in Ivins while we were there. We tore out some carpet, got new carpet laid, and set up a bedroom. It was fun to have an actual house to stay in instead of a hotel. Home cooked meals, a yard for the kids to play in, and Lexi got to come! Here are some pix of our adventures....

We brought a few extra kids with us whose parents couldn't make it. This is Jake, Zac, Skiler, and Jordan playing Jenga in their 'man room'...

This is the bedroom before...

during...

and after....

Since there is no table and chairs yet we ate all of our meals picnic style in camp chairs...

We also managed to watch the Ute game white trash style, on camp chairs with the laptop propped up on the kitchen counter....

After a full day of baseball games the kids and I played some Halloween Bingo...

We had half a day to play on Saturday before games started so the boys went hiking up Red Mountain while Dad & Wade hit Home Depot, and Mom and I hit the furniture stores...

the boys playing in the 'Princess' jumping castle at the Tuacahn Farmers Market...

Lexi's first time at a Dog Park... (as god is my witness, Spanish Fork will have one of these before I die)

Jake at bat...

Rebel dugout...

Zac being Zac...

Zac sitting on Grandma Lynns lap keeping her warm during a sunset game...

My baseball stud...

The kids had a great time, played some good baseball, and we had some fun in the meantime. Can't wait to return. Poor little Zac didn't want to come home. He wants to live in Ivins now. I Don't blame him, it's gorgeous! High on the 'to do' list for our next visit is walking to Tuacahn on the trail, exploring some of the cute little shops in Santa Clara, more renovations (hopefully new light fixtures and some living room furniture), and having enough time to sit around an enjoy the complete silence.......

Summer 2010

2010-10-11T14:22:00.001-07:00

As I reminisce on what made up our summer this year I want to believe that the entire summer was spent at the ball park. But alas, I have pictures to prove otherwise! We did manage to fit in some way fun things this summer. Here are some of my favorite moments.....

Pirates Cove...

Austin trip to see Lynsey...

Lake Powell pulling Wade on the surfboard ( I told him it's time to try some tricks. If I can drive the boat, look in the mirror, and take a picture without worrying that he'll biff it he's not having enough fun)

More Lake Powell (sad that we only fit in one trip this summer :(

Rebels summer-swim party at Payson Pool...

watching Zac eat an entire half watermelon in one sitting....bleh

Yuba camping trip...(do I need to remind myself about the wind? I think not)

Jake's city league team winning the Championship!

4th of July in Park City...( I highly recommend this, Their parade is da bomb)

Yes, it was a dandy. I keep reminding myself that this is probably the funnest time of my life. I have a big man, a medium man, and a little man. They are all vastly different at this point in their lives but are gloriously portable, fiercely independent, and can babysit themselves. I can only hope that somewhere hidden in all that fun there were some lessons taught, and some lessons learned, and that someday they will all grow up to be like their Dad!

Fall Fabulous Fall

2010-10-11T14:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was our Annual Halloween Party @ Grandma Lynns. Is it really almost Halloween? Holy Moly the Fall snuck up on me. I guess 90 degrees in October will do that to you. Grandma always puts so much work into this party to make it fun for adults and kids alike. We love it!

All the Grandkids, dressed up or not, minus stubborn little Jett...

Grandkids waiting to bash the crap out of that Pinata...

The craziness that happens when a paper mache witch empties her innerds...

Zac posing by our families 'Haunted Gingerbread House'... (Best Gingerbread house kit ever. Came with black icing, two colors of fondant, and orange frosting!)

Wade taking a moment to bond with his new nephew Kole... boy's still got it!
Somehow I neglected to capture photo's of the infamous Bingo game, and our always yummy soup bowls! We also had lots of spooky foods and treats to eat. Love ya Grandma Lynn!

off to see Lynsey we go!

2010-09-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Time to blog about my recent trip to Austin, TX to visit Lynsey! She has lived there for about a year now so it was high time I made the trek to see what this place is all about. Lynsey and Nick seem to love it there so I was super excited to drag Haley along for the adventure. She was a super good sport about being just thrown in with the family mix, and even endured a little hard labor one day. What a gal! We started our trip with a hellacious travel day, up at 4AM not to arrive in TX until 4PM. Sucky layover. After that it was on to see where Lynsey and Nick work and live, and to go have drinks and appetizers at 'The Oasis' overlooking Lake Travis.

We were all very happy to see each other, so much kissing ensued.
Dad is not one to be outdone so he had to get in on the kissing action. Very inappropriate, but I did keep my promise to not post it on Facebook!
The next morning Haley and I caught some much needed pool time. We girls love our pool time.
Later that day I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of being able to watch my only Sister try on Bridal Gowns. What a thrill. Keeping with the tradition of not letting the Groom see the Bride in a gown before the big day I will only post this little pic of the 5 hour endeavor. Nick this is what you're Bride's torso may look like in a gown...
Happy females enjoying the Bridal parade!

We enjoyed a late late dinner, then it was off to the infamous Sixth Street. These old girls still know how to party!

After everything closed (at 2AM) the street vendors arrive to sell food. Best Brat ever!
The next day we had a lovely brunch at 'The Magnolia Cafe' and then did a quick sightseeing car tour of the city and the University of Texas campus. When Haley started to melt (tee hee) we retired to Lynsey and Nick's for some good old manual labor in the name of remodeling. No pictures allowed of sweaty people scraping nasty texture off ceilings and ripping down cabinets.

Austin City Skyline
A small corner of the HUGE Longhorn Stadium

After that it was off for a quick burger at 'P Terry's' and off to see the bats take off at dusk. Freaking cool. They only do this for a few months in the early fall but if you can imagine 1.5 Million bats taking flight all within about 15 minutes you can try to get the jist of it. I can only compare it to the black moving fog on LOST. (with a suspicious ammonia smell attached)

The next day we had to return home to get the kiddo's ready for the first day of school. Needless to say we were a little reticent to see our trip come to an end, hence the sad faces below...

But the happy face returned when I ran into an old friend...

That's all for now. Looking forward to many return trips to this lovely city!

Pirates Cove

2010-08-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were invited to an impromptu weekend at 'Pirates Cove' which is a privately owned resort-style home in Las Vegas. 22 rooms, 25 bathrooms, 2 water slides, 3 pools, rooftop teeter-totters, pool tables, pinball machines, slot machines, foosball, fullsize gym, indoor basketball court, theater room, Grotto style bar, etc. etc. etc. The scope of this amazing property is mind boggling. I still cannot comprehend that there are people in this humble world I live in that have this kind of $. God bless Greg for being friends with them. We knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so we threw the schedule in the trash, carpe-diem'd and just went for it. The 3.5 days that ensued were so action packed that we actually came home aching all over our bodies. We truly did need a vacation from our vacation. Wah Wah... I know.

Chillin by the pool, resting from all the chaos...
my baby boy and his pool blue eyes, they swam from sun up to sun down...
Luke chillin on a floatie behind the waterfall, Lewis is back there somewhere...he's camera shy.
Jake and Zac jumping off the cliffs, they eventually advanced to the 30 Ft birdsnest above them.
Luke and Lewis trying to get the cajones to jump off the birdsnest, the little boys had to show them how... Again, Lewis is camera shy.
Some of the Mom's sitting at the bottom of the slide for video op's.
Jake wanted his picture by a pirate for his fb page. That is the house we stayed in behind him. (1 of 6)
Exhausted hot tubbing in the evening, those tiny lights you can see waaaay in the distance, still the same property. It took us hours to explore the place. Every little hallway and closet was decorated just like Pirates of the Carribean at Disneyland. I finally caught Lewis for a picture!
My favorite room out of the 22. The Voodoo Room. Totally decked out in all things black magic. There was a little journal in the night stand full of stories of strange goings on while people stayed in this room.
One of the boys in the underwater jail. There is a fishtank hiding in there also. Details, details.
The kids favorite part, unlimited slushies and ice cream cones. Zac asked me about 10 times "are you sure they're free mom?"
This is the kids pool. Can you say over the top? We spent many hours chilling in those chairs, waiting for energy and inspiration to hit us and send us back up the stairs for more sliding.
The rope swing. Many injuries occurred here. Between the swing and the big slide I think everyone walked away either bleeding or limping!
This is just a small sample of the decor in our little humble house we stayed in. Around 3000 sq ft of memorabilia, including an Indian motorcycle and a Harley Davidson. Just for looking at!

Judd jumping out of the birds nest. There are 2 more above that if that gives you an idea of the scope of the place.
Many, many sincere thanks to Greg for inviting us on this adventure. Our kids will never forget it and it will be impossible to top. Here is a video sampling of the crazy good time we had. ENJOY!

J. Walk #13

2010-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I take alot of sports photos through the year. Just thought I would post a few from this summer. This is Jake doing what Jake does best. Catching, Pitching, and Batting. His team made it to the Tournament of Champions this year and won 2 out of 4 games there. Pretty good for a 1 year old team. Only good things to come. Now if we could just figure out how to keep the parents happy. The kids seem to be just fine...

Summer so far

2010-07-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have been a very busy little lady so far this summer, but things are now starting to slow down so I thought I would update. Our summer has been filled with lazy Sunday afternoons at the Lake, baseball, baseball, and more baseball. For more on that check Jake's blog. We finally escaped for a quick little 3 day camping trip to Yuba Lake last week. Here's how it went...wind, torrential thunderstorm, river running through my tent, wind, wind, beached boat, wind, wind, bruise of a lifetime due to my 'Firedance' (don't ask), wind, wind, puking kid, wind, wind, trying to escape only to get rope stuck in the prop, wind, wind. I am not kidding here so don't let these happy little faces in these photo's fool you.

Hopefully our Lake Powell trip is more succesful.....

Theater Room is Done (well almost)

2010-05-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Why is it that remodeling projects always seem so fun when you're dreaming up the possibilities, picking out chairs, and carpet? Then it all goes to hell and you are suddenly knee deep in sawdust, electrical wire, holes in your sheet rock, and red dust EVERYWHERE! Nothing ever goes perfectly and this project was no exception. Thanks to a lot of blood, sweat, tears, heavy machinery, and good friends and family that aren't afraid of a little hard labor (Rory) we are finally enjoying our new room. This room is definitely man-tastic. It just oozes testosterone.
We still have a few small touches left like movie posters, component closet door, and one more section of countertop on the pony bar but I thought it was finished enough to post.

Here is what it has looked like for the last 10 years...

This is about midway through the construction...

This is our finished product...
wet bar
view from the back (the wall is the pony bar, it will have a black granite countertop and 4 chrome and black barstools)

view from the front, Wade and Jake are watching the Jazz Game

view from behind the front row of chairs

Although it's only a few weeks old, we have thoroughly christened our room with 4 parties so far. I'm sure there will be many to follow! If anyone wants to come watch a movie we charge a nominal fee of one Blue Ray DVD per visit. lol.

The old and The new

2010-04-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

This week I was going through all the pictures on my laptop and ran across this photo circa 2004 and I couldn't help posting a current photo of Luke playing soccer. Can you believe how much he's grown in just 6 short years?

Sunshine Tournament

2010-03-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

It's spring! We spent last weekend in sunny St. George at the March Madness tournament watching Jake & Wade's South County Rebels battle it out with teams from throughout the state of Utah. They went in as the underdogs because they are a new team, only been together for about 6 months, and 3 out of 10 of their players are brand new. They were pretty nervous going in because the teams from down South have the ability to practice outside year round, and the Rebels have been stuck practicing in a dance studio for months.
Game 1 was against a St.George team, and we managed to beat them 11-2! That was a pleasant surprise and gave the little guys some swagger in their step. The next team they played they won 11-1. Day 1 was a success, but we were looking forward to much tougher opponents on day 2.
Day 2 opened with a game against an Orem team that they have met up against before but have never won. They have a really excellent pitcher in their arsenal. They played tough all game but ended up losing by 1 point. Jake pitched half of this game and did a great job, even when it wasn't looking to good. He kept his cool and battled through. We saved our best pitcher for game 2 that day against the Synergy. They were the best team in our bracket by far and were undefeated for quite some time. The little guys went in with all they had and squeaked out a win of 11-9! Pandemonium. The coach on the other team is one of those 'career coaches' and could not believe that some no-name team just beat him! His sponsors are not going to be happy...
The 3 wins got us into the championship bracket for final game day. Basically 32 teams down to 8. They were the 8th seed so had to play the hardest team in the 9u division. They could not win against the giants from SLC, but were very proud to even be playing that day. They were very good sports, even in a few sticky situations with crazy score keepers and opposing coaches, and managed to have alot of fun in the mean time. Wade only lost his cool a few times, but promptly apologized to the players and restated his complaint in a calmer fashion. Jake is becoming one of the best little catchers around. His small stature makes it very easy for him to bounce and jump and basically catch anything that is thrown at him. His no fear attitude makes him throw his body in front of all pitches so that nothing gets by him. I overheard a coach of the SLC team tell his players that they were absolutely in no way supposed to try to steal bases that game because that catcher would get them for sure. Nothing like fear of a 62 lb 9 year old! That's my Jakey...

The baseball world can get a little too competitive and crazy, even at this young age, so we are constantly reminding the boys that we are the team that still has fun playing baseball. 8th place out of 32 teams is pretty darn good. Way to go Rebels!

Finally, remodel pictures

2010-02-12T10:28:00.001-08:00

I've been a belated blogger. Our kitchen-great room remodel has been done for months now and I have failed to post the pictures on my blog. I have had several people ask, so sorry, but here it finally is. I was stupid and posted the 'after' pictures first, but it takes too long to delete and reload them all so you get what you get. As you can see it is a dramatic transformation. We went in a totally different direction than what we previously had. The old room served us well for 10 years, but it was time for an update. Thanks to Josh for all the great ideas, and for humoring me with stupid questions like "what kind of lights should I buy?", and "does the accent chair have to be the exact same height as the sectional?". The stupid things you stress about when you're dumping a huge chunk of change into something.

My favorite parts of our new space are the glass fronted cabinets with lights behind them, the double ovens, the dark new floors, the countertops Wade picked out, and finally having seating for 7 in front of the T.V. Our cabinet guy did a fantastic job also, and was patient with us wanting everything done RIGHT NOW! It's hard not having a functioning kitchen for months and months. Also, thanks to Wade for humoring me through all my little fixations and being a terrible quality control monitor while he was doing the tile backsplash. We adore the new light, airy coastal feel of our room. So much more to do on this house though. If anyone knows of a $ tree let me know. I will let you all know what our next big project is soon, and hopefully be more punctual in posting pictures of the results.

Zoetry at Paraiso de la Bonita

2009-12-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

Time to blog about our latest adventure. Wade and I were lucky enough to spend a glorious week in Mexico last week. Thanks to our wonderful parents who are always willing to watch the boys. We went to the Zoetry Resort & Spa in Paraiso de la Bonita, which is located halfway inbetween Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Here are our favorite highlights. There are quite a few pictures so bear with me.

We spent an entire day sailing. We sailed for about 2 hours, dropped anchor on a sandbar next to a reef, then went snorkelling for about 45 min. We then hopped back aboard, sailed to shore where we got to play on a beautiful beach for about an hour, then sailed home. They staff was awesome. Food, drinks, and dry towels a plenty.

Do we look relaxed or what? They had beautiful little beach palapa's that were great during the day, and also for sunset watching in the evening as we are doing here. The sun went down really early, about 5:00 so that meant to get in enough sun time we had to hit the beach around 9 AM! What a rough life.

This was by far Wade's favorite part of the trip. (other than me in a swimsuit all day, tee hee) Fresh Pico De Gallo and Guacamole anytime he asked for it! He would have it at 10 in the morning, with lunch, and for an afternoon snack around 4 PM. It was sooooo good!

We took a cooking class one afternoon from the Dessert chef on staff at the resort. We learned how to make a bittersweet chocolate sauce to dip fresh fruit in, and Bananas Flambe'. It was pretty fun! Don't we look hot in our hair nets?

Daily walks on the beach in triplicates fulfilled our exercise needs for the week. The beach was filled with these HUGE conch shells. Yes I did manage to get one home. I'm my mothers daughter.

This was the pool. We spent alot of time here. When you would approach the pool area, you're assigned waiter would meet you at a chair, lay towels on it for us, fetch me an umbrella because I like my face shaded, and bring us our favorite drinks. I felt like Ivanka Trump! At meal times they would bring you a menu which included everything from burgers, steak, sushi, ceviche, wood grilled fish, etc. If you wanted it, they would find it.

Every morning we would roll over in bed, order room service for breakfast and it would be delivered 30 minutes later to our private lanai. Here we are having kick butt waffles and macadamia french toast. Yumsters!

Here is a pic of the other half of the lanai. I am looking out over the ocean in my bathrobe. Tough life, I know.

One of my fav's was the twice daily room cleaning. They were thorough too! At night they would come freshen up you're towels, turn down you're bed, spray you're linens with lavender spray, spread fresh tropical blooms on you're sheets, and leave you the love message for the day along with the schedule for yoga, spa treatments, sailing excursions for the next day. So many decisions...

This was our re-creation of the Corona commercial. We both love those commercials, so we thought we would make our own version and print it off to look at when home during the dreary month of January. This is now my screen saver for good reason. Beautiful!

It was bar none the best trip we have ever taken in a field of tough competition. Thanks sweetie for finding us such a beautiful place where I was treated like the queen I know I am! JK. Love ya babe... until next time...

Sweet, Sweet, Cali

2009-11-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's time to blog about our fabulous trip to Cali. Lynsey, grab you're tissues. Our annual Fall break trip to Capistrano Beach was another great success this year. We did all the things we love to do, plus added a few new traditions. Besides having to make the drive down without Wade due to a busy week at work, I had all my family with me. Luke tried his hardest to try to stay behind for a few extra days to participate in a golf tournament and 3 soccer games, but life is going to get really serious with him quickly. I thought we needed to take advantage of his last Jr High year and just go.

Wade and I being goofy at San Clemente Beach
A rockin' photo of underneath the pier

Wade makes a mean sand castle. I think he attempted the perfect sand replica of Delicate Arch about 10 times this trip. He is determined!

My boys sharpening up their boogie board skills

Standing in line for the Haunted House at Disneyland. It was all dressed up for Halloween as a cross between Halloween and Christmas with lots of Night Before Xmas stuff. It was awesome!

Me forcing the guys to go on It's a Small World with me. What can I say. It's tradition!

Waiting in another line. This time for the Matterhorn. Zac looks a little nervous. It was his first time.
Beachcombing after our fabulous breakfast at the 'Beachcomber' restaurant ironically. A little chilly that day hence the sweaters. We loved this new little find. Thanks Stew and Annie for the tip!
This is the house that 'Beaches' was filmed at. Can you believe how run down it is! Mom and I are in the middle of the chorus of 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. Wade hates that song because everyone plays it at their funerals. Lol.

We had a fab time. It's great to get to spend quality time with Mom and Dad. We were sadly guacamole free due to Lynsey's absence. It just didn't seem right to make it without her there! I especially treasure my morning walks with my parents, shopping with my teenager, watching my kids explore new ocean sports, sunsets in the sand, evening Mocha at the coffee shop, Josh's weekend visits with new friends, among many, many other things. Sweet, Sweet Cali. I miss you already. Sniff Sniff. :(

blogtarded

2009-10-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I recently tried to download some fancy shmancy template to jazz up my blog (thanks alot Lynsey) and it totally lost all my widgets including all the blogs I love to follow. If you regularly check my blog, and know that I also like to follow yours please comment to this post with you're URL so I can re-add you to my list. I feel like I lost my library in a house fire.
PS. How did you get that to work Lynsey? Please tell me Nick helped you, because I was completely lost.

Dream Come True

2009-09-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the one week anniversary of the best day of my life, so I thought it high time I blog about it. Last Wednesday was the Keith Urban concert. Now don't go getting all judgemental on me. I am not a back country hick. Keith is the least 'country' of all country artists. Besides that he is smoking hot!!! Wade and I went to his concert a few years ago and were equally blown away at the pure talent this guy has. His guitar, keyboard, and singing skills were amazing and we were sold. Since then I have acquired quite a lengthy collection of Urban music, and am proud to say that I love it. It makes me happy when I am sad, and I can frequently be heard singing it at the top of my lungs from my car or living room.
Back to the concert. We had pretty decent seats, though not floor seats, and were having a great time when there arose a buzz around us. Everyone was pointing down a few seats to our left. Wade turned to me and said "Hunny, their putting up a stage right there!" The look in his eyes told me he was serious. Here comes the not so proud moment in my marriage. I quickly pushed Wade aside and told him to MOVE!!! I then proceeded to trample about 5 perfect strangers to secure my position right next to the stage. That wasn't good enough so I climbed up on the 2 inch hand rail and balanced myself there. No sooner did I look up and there he was. I swear he glows just like you would expect a god to. He stayed right there on that 3ft x 3ft stage and sang "You look good in my shirt" all the way through.
I was in heaven. Being that close to someone you have idolized for years is pretty cool. I admit to copping a feel here and there, and I was almost brazen enough to steal a guitar pick from his stand. After the concert several people I knew that were there said they saw me on the bigscreen 'head banging' away with Keith. I was in such a daze that I never looked up to the big screen for my 3 minutes of glory! Wade, being the awesome guy he is, was about 5 people away, in our original seats snapping away pictures with his phone and trying desperately to get my attention so I would turn around and have my face in a few pix. Again, I was lost in the moment and didn't hear a thing. What a dope. So here are the best of the blurry phone pix of the amazing Keith Urban and the back of my head.

Time to catch up

2009-08-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, a month and a half since a post. I definitely have not felt like bragging about my life lately, but I am slowly pulling myself out of the ditch and moving on. Most of you know our tragic house story but for those who don't here it is. Que the violins. We had sold our house, and put a considerable amount of Ernest $ on the house of our dreams. The buyers of our house wanted to be in quickly so we proceeded to start moving our stuff into a storage unit quickly because we couldn't get into our house for about a month later. House close date was scheduled for a Tuesday, loan close date was 5:00 on a Friday. We received a phone call from our Realtor at about Noon on Friday saying that they buyers were pulling out stating loan denial. They had already been pre-approved for the home and had put $60,000 down so we were shocked. I quickly jumped into the pool of crazy people because I couldn't believe that this could happen when just a week earlier they were begging us to move up the close date a week. It took 11 months to get a decent offer, 1 month to move all our stuff into storage, and 5 minutes to have it all come crashing down around our ears. After all of this we decided that this was God's subtle way of telling us we were not supposed to move, so we decided to sink all of our extra money into a major remodel. This brings us to this point. The house is a complete mess, but things are coming along nicely. Out with the old, in with the new. Josh has been unbelievably knowledgeable and helpful through this process. We are hoping to have our new kitchen/great room completed within the next two weeks. I will post some before and after pix when it's all done to see what you all think. After that we are moving on to bathrooms.

The summer has completely gotten away from me with all the stress, but we did manage to do a few fun things here and there. Here are some of my favorite pix from the season.

Childrens Museum:

Lake Powell:
Payson Pool:
Lake Powell:

oh baseball, oh baseball

2009-07-12T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is my post dedicated to that summer time-sucker I like to call baseball. Ya, Ya I know it's 'America's favorite pasttime' but one can accomplish so much more when there are not 3-4 games a night to attend. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch my little guys have hard sphere's whizzing past their faces at 30 mph. I just get seriously tired of greasy hamburgers, overbearing parents who think they are the coach, and even worse, kids who don't really want to be there (would rather be at dance or theater class) being forced into it by their P.U.'s. Here are my favorite pix from the season.

My Jake does indeed love it even after a full season on two teams and being hit by that ball several times, which literally knocked his 50 pound frame to the ground.
Zac also thoroughly enjoys it although he is still in the 'experimental' phase of the game. He likes to play whatever his big bro's are playing at the moment.

No we move on to the spring-fall time sucker AKA soccer. Go Shooters!

We love Lake Powell!!!

2009-06-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

This is my first Lake Powell post of the summer! We love the place and are there about once a month for May - August. This is pix of our end of May trip.

Can it get any prettier than that?

Luke doing his version of "The Thinker" (he's going to kill me for that one)

Crystal clear waters on red rock. Nothing better.

Yes I am confident enough to post a picture of myself with absolutely no makeup on. Please be nice.
I am currently blogging about Powell because I am sitting at my house waiting for the rain to stop so I can go to Powell again. Tents are no fun in the rain...
To all those friends who were invited on this trip but couldn't fit it into their busy lives ... see ya next week sucka's!

Last the best... Zac is 6!

2009-06-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

This will be the last of my sappy birthday blog posts. Bare with me as I brag about the last of my offspring.
My baby, Zachary Bryce turned 6 this week. It is very hard for the baby in the family to have the very last birthday. He had a great day and a great pool party with his closest buddies the next day.
Zac is the perfect mix of his two older brothers. He can fight with the best of them, even keeping up with Jake, and he also has a very sensitive almost phobic side to him. This week we have been through the fear of being attacked by a mountain lion, and the fear of being struck by lightning in his sleep. Bedtime is an interesting proposal with our little Zac.
Zac is very shy, often limiting himself to only a friend or two. When he does branch out to play with someone new he discovers alot he didn't know about himself.
Zac loves to imitate his brothers and play whatever sport they are currently involved in. He does well at whatever he tries and is naturally athletic.
Zac is truly still our baby and loves to snuggle in Mom and Dad's bed every night if we would allow it. He also cracks my door open first thing in the morning to see if I'm awake. If so he comes and climbs into bed for more snuggle time.
We love you little buddy! Happy 6th Birthday!

Jakey G's Golden Birthday

2009-05-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

My little Jake turned 9 on May 9th. I can't believe how little he is getting. lol. We all know he is the runt in the family. He takes after my side regretfully. We are not big people. Seriously though, Jake is the most black and white kid I know. He is either giggly, and cracking up with his jokes, wanting to snuggle and play, or he is full of piss and vinegar, picking fights, throwing tantrums, and kicking doors. They say this type of volatility is the sign of a leader. That is true for Jake. He is a natural leader, and actually hates to follow anyone. He would rather forge his own path. Sometimes it comes down to the choice of following someone or being alone and he actually chooses being alone. He has never had any trouble entertaining himself. It's my favorite quality about Jake.

Jake is highly intelligent. He and Luke have spelling contests all the time and Jake can usually whip the 13 year old's butt. He has always been my one child that comes home directly from school and does his homework on his own with minimal instruction from me. As any mom knows this is a great blessing.

Jake is the comedian in our family. Sometimes he has the whole family in stitches from just a random comment he made. My 'weekly kid quote' is frequently from Jake. I have to try really hard to give equal publishing time to the other 2 boys because Jake is just so hilarious.
Jake's favorithing to do is play Baseball. He is currently on 2 baseball teams, one in Salem and one in Spanish Fork. He keeps us busy 4 - 5 nights a week with games and practices. He plays pitcher and catcher and is great at both!

We love you Jake and hope you had a great Golden Birthday.

The Flu From Hell

2009-05-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ok. It's time to share the gory, nauseating, and frequently humiliating details of my weekend visit by a virus I like to call the Flu-Devil. It all started on a beautiful, yet boring Sunday. I managed to get all 4 of my little boys off to church in the morning. It's a rarity lately. Upon returning home the hubby and I whipped up a delicious dinner. Now I'm going to share with you the contents of this meal so that you can later visualize more effectively with sights and sounds. We ingested a lovely artichoke with a side of butter sauce, pork roast with turnips, carrots, potatoes and onions cooked in olive oil and seasonings, and homemade bread. Yummy right? Hold you're horses.
On with the story. After watching my slave children do dinner clean-up I retired to the big TV to watch a chick flick all by my lonesome. All was well for about 1 hour. That was when the nausea set in. It was swift, intense, and horrifying. Of course my natural reaction was that my husband had poisoned me to get at my life insurance. I thought, Ok, I'll go vomit my lovely dinner then start plotting my revenge. The first vomit went nicely, although as you can imagine by the contents of my dinner it was full of very interesting consistencies and aromas. Too graphic?
As you can imagine it did not end there. I continued to vomit every 30 minutes for about 4 hours. As the puking was blissfully subsiding the Devil Virus decided to take a trip down south and took up residency in my lower GI Tract. Now I can proudly say that usually my sphincters are all well intact and do their job quite nicely. But, on this occasion they ran for the hills and let the Devil do his thing. This continued for a while until Wade finally put me in bed, ordered me to sleep for awhile, turned off the lights and shut the door. This is where I get my revenge.
To his credit I did sleep for about 15 minutes. I woke up to that rushing sensation that all the southerners were making a run for the border and there was no police backup being called in. I sprinted for the toilet and made it, just barely. That's the last thing I remember. Wade said he heard a thump, followed closely by another so he beelined to the bedroom to see what shenanigans I was up to. He found me on my throne, in all my queen-like glory, eye's wide open, but completely passed out. He tried to shake me to alertness, sneaking in a few slaps here and there, but no go. He dragged me to the floor and called 911.
After about 10 - 15 minutes I finally came to. I woke up to the sound of his voice above me and opened my eyes to find him on the phone. I thought, how rude! I'm dying here and he's being Chatty Cathy. No but seriously all I could think or say was "I'm sorry, why am I on the floor and what is that awful smell?" I heard a knock at the door, our local friendly policeman responding to the call, who Wade conveniently knew (of course, Small Town), followed soon by the trampling of EMT footsteps into my bathroom. "What medications has she taken, What has she eaten today, Did she hit her head" (he also knew all of the EMT's, of course)
I remember not being able to move my legs, apologizing alot, and trying to calm down my husband in my dazed state. I was deemed healthy enough to ride in my own chariot to the ER and off we went. After a full bag of fluids with a side of Zofran I was human again. I was really hoping to be the first diagnosed case of the swine flu in Utah, but it didn't pan out for me. It was nothing but a normal, run of the mill, Devil virus run amock.
The moral of this little tale is, no matter how gross you feel, and how inactive you're sphincters are behaving, you must continue to drink. Preferably something with electrolytes!

Cuzzin Luv

2009-04-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

So before we get too far away from Easter, I wanted to post a few pix of my darling nieces and nephews at the Easter Party we had at Grandma Lynn's. I don't know what it is, but kids just look too darn cute at Easter time.

Ellie holding some worms. This was our theme for the day. Easter egg hunt and then worm hunt.

Jake checking out his goods.

Zac pulling out the chocolate and discarding the plastic.

Paiton with a bucket full of goodies.

Jett and Jake. Two peas in a pod. They are like xerox copies of each other in spirit and attitude. Don't mess with these boys.

Sweet little Saige. I do have alot of pix of her face but I just loved this shot of her little neck. I just want to reach down and kiss that little space between her shoulder and hair.

Kennedie and Samantha giving Grumpy a smooch!

Mom's Birthday Weekend

2009-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Exactly one week ago today, we as a family embarked upon an excursion we like to call 'Mom's Birthday Weekend at the Sundance Cabin'. Isn't that a snappy title? I know, my literary skills astound you yet again. It was a great little get-away full of alot of nothing. Our favorite type of activity. We were graced with Josh's presence from the land of the sun, and Justin's presence from the land of Hicks & Hooters otherwise known as Tooele. Even Daxton took time out of his busy pizza delivery life to come celebrate with us. Lynsey put alot of thought into our itinerary which quickly went out the window as soon as we settled into our lazy ways. We loved every minute of our slothful days. Here are the tintillating highlights complete with photo inserts to whip you into a frenzy. Simmer down now.

This is my beautiful Mommy complete with rhinestone '60' earrings which came craftily wrapped in a Tiffany's box. When she opened them we all gasped at the blinginess of them, then audibly groaned at the tackiness of them. Ha, Ha. Jokes on us. She made them herself.

We spent our first evening together at the always scrumptious Snake Creek Grill Restaurant in the Midway-Heber area. We had paid Luke to stay behind at the cabin with the little ones so that we could pretend to act like grown-ups. This was quickly left by the wayside as we all started to reminisce about how many times our 'Big Brother' has gotten us in trouble with the law. Ahhh, memories.

After a great dinner where we all had to undo out top buttons, we quickly retired to the cabin and our elastic waistband pants. After about 15 minutes we were ready for.....

Cake of course. What good would a birthday party be without a triple decker white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate mousse cake. Is your mouth watering yet? We spent the rest of that evening schooling the teenagers in blackjack just like every good adult trying to set an example would.

The next day after sleeping in till about noonish (well some of us, which didn't include me) we finally managed to throw on some clothes (well some of us, which didn't include me) and venture out of the cabin for a few minutes. We drove the whole 2 minutes down to the Sundance stores and bought some suckers and cookies because the cake was all gone and Josh was bitching that there wasn't enough sugar in the house. Here we are pausing by the river splendor.

We lazily made it back to our humble abode and some of us continued our Vegas theme and held a poker lesson, while others opted to nap in the big bed while watching the snow fall. Don't ask me why a boy who woke up 2 hours ago suddenly needs a nap. Clearly he doesn't have children. They would literally be the most neglected children on the planet.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I did spank this table full of boys at poker. Haley and Heidi would have been so proud. Wade said it's a lot easier to win when there's no real money on the line. I tend to agree with him.

Later that day we had an easter egg hunt. My mom is a holiday freak and has the best egg hunts ever. We find eggs full of money. That's how she gets the onery adults to be excited about it.

Here's a pic of us all fighting over eggs. Lynsey is telling Zac to back off in this photo.

Here is Josh 'laying his eggs' out to see what's inside while Lynsey laughs hysterically in the background.

The best part of the cabin in my opinion was the 'Playhouse' located in a smaller outbuilding across the parking lot. It had a basketball hoop, foosball table, flatscreen tv, and slide. This beautiful little oasis afforded me a few hours of kid free time, something I cherish.

The next morning was Easter day. Amazingly the smart little bunny managed to find all the kids at the cabin.

We woke up to blue skies and snow-capped mountains. It was breathtaking.

We had brunch together as a family before everybody went their seperate ways for the rest of the day. Busy Nick even made it up to pig-out with us. There's nothing better than Lynsey's deviled eggs on Easter Day.

No Hate Mail Please

2009-04-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

I read this and thought it was pretty dang honest and eye-opening, along with being hilarious. I don't know who wrote it and I don't care. I know several of you will want to disagree with my sarcastic point of view, but please contain yourselves and refrain from sending me hate mail. It won't do you any good. This is my forum of expression. Go get you're own.

Top 10 Reasons why Gay Marriage is Wrong

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject things that are unnatural such as eyeglasses, polyester, and air-conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the doors to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage is allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears 55 hour, just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't get married because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, just as straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on an entire country. That's why we only have one religion in America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children alone.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

The Many Moods of Lexi Lou

2009-04-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

This will be ridiculous to most, entertaining to few, but here goes. It is true that you can totally tell what my dog is feeling from her eyes and ears. Here are a few of her many moods:

Proud as a Peacock (yeah, we bad)

Utterly Humiliated (this face follows any dressing up of any sort, notice the down-turned tail)

Pensive (right then she was thinking, I know I could catch that duck over there if this woman would set me down)

Playful (Let me of this bleeping leash so I can lick your toes)

Diva Swagger (freshly bathed and combed she was ready for her close-up)

Shy (she just woke up and hadn't had time to do her morning beauty ritual which includes licking her lady parts)

Embarassed (she's really not into the bows)

Being the dog with huge personality that she is, I thought I would include a little snippet of her 'dog-talking' with Wade. This is a nightly ritual for them as soon as he gets home from work. Unfortunately this video was taken in the morning when she was a little thrown by the timing. She's usually way more into it, but it gives you the basic idea of their babble.

Swimsuit Giveaway!!!!

2009-03-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Hey ladies. Check this out. I follow this blog regularly and they are doing a swimsuit giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered. Who doesn't love free stuff! The address is:
themeanestmom.blogspot.com
While there, if you have some extra reading time check out the readers favorites section. It is good for a belly laugh. Good luck!

Palm Springs Recap and Twerd News

2009-03-24T12:49:00.001-07:00

I did plenty of posting with all of my extra time while on vacation. Upon returning home life took over and I haven't had time until now to add the pictures. We had a great week relaxing, sunning, shopping, laughing, sleeping, eating, going to movies, walking together, and exploring the area. Palm Springs had some really great architecture, but we really loved the Palm Desert area the most. It's easy to see why so many people flock there for retirement. We even had fun driving. A road trip is a much different experience without kids on board. We took our time (at 90+ mph) and saw what we wanted to see. It's not a real razzle dazzle place, but definitely great for what Wade needed at the time which was some R & R. Here's a few of the highlights:

Road trippers my hunk of a man getting some sun
Chillin in the sun with the tunes (I look like a railroad worker)
the beautiful Pool
Jazzy tail lights
View from our balcony
I'm happy because we're shopping, he's happy because he's not at work
Geriatric Boobies
Spending the day at Newport Beach.
Me making a U2 sign in front of a Joshua Tree.
Desert Blooms

On to the next post.

Everyone knows what an old lady I am. I am usually dead asleep by 10:30 PM and not awake until 8:00 AM. So when Haley called me at 10:00 on Friday night and said "get dressed, we're going to Wal-Mart in Draper" I politely told her to kiss mine. She then proceeded to explain why and I was suddenly on board. Rachelle LeFevre who played bad Vampiress Victoria in the Twilight Movie was supposed to be there signing DVD's and she had us an in through a relative of a friend. I wasn't even going to buy the movie because I definitely wasn't gaga over it, but it sounded like fun. I jammed a hat on my head and off we went. When we got there this is what awaited us. I will not even try to estimate the crowd size. Let's just say it was Ginormous.
After making a few phone calls we were quickly whisked to the front of the line where we proceeded to stand about 5 feet away from Rachelle for 2 hours. She was so sweet and gracious to all the fans. She was only supposed to sign for 15 minutes but 2+ hours later she was still there. She is absolutely gorgeous to boot.
Here is me, Haley, and Lindsey, fellow Twerd's enjoying the moment. Rachelle is literally right behind us. That policeman in the khaki shirt is guarding her.
Needless to say, I bought a signed copy of the DVD and have really enjoyed watching the deleted scenes and interviews and stuff. A bunch of us watched the movie and pigged out on junk food at Haleys the next night. It was a blast making snide comments about the movie. I hope I didn't drive anyone too crazy. I just hate bad acting and special effects. Everyone should be proud of me I was up past midnight 2 nights in a row. It's a record. Thanks Hay for all our crazy nights! I love ya.

Palm Springs Vacation: Entry 4

2009-03-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

Here, in this desert oasis they call Palm Springs I have found Heaven on Earth. It is located in a little place called the Cabazon Outlet Mall. 200 stores blissfully created to fulfill anyone's shopping desires. Anything and everything one could want to shop for is here. And these are not fake outlet stores with last season's crap at 20% off like we have in Utah. This place had designer purses for 50 - 60% off, designer clothes for 50 - 75% off, and Crate and Barrel for stuff within my price range for a change. We had to move the car 3 times so that we could see it all in one day! Let me just drop a few names to make you're mouths water. Juicy Couture, Prada, Coach, Dooney and Burke, Kate Spade, True Religion, Armani, and many many other happy little designer elf's peddling their goods to the little people like me who were sopping it up. What a truly religious experience me and my debit card had today. At one point I thought I saw Jesus hovering above the place. ( I hope I don't get struck by lightning for saying that) Ladies, a road trip is seriously in order here. We'll see you all on Sunday. Ours will be the car on I-15 bottoming out and throwing sparks over every bump due to the extremely heavy load located within the trunk.

Pay it Forward

2009-03-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

Pay It Forward...

Here are the rules...

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (yeah for handmade!).

2. If you are one of the first three to make a comment, you are a winner! And you then agree to post this challenge on your own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.Enjoy!!!! This should be fun!

Palm Springs Vacation: Entry 3

2009-03-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

This is going to be short and sweet. Here's my day:

Wake, Walk, Pool, Sun, read, Swim, Pina Colada, sun, eat, sun, swim, shop, eat, read, tub, post, Lost, bed.

I don't think it's possible to be any more carefree and relaxed. Tomorrow we're leaving these old folks behind and heading for the beach. My favorite place on earth! Woo Hoo!

Palm Springs Vacation: Entry 2

2009-03-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today was the epitome of self indulgence and relaxation. We finally found a decent spa and spent the first half of the day there. We sat in a wet sauna, eucalyptus sauna, dry sauna, mineral bath, got massages, then back to the wet sauna. It was glorious. From there we went straight to the pool for more sun-soaking. We are now officially 2 shades darker than when we left Utah. Melanoma, here we come.

After some great Mexican food, and dropping $10.50 per ticket on a movie (Slumdog Millionaire) which was great and well worth the overpriced ticket, we pulled into the Marriott complex to see a guy out for his nighttime roll on his, yes I'm not kidding, his jazzy. Who knew they had head and taillights? I made Wade circle around the parking lot so I could get a picture. I did get one but don't have the USB cord to download it. The suspense may kill you but you'll have to wait until next week. Hope all is well on the homefront!

Palm Springs Vacation: Entry 1

2009-03-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Due to the extreme amount of extra time I find myself having on this vacation, I decided to treat you to a few journal-type entries which include highlights of our trip. Yesterday's 8 hour drive turned into a 9 hour drive because we took a 'different route' suggested to us by my Father-in-law. We were hoping to see something new of the California countryside. Here's the highlights. A really big solar plant in the middle of the desert, and we were on historical Route 66 for about 3 minutes. Thrilling. While stopping for gas outside Laughlin there was a bus full of Chinese people that had been dropped off. Clearly not aware of the personal bubble we have here in the USA there was a 5 ft tall Asian guy wearing a fanny pack that was practically on top of Wade while he filled up. I think he was curious as to how much yuan it was going to take to fill up that car. Wade asked him how it was going and he answered him with a blank stare. Tourists!
We finally made it and collapsed after a Pollo Loco dinner.

Today was spent poolside for most of the day. There is an adults only pool right by our room so it was blissfully quiet. I read and soaked in the sun, and Wade slept in the shade under a canopy. We had massage appointments at 3:00, but after laying our eyes on the 'budget' spa Wade had found us on the internet we quickly drove away leaving only burnt rubber in our wake. We had to call the credit card company and charge back our card. We explored downtown Palm Springs for a bit and saw some really cool 70ish architecture houses in the Palm Springs hillside.

For dinner we decided not to mess with success and found the local Outback Steakhouse. Now clearly we were expecting some geriatric company because it was only 6:00, but I had to audibly laugh when we walked in and there was a round table with 4 Jazzy's parked around it. Believe me folks, I tried to get a picture of this but the camera wouldn't cooperate what with the low lighting and shaking of the camera while I laughed hysterically.

We have retired for the evening looking forward to "The Bachelor" finale and some Haagen Daz in bed.

Vocab guide for Men

2009-02-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

Someone at work gave me this great little list, and I though I would be kind and share it with you all.

Nine words women use:

1) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2) FIVE MINUTES: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3) NOTHING: This is the calm before the storm. This means something and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with NOTHING usually end in FINE.

4) GO AHEAD: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!!!

5) LOUD SIGH: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing)

6) THAT'S OKAY: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. 'That's okay' means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7) THANKS: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is pure sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome', that will bring on a 'whatever'.

8) WHATEVER: is a woman's way of saying screw you!

9) DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT, I GOT IT: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3.

Please print this out for you're husbands to use as a pocket reference. If I save any marriages you can make the check out to Brandie M. Walker.

Frozen Snotsicles

2009-02-24T19:40:00.001-08:00

On this beautiful spring like day, I though I would take the opportunity to remind you how grateful you are for the sunshine. A few weeks ago we sluffed church and went skiing as a family for the day. Now I know I don't need a very good excuse to sluff church, sore toe, tickly throat, new movie release etc. but this actually was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We decided to form our own new church dubbed "The church of the Sunday afternoon snow carvers". If you would like to join you must call ahead for reservations. (The Land Rover only holds 7). Here are some pix of our first meeting. The opening hymn was "Oh How Lovely was the Morning" and the prayer was given by Mother Nature.

Zac's second time but already rippin it up

Mr. Cool Luke
Me, Wade and Zac on the lift (imagine the tangling of apparatus's as we all disembarked)

My hero and snowboard coach extraordinare

Luke and Jake on their own for most of the day

All went well for our first meeting. No injuries were incurred. Nobody fell off the lift which is a miracle if you ask my big brother. Apparently I spent a lot of my childhood Saturday's on the slopes falling off of chairlifts and having to be rescued by the resort staff. (Don't ask me how this happened) I now am acutely aware of how far down it is and am constantly telling Zac to stop bouncing the chair to which he responds "You're such a wimp Mom". It sucks when you're not you're 5 year old's hero anymore. I'll just stop feeding him for a few day's to remind him how much he likes me.

Winter Wonderland

2009-02-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

Winter is finally coming to an end. We are all feeling a tinge of spring fever, so before we wish it all away I thought I would post a few pictures that I took this winter.

Lonely Poles:Trail of Sunshine:

Winter Berries:

Signage out of place:

Me and Mom Snowshoeing:

Elk Crossing Hole #5:

Heavy Trees:

Hope you enjoyed. Now go make a snowball and eat it.

Feel My Pain

2009-02-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

I have been a naughty lazy blogger lately. Not much to write about in the long lazy days of winter. As a special treat I thought I would subject you all to a pictorial of my life living in a house full of boys. PS all of these photos were taken on a Saturday morning, un-altered and un-encouraged.

Apparently at our house you will die of a poisonous ingestion if you eat the edges of a pop-tart. My kids call them the 'crust' and will not touch them.

Next we have the graveyard of army guys, monopoly pieces, and Chewbacca thrown in for good measure. There was a very bloody war last night and this is the battlefield leftovers.

This is one of my daily struggles. Can we all see the coat rack on the wall with the coats strategically placed on the floor beneath it to drive me to the brink of insanity?

Here we have the remnants of the last Indianapolis 500. Losers on the Left. My little guys are constantly asking for new cars. They each have a box of 100 so I tell them that they must retire an old one before getting a new. It takes hours to decide who to send to the junkyard.

This is the handy-dandy candy wrapper deposit station located behind Luke's bed. He's waiting for the plastic fairy to come clean it all up for him.

When boys become teenagers they aren't happy with cookies for their sleepovers anymore. They have to have a 12 pack of the sugariest, most caffeinated beverage available to man. Then they drink it all down in one night between 2 people.

And finally the piece-de-resistance. What house with boys is complete without the little yellow drops of sunshine to be found on every porcelain surface throughout the entire house. This is just a sampling and is not for the faint of heart.

Thanks for enjoying my gallery. I truly hope there was no picture induced vomiting. Comments are welcome.

Flashback Love Story Version 2

2009-01-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

I’ve never typed a single word on this blog however I guess it’s time I chime in for once. I want to tell Brandie, and I guess the world how much I love and appreciate her on our 17th Wedding Anniversary. To say my wife is beautiful would be an understatement we all can see that, but one thing most people don’t see is how beautiful she is on the inside. I don’t think there’s a more compassionate, forgiving, loving, or understanding person on the face of the earth. Brandie said that I’m her right hand, I guess if that’s the case she’s my right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot, and well you get the picture. She is the glue that keeps this family together and strong. I want everyone to know that I never thought it was possible to love a woman as much as I love my wife. There’s not a single woman on the face of this earth that I would rather spend the rest of my life with. If there was ever a proper definition of Soul Mate it’s my wife.

I love you babe and I can’t wait to spend the next 17 years with you.

I think my neighbor is insane

2009-01-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

On a day like today, when that sneaky little mother nature was kind enough to lay a foot of new snow at our doorsteps we all have the same reaction, don't we? Oh crap, I have to go out and shovel again. Well, I have found a diamond in the rough if you will. One who not only gets up at the ungodly hour of 6 AM to shovel his driveway, but has also been known to stay up until 12 midnight to do the same. He can be heard quite easily from my bedroom window so I am a very good witness to his insanity.

Today was a very special day for him. Not only was the snowfall above and beyond his expectations, but then a neighbor loaned him a snowblower and he was happily traipsing around the neighborhood for most of the day blowing snow hither and yon. Now I don't want to seem like a sourpuss, because he did manage to get rid of the 3 foot high speed bump I had left at the end of my own driveway. I am indeed grateful for that. But right at this moment he has surrendered his precious loaner, returned to the shovel and is currently removing the snow from the neighborhood basketball court. Just in case someone feels like shooting some hoops in 20 degree weather.

Last week was a slow one for him seeing as the weather was too warm for the white stuff. He spent his week shovel in hand, moving the snowbanks from the side of the road to the middle of the road so they could be efficiently squashed by oncoming cars. Do you see where I'm going with this?

The upside to his insanity is that he loves to make the biggest tubing hill in his front yard because he happens to live on a hill. I am indeed guilty of sending my kids out the door, dressed like Ralphie from 'The Christmas Story' and saying to them, "Don't come home until you have been up and down that hill 20 times or at least an hour, whichever comes first." I have often told the kids that they should really make that nice man a card to show him their gratitude.

I'm sorry to say that I have no pictures to accompany this rant. I believe I may get in a bit of trouble for that. (HIPAA law or slandering or something of the nature) Have a nice day and shovel on.

Flashback Love Story

2009-01-23T10:38:00.001-08:00

On this, the 17th Anniversary of my wedding I find myself reminiscing about the love Wade and I have shared together. To say that I love my husband would be a bit of an understatement. I love my dog, I love chocolate, but I could give either of those things up with no repercussions. My husband though is literally my right hand. Sure, we have had some crappy times in our marriage. We made it through those times by finding some middle ground to meet on and never giving up. We always have each others backs (and fronts to if you know what I mean).

When I think about what life would have been like without him I literally cannot go there. My life would cease without him. He is my best friend, my lover, my partner in parenting, my soul mate, and believe it or not, sometimes my girlfriend if I really need it.

I know that in the last 17 years I have changed a lot. I have had 3 children move in to my body, take up residency for 9 months, only to move out and leave behind a little luggage. My husband still manages to make me feel like the prettiest girl in the world. I am secure in the knowledge that he will never trade me in for a younger model, and I hope he has that wisdom also.

I want to express to him this day how much I appreciate all the little things he does. Like going to work everyday, playing board games with the kids when i'm wiped out, remembering to not splash the bathroom mirror with toothpaste, sending me flowers unexpectedly, and most of all teaching our boys how to become men like him someday. I love you more than life, and hope you will never forget it.

We have had alot of 'our songs' in our romance, but this was our first.

Star Spotting

2009-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

This month for 'Lindsay Day' we decided to go to Park City during the Film Festival to have some girl time and see if we could see a few celebs in the mean time. We started at the outlet malls and did some mad shopping for a few hours, then we moved on downtown for the craziness. I have never seen so many people dressed in black in all my life and I'm a Mortician's wife! Apparently everyone in Hollywood has a little something to hide beneath their slimming black outerwear.
This is my favorite picture of the swarm of paparazzi swirling around Paris Hilton. We were standing on the sidewalk when about 10 guys sprinted past us yelling "We've got her, here she comes!" Well, naturally we followed to see what all the hub-bub was all about and low and behold it was Queen Hilton herself. Hamming it up for the flashbulbs. Truthfully I felt a lot of sympathy for her, being followed like that, but then I remembered she drives a Bentley and quickly got over it. (No you can't see her in this pix. Just everyone else looking at her)

After all the excitement died down we posed for out own red carpet pictures. Some foreign guy offered to take it for us and made such a fuss that people were actually walking by saying "Do you know who those girls are?"

This is the best picture I could score of Nick Cannon giving an interview on a balcony. My zoom sucks. He was waving to the crowd and everything. We also sneaked a peek at Wesley Snipes signing a scooter for cancer research, Paul Giamatti walking down a side road all by his lonesome, and Dominic Cooper from Mama Mia. Quite an exciting little stroll!

This was our dinner at Cisero's. Yummy Italian food, flirtatious waiters, and most of all a warm place to sit for a bit. (Haley wasn't quite warm enough yet)

We of course had a total blast once again. Thanks girls and see you next month!

Ok losers, it's time to gloat

2009-01-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

The post-game celebration

The battlefield before the showdown

Family joke (They called to tell me they just had dinner at the "Hustler". The sign says 'relax... it's just sex')

Street Fair

Wade and Luke are finally home from their excitement filled trip to the 'Big Easy' so it's time to talk about how astronomically good that game was. Now, I am quite willing to admit that going into this game even we were a bit nervous about how our Utes would perform against the awe inspiring Crimson Tide. After all, when you have a reputation that precedes you like they do, you're bound to be a bit gun shy on the trash talk. Well, not only did Alabama not live up to their reputation, but they barely even showed up for the game! After the first 3 Utah touchdowns in the first quarter I was literally pulling my hair out while sitting in some crappy hotel in Orem. At the same moment in time my boys were standing, jumping, screaming, and cheering on our team from the SuperDome. They report that not one Ute fan sat down for the entire game. To say it was incredible would be the athletic understatement of the year.
Some highlights from their trip are when the clearly enubriated Bama fan tried to pick a fight with Wade in the parking lot, when the clearly enubriated female Ute fan declared "we won the Super Bowl!" after the game, and when the local gal tried to tell Wade she could get Luke a fake ID so they could come into her 'special' club. He said there were about 10 bars to each restaurant so it was very hard to find nourishment unless you wanted it in the barley and hops liquid form. Obviously not the best vacation spot for the fam. Here is a video to make you feel like you were there, and some photo's to make us all jealous. The only thing he wanted me to include in this posting was this....

EAT IT COUGAR FANS! YOU SUCK!!!!!

Brandie in Real Life Day 4

2009-01-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Since this is the last day of my pathetic little vacation, it will also be the last day of this pathetic little journal. Must fill you in on the remainder of last night though. I was asleep at the decent hour of 11:00 only to be woken at 1:00 by Zac talking in his sleep, and 3:00 by Zac dancing with the floor lamp. Don't know what that kid ate before bedtime, but it's a no no. The game ended stupendously as you all know. My BYU friends know who they are and know if they owe me an apology. Ha Ha. I will post on the game when Wade and Luke get home with all their surely fabulous pictures.

Day 4 - Slept in a bit, grabbed our crappy continental breakfast, dealt with family emergency over the phone for a few hours, then hit the road. Our goal was Jumping Jacks in Springville for our final hurrah. I knew I needed to be prepared for that kind of insanity, so I grabbed some coffee at the Art City Coffee shop and a good book to take with me. Apparently it was white trash day at the Jumping Jacks (ha ha, I accidentally typed that Humping Jacks and had to go back and fix it) ((lonely wife syndrome)) because I have never seen so much camo and butt crack in my entire life. I grabbed the cleanest possible spot on the couch, away from all the snot-nosed brats bullying other children and hid beneath my pages. I courageously made it through 2 hours, the kids were done, so we headed home. Can I just jump on my soap box for a minute and say "For the love of god, could you please check on your kids occasionally as you while away your weekend at the local jumping place!" I don't know how many times I had to grab some BYU shirt wearing, dirty faced, holes in socks kid and tell them to not steal the balls that my son had just paid for to play basketball with! Arghhhhh! There I'm done.

When we arrived home from Orem which had absolutely no new snow, I was welcomed by about 6 - 8 inches in my driveway. I told Jake he was the man of the house and to get started. He didn't buy it so I had to gas up the old snow blower and do it myself. Oh, poor me. I realize how completely snotty that sounds. At least I have a snow blower. I am very grateful for it.

End of trip. End of Mother of the Year Week. Back to the bitter old woman I normally am.

Brandie in Real Life Day 3

2009-01-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

First a few disclaimers. The reason there are no pictures to accompany these posts is because the camera is with the boys in New Orleans. They better be making good use of it. Secondly, after re-reading my midnight posts from last night I realized they might have a bit of a negative tone. My suspicions were realized when Wade called me first thing this morning and asked me if I was OK! I am much more mentally stable today, so here goes.

Day 3 - I finally got a bit of sleep last night, about 4 hours, so with good use of my laptop I came up with a game plan for the day. We headed off to the Lehi Legacy Aquatic Center. This place is awesome. Slides, lazy rivers, lap pools, basketball hoops, hot tubs, the works. All for $3 - $5 per person. We got so prunie we had to take a lunch break to let our skin return to its previous condition. We stole 4 hours of entertainment from them. That's about $1 per hour. Nice!

By the time we got home we were pretty bushed. I caught a 30 minute power nap while the kids played quietly (right, whatever) with their Nintendo's and PSP's. We had a nice dinner at Chili's and then retired to our room to watch the Sugar Bowl. Currently the Utes are ahead 21 - 10. Go Utes! I just hope they haven't peaked too soon. Men sometimes have that problem. Pace yourself boys. Slow and steady wins the race.
We're still tossing around a few ideas for tomorrow, the last day of our staycation. I'll keep you posted.

Brandie in Real Life Day 2

2009-01-01T23:24:00.001-08:00

Ok so the speakers on my laptop just decided to blare out an Aerosmith song. Kids still asleep. crisis averted. It is now 12:45, still not tired.
Day 2. The kids requested some time at Chuck e Cheese before checking into the hotel so off we went, Emetrol in hand. They had $40 worth of fun and after a few crappy trinkets they were satisfied. We go to check into the hotel and I am informed that the pool is closed. What? You have to be kidding me right chubby red-headed boy posing as a concierge. That was my savior for hours and hours of effort free entertainment! I wanted to jump over that counter and lock him in a room with children for 3 days. I told him I would ask the kids what they think and let him know the verdict. They were tired of being in the car (it had been a whole 10 minutes) and wanted to stay. Their decision. (ps. dog is currently crying in her sleep) After about 2 hours of exhausting every toy they had brought along they were bored. Me too. We decided to move our day 3 activity up to day 2 and catch a movie. We went to dinner first (of course the place I had planned to go was closed. Who closes a restaurant on New Years Day?) We then went to see Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. Normally a filthy mouth but somehow he reigned it in for the Disney bucks. Their favorite part was when the dwarf kicks Sandler. Go figure. None of the message hit home. We were back to hotel by 9 pm. bedtime. Here I sit trying not to wake my little princes with my typing. If you have any bright ideas to get me through the next 2 days comment them my way. I am running out myself. Must try to catch a few hours of sleep.

Brandie in Real Life Day 1

2009-01-01T23:03:00.000-08:00

If you're bored read on, but please keep in mind that its 12:30 in the morning and I am on night 2 of insomnia.
Once in a while I get an itch to be that poster board mother. While Wade and Luke are out of town for the next week I got a hair-brained idea to take Jake and Zac on a little kid staycation to help pass the time. I thought I had covered all my bases by hunting down the best possible hotel in the area, the one with the indoor pool. Here's a recap of my last few days.
Day 1 - New Years Eve was spent planning out the perfect ring in the new year celebration for the little guys. Friends were secretly invited, games were picked out, junk food was stocked, video was picked up. I had the rest of the day to put away my Christmas decorations which I swear have been mating and multiplying in my basement. I have always taken pride in my 1 hour holiday decor. This year it took me 4. I have become my mother. Anyways, being the type A crazy I am, I simply couldn't just allow that faux tree to stay up for another week, so I enlisted the help of a neighbor boy to help me haul it to the basement. He escaped with only a few minor scrapes and bruises. Suck it up kid.
On to the party. The friends arrived on time and the kids were pleasantly surprised. They quickly wolfed down the 6 hours worth of junk food I had purchased and moved on to the 3 dollar package of 50 glow bracelets. Little boys can turn anything into a light saber. (ps. one of the boys just farted in their sleep) All my planning for time consuming activities were tossed aside for the war between Jedi's and Clones. Oh well, at least they were happy. We rang in the new year trying to light a few dud fireworks in the Spanish Fork wind. I then spent the remainder of the evening fighting off a stomach owie brought on by a bad crab ball.

Belated Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T07:10:00.000-08:00

So honestly, yesterday was the best Christmas ever. For the first time in history we stayed home for the whole day! No running around to different parties and such. We decided early on and gave everyone notice that we were staying put this year. The kids loved it and so did we. We were still up at 6 AM but the rest of the day was spent programming Ipod touches and Nano's, building lego cars, playing Guess Who, and PSP, and eating. The grandparents all came to visit us at different times of the day and we fed them for their effort. Wade and I even caught a nap in the afternoon. A 2 hour nap!!! (Now that's a long winters nap) We were woken up by the kids trying to kill each other with their new boxing gloves. Might have been a lapse in Santa's judgement. Oh well, at least they got some exercise! I hope all of you had an equally lovely Holiday. I'm still in bed now watching the snow fall (another 6 inches to add to our 12) after having to take Wade to work at 7:30 (stupid girly car). It is quiet and beautiful and the madness will begin shortly. Love you all. PS to Mom, Dad, Josh and Lynsey - Have fun in Hawaii!

RIP BYU

2008-12-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

We are gathered in cyber space this day to mourn the passing of our good friend and neighbor, Brigham Young University and their beloved grid iron giants. They were taken from us last night while visiting the great state of Nevada in a horrific accident. There were many witnesses to this terrible night, but none who will make any statements at this time. Among the flashes of consciousness that people can remember are fumbles-a-plenty, absentee field goals, and a lackluster defense. Viewing will not take place due to the red faces beheld on all who were involved. Please send condolences care of Ryan Falkner at this blog. We will forward them to him on your behalf. Survivors include 60,000 fans who trudged home on a cold Sunday afternoon just in time to make it to church services. Last wishes of all those tough young players who managed to walk out alive were that we could "all just get along" and that everyone would turn their support to the clearly superior team that currently resides on the U of U campus. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!

SNOW DOG!!!

2008-12-16T10:11:00.001-08:00

One kid, two colors

2008-12-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a busy one for me. Up at 7:00 AM to get Jake weighed in for his tournament, and home at 11:00 PM from the Nutcracker. Just wanted to share some of the joy that I had yesterday. Jake had a wrestling tournament in which he took first place. He had two pretty tough matches, then one in which he pinned the boy in about 20 seconds. Way to go buddy! Here he is, skinny little turd.
After that was over we ran home to get gussied up. He was my date for our annual Nutcracker outing at Capitol Theater. This was his first time seeing it so I was very curious to see his reaction. Needless to say the art support at our house pretty much starts and ends with me so it was fun to share this with him. We went with Gma and Gpa Reece and Lynsey Lou. Nick was there too but busy putting out fires and dealing with work issues.

We had a great time. When asked what his favorite part was he responded "the smoke, the cannons, guns and pirates" so basically he enjoyed the pyrotechnics and the Russians, I think. Big surprise. He is still a boy. Ballet West has a new female lead, and little tiny asian girl from Hawaii that is absolutely fabulous! If you have a chance to catch a performance I would highly recommend it. She is so graceful, yet strong and uber-confident. Jason Linsley performed a very solid duet also. (Hope I spelled that right) We were very proud of him. Great job everyone!

2008-12-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Today I am posting on the incredible season that the Utes have had this year. They are on their way to the Sugar Bowl which will be played in New Orleans on January 2, 2009. They will be playing the #4 ranked team Alabama on that day. Hoo - Ah Utes.Throughout this season I have had to defend my team at my place of work because I am surrounded by zoobie lovers. One most outspoken young man was Bradley, who even when things looked bad, claimed that BYU was going to beat Utah this year in the Holy War. So in the spirit of good humiliating fun, we made a bet that whoever's team lost must wear some apparel from the opposing team to work. We we all know who won so here is a pic of innocent little Bradley in his U of U beanie.

Oh how sweet. In keeping with the same theme, Wade found this great little Diddy in the SL Tribune yesterday. It is a fun little article poking fun at how lame the Bowl game is that BYU gets the privilege to attend (once again). And I quote...

Location: Las Vegas; Expected opponent:
UCLA; Tickets: Still available
What makes game fun: Knowing Utah is still on quest for perfection
What makes location fun: For free, you can watch the Pirate of the Caribbean boat rise out of the water
Besides the game: You get to travel on Christmas Eve
Travel package: Stay at a friend's 3rd cousin once removed's house and sleep on air mattress for free. Bring a cooler full of peanut butter and jam. Don't forget your oversized man bag and faded blue blanket to sneak licorice into the stadium.
Getting there: Rent a 16-passenger van and split the cost between 20 people.
Total cost: $78.00."
HA HA. That is all so true. BYU fans come with $100 dollar bill in their pocket and they leave with it still there! Sorry to all my friends and family who happen to like BYU but ninner ninner suckas.

Festival of Trees Opening Night

2008-12-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ok, double posting today because last night was one of my favorite nights of the year. Opening night of the Festival of Trees where we get to dress up, scope out the best tree, and push over Donald Trump look alikes to get the winning bid. Honestly I just like the festive atmosphere, getting to wear something pretty, and spending time with my parents and sis. We got a very cute tree courtesy of Dad's work who foots the bill for our entertainment. The best tree of the night was undoubtedly a tree with about a hundred blown glass discs with lights shimmering behind them. The winning bid was $26,000.00. Holy Crow! Someone hasn't felt the hit of the bad economy! Here's a few pix of us in all our formal glory.

Lindsay Night!

2008-12-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

Once a month Haley and I get together with our gal pal and fellow Twilight addict Lindsay, who hails from the great city of Bountiful, Utah. This month we met for dinner and a repeat showing of what else... Twilight! We had alot of fun at dinner chatting (once Lindsay found her way, she is notorious for getting lost). I know this might be blasphemy, but honestly, I'm Twilighted out. If I have to watch that movie one more time I might bite myself. Please don't egg my house out of retaliation ladies. Come on, admit it, it's not that great of a movie. It's like watching glue dry. Sorry, but you know I'm a brutally honest individual, I call it like I see it. Anyways, here's a cute pix of our GNO. Don't I look thrilled to be in a theater again?