A little of this and that, and something quite exciting

I have had a few people quite concerned because I haven’t blogged in a few days, which is just not like me!!! LOL. There are a few reasons. First off and foremost, our computer has been broken. I will not bore you with details, but let’s just say it has been a sore subject around our house, especially since I have an IT/computer genius for a husband. It is fixed now, so that is all that matters. Along with that, I have been super busy and out of town, so I will play catch up with our very eventful past few days.

First off, I gave the boys their “summer cuts.” Gavin was really proud of his new hair. He said he was so excited to show his Grandmas his “cute new hair.” Kayler was sooo funny about it. People would ask him where his hair was, he would reach up and touch his head and then say, “I no know!” Needless to say, they are not as cute as they are with hair, but I was very tired of washing and combing their very long hair, and besides it is getting hot here. Their Grandma’s were not too pleased with me for doing it, but oh well.

Moving on-G.J. and I had to go to Salt Lake Friday. Our nephew was graduating from Murray High School. Along with that I had 2 Modbe Parties to do. G.J. came home after the graduation to take care of the kids, and I stayed the night. I did one party for my brother in Salt Lake, and one in Saratoga Springs for my cousin. They turned out nice, but I am SOOO glad to be home and SOOO glad to see my kids, I really missed them.

Hallie had a birthday party today, and it was so cute. It was her friend Hunter and her mom is a beautician. She did their hair in super cute up-do’s, had their nails done, and then they did all sorts of things. She was there for like 4-5 hours. She was in heaven and couldn’t stop talking about all the things she did. I was still out of town when she came back, but G.J. had taken a picture of her, isn’t she cute!?

Anyways, moving on to some quite exciting news. As we were at the graduation on Friday, something pretty funny/interesting happened. I was sitting there, and I looked across the gym and saw a kid who looked VERY much like David Archuleta. Pretty soon people were buzzing all around us, and we got out the camera, zoomed in, and it was DEFINETLY him. He is just as cute in person as he was on T.V. I checked the program, and he was there because his sister was graduating, Claudia Archuleta. (I confirmed this with the lady sitting next to me who knew them I guess) He had 2 policemen by him, and it was a good thing, because he became quite the spectacle very quickly. The graduation took second stage as people began taking pictures and texting and videoing-which I will admit I did a little bit of each…lol. I kind of felt sorry for the poor kid. He was just there to watch his sister. He was just a normal person before the whole American Idol thing. I guess that is what happens when you become famous. I really like his voice, he is very talented, but I guess I never expected myself to get giddy when I seen him in person-lol. I feel a little lame about that. G.J. had gone down to the graduation floor to get some good pictures of our nephew as he got his diploma. My niece was BEGGING me to go over and get our picture with David. I refused, because I am a mean aunt, and I am shy when it comes to stuff like that. I told her to ask her uncle G.J., kind of jokingly. Well, imagine our surprise when he came back and said, “Guess who I just got my picture with?” Our niece was so sad, and I was quite shocked, because G.J. is a lot shyer than me. He said he got brave and figured this was a once in a lifetime chance, so he just did it. He said that he was super nice just letting people snap their pictures left and right. So here is the picture, our one claim to fame. G.J. was really sad because he was talking while the picture was being taken, oh well. I hope he has a great music career, and doesn’t let the fame get to his head too quickly.

So, it has been a whirlwind of a week, yet again. I am looking forward to things slowing down a little and enjoying a lazy fun summer. Have a great day!

p.s. I have cute pictures from a fun park day with Mandy and Janice and from Hallie’s Dance recital, which we also did last week, but I will post those later.

First Camping Trip of the Season

We had our first camping trip of the summer over the weekend. It was so much fun. My parents love love and I mean love camping. Me…not so much, especially with 3 little kids to keep safe, somewhat clean, and we had a dog to take this year as well. My parents bought a brand new camper that will fit our whole family. They finally got the hint that we will never buy a camper of our own, or ever have a truck to pull it with. The new 5^th wheel they got is enormous. I was going to take pictures, but it would not do it justice. Just a few of its amenities: 4 queen size beds, 2 full size beds, A/C and heat on demand, built in generator, gas tank, water tank, cherry cabinets, granite countertops, central vacuuming, etc.—you get the picture. It is nicer than most people’s houses…yet we drag it out into the boonies and stay a few nights and call it “camping.” Lol.

Anyways, they had been there since last Wednesday. My dad picked up Kayler and Hallie on Friday night. G.J., Gavin, and I headed up Sat. afternoon. It had snowed the nights before we came, but luckily was warming up a little by the time we got there. We had a nice hike, yummy dinner, and settled in and everyone slept very well.

We only stayed until Sunday afternoon, and then decided we had enough. As you can see from the pictures, Kayler was a little beast. He had a cute little leash that we had to attach him to or else he would run away. We all had to take turns walking him around. At one point when we all wanted to play a little bocce ball, we had to tie him to a tree…is that child abuse??? Nah, he had toys, drinks, snacks, and we were right there by him. Hallie and Gavin were very easy. They went on several adventures and know their limits of how far they can go. I think Dexter had the most fun of all. He was SUCH a good dog. He surprised me so much. He just stayed right at our camp and played with all the other people’s dogs. He had a permanent smile… (Yes, dogs can smile)…the whole time. I was so happy that we can take him and let him out of our boring back yard for awhile.

Anyways, I am sure I will be doing lots of posts about our camping adventures this summer. Have a great day! And Hooray for summer- let the fun begin!

Gavin's Preschool Graduation

Saturday was Gavin’s preschool graduation. He had such a special day. Kayler and Hallie had gone camping with my parents the night before, so it was just the 3 of us-Gavin, G.J., and Me. We have never gotten to spend a whole day with just him, so we let him choose everything he wanted to do so it would be extra special. Our day went like this: We watched cartoons and had his favorite cereal in the morning. Then he had a bath in Mom and Dad’s BIG tub. We made a quick stop at the shoe store…he really wanted to-lol. Then we went to Burger King for lunch because they have the Indiana Jones toys and who wouldn’t want one of those!? Next we headed to his very favorite candy store, Little Sweet Pea. He got to choose 2 things, and boy was he stoked. Then we headed over to his graduation.

We got good laugh out of our little Gav. The funniest part was when they were doing the pledge of allegiance in sign language with their eyes closed. It was so funny because he VERY NOTICEBALY peeked at the teacher the whole time. All the other kids had their eyes shut, but not good old Gavin, everyone was laughing so hard at him. I have it on video; I can’t wait to re-watch it. Along with that, he wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve about 10 times, rubbed his eyes very hard and yawned like 5 times, and just mouthed the words to the songs, he never really sang. What a little stinker he is!

Hallie went to this same preschool. They make a video of all the pictures from throughout the school year and show it at graduation. The music to the video made me cry when Hallie went, and yep, made me cry again this year. I added it to my play list, so you will have to listen. It is SUCH a good song with such a perfect title, “Let them be Little.” After the program we headed off to what Gavin was most excited about-our first camping trip of the year! We all had so much fun; I will blog about it next.

Anyways, I am very grateful that my kids could have had such good preschool teachers. Hallie had them 2 years ago, and then Gavin had them this past year. Mr. Ross is Mrs. Young's dad, if you can follow that. So it was a father-daughter team teaching my sweet little kids. They are the best in every way. This was the last year they were teaching, so I feel very lucky to have had my kids be blessed by their talents. Mr. Ross actually had to stop mid-year, but Gavin never forgot him. Thanks Mrs. Young and Mr. Ross!-we will miss you, and I hope to stay in touch. :)

Gavin and Mrs. Young

Gavin and Mr. Ross

On Stage

I'm the luckiest Granddaughter!

This will be a long post, so just beware. I really want to record some things before it is too late.

On my mom’s side, I am the youngest grandchild of the greatest grandparents in the world. Their names are Marlo and Leona…cute old people names huh?! Anyways, they are 85 and 82 years old. They live on a farm, which they currently only have sheep, cats, and pigeons.

5 years ago these are some things I would have said about them.--They are there for everything for all 12 of us grandkids. They are there for birthday parties, dance recitals, graduations, baby showers, etc., you name it, and they are there. Along with that, they always know what each one of us grandkids is doing. Me being the youngest, I think they are slightly more involved in my life than any of my other cousins. They don’t want anyone to fuss over their care, they are very self sufficient. My grandma is a wonderful cook. She makes the best cinnamon rolls, banana bread, and homemade chicken and noodles ever. In fact, when my brother was on his mission, the other elders would patiently wait for the monthly package from good ol’ Grandma “B” because it always had her goodies in it. She is also wonderful at quilting and embroidering… We all have numerous quilts that I cherish so much. I have several sets of pillowcases that are so beautiful. When we are little, some of my most vivid memories are camping with them. We would always have wild peppermint tea. I could never find the plants, but they always could. We would play cards and eat her goodies and have so much fun. They always have a beautiful garden and flowers. My grandma is always out there with her cute little terry cloth visor working away. They are so cute about reading books. They love the gushy Mormon novels, and my Grandma sits and reads to my grandpa, and then they excitedly pass on the books to us. Along with that, whenever I slept over as a little girl, I got the best stories ever. My grandpa LOVES to watch T.V. His favorites are all old westerns, the news, Judge Judy, and Dr. Phil…hehe. They call me usually every day, sometimes much too early in the morning I might add! My grandpa does not feel complete unless he has an animal of some sort to take care of. They save every single scrap of food to give to the animals. Speaking of saving things, they save EVERYTHING. They both lived through the depression, and were never wealthy. She even saves her cups from McDonald’s because she can “wash and reuse it.” Gross, but anyway-it is just how they are. Their life has been filled with tragedy. They had 2 sons and 3 daughters. They lost their son Chris when he was in his 20’s. He had just returned from the Vietnam War and passed away in a car accident shortly after returning back to the US. 4 years ago, they lost their oldest son, Craig. He died of unknown causes; I think it was a heart attack. I was the one who went with my mom and aunt to tell them the news. We awoke them at 3 in the morning. I will never ever in my life forget the anguished cries that I heard of a mother learning that she had lost a child. I think that is why I fear losing one of my kids so badly. All 3 of their daughters have been in and out of the church, and that has caused them a lot of grief, but they remain strong in their faith despite their kids. They are so faithful with scriptures, and before things have gone downhill the past little while, they were in the temple several times a week. Whenever we visit, no matter how long we have been there, when we leave, they always plead for us to “stay a little while longer.”

All of those things I just wrote about are in the past. 2 years ago my grandpa had a double knee replacement. Then my grandma turned downhill and was in ICU for several weeks, and the outlook was not good. They have not recovered fully, and are now more frail than ever. It is so painful to watch. What is hard is that they need help, but like I said before, they don’t like people to fuss over them. My grandma doesn’t cook anymore like she used to. Her eyes have gone very bad- so now quilts, embroidering, and reading her scriptures and books to my grandpa are out of the question. They sold their camper; it was too hard to get it ready and to be in the mountains. The garden and flower beds are no longer perfect. They are still there, but she struggles so hard to keep them up. My grandpa can’t have as many farm animals. He has fell several times while taking care of them. Just a few months ago I went over and he was so upset because his best ewe had died while giving birth. He had heard her cries, but it was in the middle of the night and the middle of the winter and he was simply too tired to make it to her in time. They still call often, and try to make it to all the activities they can. What hinders that joy is that my grandma is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. I will sometimes get the same phone call and story 3 times a day. She called my mom the other day and said, “Happy memorial day, will you take me to put flowers on my son’s graves?” My mom had to remind her that it was not Memorial Day, but she got so confused and upset, not believing my mom that it really wasn’t Memorial Day for another whole week.

I am so grateful in every way that I have had them in my life. My grandma is closer to me than my own mom sometimes. I am so glad that my kids have gotten the chance to know and love them. Even though they are not as active as when I was little, their love for the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren has never faltered. I love them so much. To them, I just want to plead, “Just stay a little longer,” just like they always do to us. I know that the time is not far away that they will be gone. I just have to focus on the joy they will have to reunite with their 2 sons and all their other family that has gone on before them.

p.s., that picture was a couple months ago. I always try to snap a picture of them with my kids, because I never want my kids to forget them.

Have a great day!

A Surprise for ME???

Okay, so I never ever get surprises. I love to give surprises, it is SO fun for me to let people know that you care and to do something extra special that they weren’t expecting. Well, imagine my surprise when I had a little box on my doorstep today. I thought it was kind of strange, because I hadn’t ordered anything lately, and it wasn’t any of my ModBe stuff. I excitedly opened it, to find all sorts of yummy cake, dip, and drink mixes and some delicious sauce. I opened the card because I thought who in the world would send me something so nice.

Well, it was my good blogging friend Kelli. I have talked about her several times before. She was the one that recommended the cookbook to me, and we have been good bloggy friends ever since. Some people might find that odd, or cheesy or whatever. I don’t care. She actually used to live in Utah, she is LDS, lives and extraordinary life, and truly is an example to me. Beyond all of that, she takes time to send me sweet emails just letting me know how she is doing, and sincerely wanting to know how I am doing as well. She is really busy, and so the fact that she took the time to send this to me means more than you will all know. She said it was for designing her blog background a while back. I didn’t deserve anything for that, it was soo easy, and so I owe her like 50 free blog designs now!!!

Thank you so much Kelli, you truly made my day. I consider you a true friend, even though we have never met, or talked on the phone. I have wonderful friends here in Vernal, but you have no idea how much it means that I have friends elsewhere thinking of me. I have blogged several times about how I never cry, well---I shed a tear or two…or more over this. It just feels so nice to know that I matter to someone!

Thanks Kelli!!! You made my day!

Taking a Sunday Drive with Hallie

Just a few pics. They were so cute all 3 of them riding around in Hallie's little Barbie Volkswagen. None of the pictures turned out very good, but enjoy anyways. And yes...I realize Kayler's helmet is a girl one, you can't tell in the pictures though. Along with that, I understand that I am probably the only parent alive that makes my kids wear helmets while riding a small hot wheel thingy that goes like 2.5 MPH...lol, but I don't care! :)

I can't believe it is the last week of school. I am excited. I like the unstructured times of summer. I know we will have a lot of fun! Have a great day!

Happy Weekend!

WoW! That is all I can say. We have had such a nice weekend. The past few weekends have been filled with traveling, yard sales, etc. and we have not had a chance to actually stay home and do normal “weekend” stuff.

Friday was busy doing odds and ends here and there. Then Hallie and Gavin got invited to stay the night in my mom and dad’s new camper. They had SO much fun, and were in heaven. When we walked in to see it the first time, Kayler said, “Oh me gosh!” It was so cute. Saturday started off earlier than normal. We never wake up before like 8:30 or 9 on weekends, what can I say, we are lazy I guess??? Anyways, I woke up unusually early, slapped on a super ugly nightgown, and came to get some breakfast. Then the doorbell rang. I didn’t have time to change, so I just answered it. Luckily it was my sweet next door neighbor Candace, just coming to order a swimsuit. Hopefully she didn’t mind my ugly hair, unbrushed teeth, ugly nightgown, and garments showing…lol. If so, Sorry!!! Hehe :)

After that, we had a lot of yard work to do. We got SO much done and it felt so good. Yard work is therapeutic to me. I like things clean on the inside of my house, and when I look out the window, I need to see things clean there too. After that the day was a little bit of a blur consisting of yard work, housework, errands, a little shopping, Kayler taking a marker to our vinyl fence, Kayler getting bit by the dog, more Modbe orders, family, friends, food, the kids and G.J. going to the new Narnia movie, washing the car, hmmmmmmm, what else??? It was busy. I will not bore you with all the details.

One of the good things about these kinds of weekends is that I get to take the time to actually listen to all the funny things the kids say. When we are traveling, things are hectic, and we are usually in the car with the kids watching a movie, G.J. sleeping, and me driving. They have been hilarious this weekend. Every time they said something, I thought, “I need to blog about that, or write that down.” But, I didn’t, so now here I sit and I can only remember a few funny things that were said. There were also many photo opportunities, but yet again, I slacked.

Hallie had a friend over on Friday. She is from her class at school. Her name is Hunter. Well, in their class at school, there are 2 Hunter’s. So they call one Hunter R. and the other Hunter W. Well we had Hunter R. at our house. Hallie was playing and I was peeking in on them. I would hear Hallie say “Hunter R. lets play littlest pet shops.” Then I heard her say, “Hunter R. let’s go outside.” Finally I took her aside and told her that she does not need to call her Hunter “R” when they are outside of school. Finally after like 10 more times she figured it out.

Another thing was something Kayler said when Hallie walked into the door from school with her little friend. They went straight outside, and he looked up to me and said, “Hallie, Friend, Outside?” It was so sweet that he is starting to notice things. He is also starting to sing- I am a Child of God, The ABC’s, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Along with that, when I read stories to him, I will look in his book baskets and say, “let’s see,” as I am choosing a book to read. He wanted me to read him book after book yesterday, and he would look up to me and say, “Let’s see!” after every one.

Gavin and Hallie acquired 3 new pets while staying at my mom’s house, like they always do. They have come home with things like butterflies, cotton-tale rabbits, bugs, etc. The creatures always die under their care, and I hate it, but I know that it is so fun for them to have the adventures they do. Well this time they came home with 2 scorpions and a big furry caterpillar. Hallie told me, “I REALLY need to take those scorpions to school with me because there are only 5 days of school left and I need to show my class that I am cool.” Gavin was in charge of the caterpillar on the way home. It pooped on him, he said it “bit” him, and then…he lost him. We have lost a caterpillar in the car before, and I was not too happy. I just knew that I would be driving down the street and have a little fluffy thing show up in my ear or something. Well I searched the car for the darn thing with no luck then I put Gavin down for a little nap and asked him one more time where it was. Well just then it came crawling out of his pocket. Gavin told him, “hey you little monster, get back in there.” BOYS!!! I will tell you what, they are trouble…lol.

Anyways, it was a great weekend, we got a lot done, made a lot of memories and most of all, it is WARM!!! It was like 86 yesterday, and I very happily cranked on the central A/C for the first time!! Hooray! Have a great day!

Happy Anniversary Georgie!

8 years ago today, I married my best friend. 7 years ago this week, we were sealed for Time and all Eternity in the Vernal Temple, with our precious little girl. I can honestly say, I have never been happier in my marriage. It seems that we made it through the struggles of college, having kids, being extremely poor, finding a good job, house, car, etc. It really feels like I was holding my breath for almost 7 years, and now I can exhale. Now, we feel like an old married couple just starting the life of Soccer Mom and Boy Scout Leader Dad. (which I am not a soccer mom and G.J. is not in scouts, but you get the picture!) We are still not rich, and I know we will still have trials, but with a wonderful husband by my side, and through the growth and progress we have made these past 8 years, I hope from here on out it will be easier.
Happy Anniversary G.J., I love you!
(p.s. I know we were both super young, and it shows in those pictures. I think I look somewhat the same now(besides the extra 50 lbs I have on me! I think G.J. looks like a little boy in those pictures!!! I guess 8 years married to me has aged him into a handsome older looking man!)

Mommy day!

My Mother’s Day was WONDERFUL! I have to make a little confession. We have been married 8 years this Tuesday, so I have had 7 Mother’s Days not including today. They were all terrible…how ungrateful does that sound??? G.J. always forgot to do anything at all for me, and I always ended up so sad and disappointed. I was bound and determined to make this year different. I told him exactly what I wanted and that did the trick. I think in year’s past I just wanted him to magically figure out what I wanted and to do it, and he never did and then I was always mad that he couldn’t read my mind, DUH!

So, I woke up to breakfast in bed. My favorite, French Toast made with thick Texas toast bread. Slap on a little peanut butter, syrup, a banana on the side, and wash it down with a nice glass of milk and I was set! As I was laying there I had a huge wave of sadness come over me. Not because of my breakfast, but I couldn’t help but to think of all the wonderful mothers out there who get nothing at all and no acknowledgment on Mother’s Day. I can’t imagine how sad that must make them feel. Any and all mothers are deserving of something in someway on this special day. I also had a huge aching heart for my friends who are having a hard time becoming a mother, how sad they must feel on this day. Instead of dwelling on that, I decided to be completely and totally grateful for the family that I do have that is so good to me, and to thoroughly enjoy my day.

I went into the kitchen and found this:

Shocked, Surprised, Happy, Amazed…all emotions I felt when I seen it. #1 G.J. had gotten me something this year for a change. #2 MY HUSBAND DID A CRAFT. #3 He thought of it all by himself, and it wasn’t the one thing I had told him to get. #4 There was candy on it, need I say more. And #5, Hallie added a cute little blue bird on there because she just knew I would love it. Isn’t it the cutest thing ever!!! He also got me a gift certificate to the nursery I had wanted so I can get my flowers and vegetables and stuff.

The day went on nicely. The weather was beautiful, and I really enjoy watching my kids play outside and soak in the sunshine and fresh air. I had to teach Hallie’s class at church. I helped them make another little craft for their Moms. They were so cute and excited.

After Church, we had 4 stops to make. I am so lucky to still have 2 grandmothers alive. We also have my mom and mother in law in town. So, we started at one end of town and ended up at the other after visiting them all. I am so grateful for all 4 of them. They are special in their each unique way, and I love them all with all my heart.

So, I told G.J. that this was a great start to the way that Mother’s Day should be, and he agreed. I hope you all had a good day as well!

SUCCESS!

WooHoo! The yard sale was a success. I am so TIRED! We made close to $500. Not to bad for a morning's worth of work. I guess it did take time and effort to get it all ready, but still, that is great. My mom took $180 of the money, and gave me the rest, even though it was most of her stuff that we sold.
I was so excited, she is so good to me. We will pay our tithing, put some in savings, give the kids each $20 (since we sold a lot of their old toys), and I think I will get a long awaited and much needed pedicure. I think there will even be enough to take the kids to dinner and a movie, something we haven't done in AGES.
We didn't have to take very much to D.I., so that was good. We had a steady stream of cars from 7:30 a.m. until about 12. It was crazy, but good. My friends Mandy and Janice had one at Janice's house too. They were super busy too and both made a lot of money. Guess today was a great day for a yard sale! I am SOOO over the yard sale idea for at least a few more years...until I gather enough junk to do it again!!!
Have a great Mother's Day everyone! I think you are all great mother's and I am very lucky to have such great friends, I love ya all!

Yard Sale time!

Tomorrow is my yard sale. Aren't I lucky!? I get to watch total strangers rummage through my old treasures. Me and my mom usually do one every other year. It feels so good to get rid of things. I usually try to donate the kid's old clothes to a family in my ward that has a TON of kids. It makes me feel so good when I do that, and I see them at church and other places wearing all my kids old things and they are so grateful and appreciative of it all. I have taken toys and other things to D.I. in the past, but they are getting very picky on what they take. So I figured what the heck, I might as well make a little money off my old stuff, and de-clutter my cupboards. I didn't think I had all that much to get rid of, but boy was I wrong. Between me and my mom, we have STUFFED my two car garage FULL of everything under they sun...lol. So, if you are in town, and would like to come, I'll see ya tomorrow (sat) at my house at 8 a.m.!

Hallie's Field Trip

Hallie had her field trip today at school. I have not helped near as much as I would have liked to in her class, so I was so glad (and so was she) that I could go today.
It was a pretty lame field trip, considering what some of the other grades did for their field trips, but they are in first grade, so what can you expect. It will get funner and better when she is older. We went to the city offices, the library, and the park. I don't think the kids cared where we went, as long as they were out of school. It was so fun to see her interact with her friends and to have a good time. Most of all, she was SO happy to have me there. I bet in a few years she won't be so happy to have me along, so I will take all I can get while I can. Here are a few pics:

Here is us on the busHere they are at the city offices, looks very intriguing, doesn't it.Here is the fire truck, the last picture is actually a tribute to two Firefighters who had lost their lives in 9/11-the fire truck came from NYC, and they had used it to respond to 9/11 and then our fire dept. bought it.
Here they are recording a small segment for the Radio Station.
Here is the library.Here is the park with her cousin Alli.

The Temple

Tonight was our ward’s temple night. We didn’t go the same time as the rest of the ward, because it was too late (7:45-945). We went at 6:30 instead. We had such a nice time. There is no other time that I feel so at peace and happy with my life and in love with my husband. It is our anniversary next Tuesday, so we figured this would be good enough to celebrate, since we also had a mini vaca in March.

I really don’t know exactly all who read this blog. In my mind it is just my closer family and friends who already know about my religion. But I felt compelled and inspired to share my testimony of the main thing that makes me who I am. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as Mormons. I have been so upset with all this polygamy scandal in Texas, especially when they mention even part of our church’s name. We are in NO WAY affiliated with the polygamists, or FLDS as they are called. We are as different as night and day.

I truly have a testimony of this gospel. I am so grateful to be born in the USA, in Utah, and in Vernal. Along with that I am so grateful to be born of goodly parents and to have been raised in this church. I will admit that the church is perfect, but sometimes the people in it are not, and that saddens me very much, because it gives the rest of the world a reason to dislike us.

I love my Savior, the scriptures, Joseph Smith, prayer, my family, and the temple. As I sat in the temple tonight, I have never felt stronger that all of those things that I love and believe in are so true and I am blessed beyond measure.

I hope that if you haven’t been to the temple yet, or if you haven’t been in a while, you will make a goal to go. I pray that if you are reading this, and don’t know about my religion, but would like to know more, please go to www.lds.org.

Have a great day!

Kayler's Birthday Party

Kayler’s birthday was great! He was still a little sick, and got really shy around all the people at his party but still had fun. We had both my sets of grandparents, my parents, my in-laws, my brother and his wife and their little girl all came. Kayler is really into the following things: Dora, Spongebob, Nemo, Disney “Cars”, balls, suckers, balloons, and trucks. SO…..to incorporate all of that…lol. He had a Spongebob cake, He got a Dora Magnadoodle, “cars” sand bucket thing, lots of balls, trucks, gave balloons and suckers to his guests, and got to watch “Finding Nemo” all day. I think I addressed all his needs! He is so darn sweet and stinkin’ cute I might add!

Today he went for his 2 year checkup and shots. He had croup, which I figured, so they gave him a shot for that. He checked out perfectly healthy otherwise. He is short and skinny for his age, and has a big head just as always! He was SO embarrassing. While I was talking to the Dr., he walked around the Dr.’s chair and tried to untuck the Dr.’s shirt and put his hands down the back of his pants. UGGGHHH! Little kids have the brightest ideas sometimes! Anyways, have a good day!

Pics of Lagoon

So I finally had 3 seconds to get our Lagoon post done. We left Friday, went to G.J.’s sister’s house for a party. Then we went to his other sisters to stay the night. We got up nice and early (after a horrible night, because Kayler has this strange phobia about sleeping at other peoples’ houses) and we headed to Lagoon. Hallie did so cute at her dance. I’m not sure if they won or not…but I doubt it, is that so rude of me?! All that matters is that she had fun, and was totally oblivious to the other teams that were really good.

Anyways, the kids loved Lagoon, it was so fun for me to see them enjoy themselves and make the fun memories just like I remember as a kid. Gavin was scared of most the rides, except the little tiny kid ones. Kayler enjoyed them for the most part, but then he fell asleep (probably due to the fact that he only slept like 6 hours the night before). Hallie was my little daredevil; she must take after her mommy. She was so sad when she wasn’t tall enough to go on some of the rides. She went on the scariest ride there called “Wicked” They had a special little booster seat for her. It was so cute, we made it half way through the ride, and she turned to me and said, “I DID IT!” I just love her! Anyways, we had fun. I have the been there, done that attitude…we won’t go back this year. It is a lot of work, money, and chaos, but so worth the memories! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Kayler!

The trip went great. We traveled safe and sound, had fun with family, Hallie danced so great, the kids (and I) had a blast at Lagoon, and we returned home and slept great last night. I will do a larger update with pictures tomorrow, but today is all about my KAYLER!!! He is the big “2” today, and I just can’t believe it. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 2 years. You will have to click my post to see more about how special he is. http://mylittlefamilyof5.blogspot.com/2008/04/and-last-but-not-least-arrival-of.html All my kids are very special in their own way, but he is my baby boy, and always will be.

Unfortunately, Kayler is sick…on his birthday of all days. He has a cold/allergy/snot nose/runny eyes/cough type sickness. It is so sad. I had been planning on taking him to church and having treats for his nursery class. Hallie and Gavin stayed in Salt Lake with my mom and dad last night to go to the zoo today. G.J. and I had to come home last night because we had a lot of things to do for church today. So, I went and did my church things this morning, and G.J. is doing his right now. It has actually been really nice to have a whole day to devote exclusively to Kayler, that doesn’t happen very often. I have been spoiling him rotten, reading stories, playing, having lots of his favorite snacks, and cuddling and watching all his favorite cartoons. I have also been working with him to say, “Happy Birthday” and “I’m 2.” So far, he just says, “I two”, and he giggles when I sing Happy Birthday to him, but he won’t repeat it. His party is tonight with all his Grandparents. I will post pictures later. Have a great day!

Lagoon!

What I am excited about is going to Lagoon…..This is going to be my shortest post EVER. Hallie has a dance competition tomorrow at Lagoon. Ever since I was a little girl I Loved and I mean Loved, going there. I love the sights, sounds, rides, thrills, and total experience of it all. I am like an 8 year old still..lol. So, no more updates, no posts this weekend. Have a great day, and wish us luck…Like I have said before, 3 little kids traveling in and out and the whole crazy atmosphere of it all is not my cup of tea, but it will be fun!

The curse of my cookbook...maybe???

So everyone was really excited to see what my complaint was about my cookbook. Well, it is not that exciting at all actually. It is what leads me to my next update of the week, and that is trying to lose weight.

I don’t know if it was coincidence or not, but the same week I got the cookbook, I started putting on weight. I have always had a pretty easy time losing weight. I am never stick thin, but I can lose weight and keep it off fairly easy. Well, I have no idea why having this cookbook would change that, but I have a few thoughts.

First off, like I said yesterday, I don’t really remember how we ate before my new book. I still eat the same breakfasts, pretty much the same lunches, and exercise just as often. The main thing is that the new dinners I make are much larger. I think I used to just make barely enough and I would always serve myself last, giving my family all I could. With the new recipes, there are always ample amounts, and so I just take a huge serving, and even have enough to save for lunch the next day.

That is my suspicion of why I am having a really hard time getting this extra 10-15 lbs off, but who knows…maybe it is something totally different. Oh well, summertime is easier to lose weight in, if summertime would ever come! It is so hot, so I feel like eating less. I can run and play outside and camp and hike and bike and get back into my normal shape.

So sorry it wasn’t anything amazing, but I had to draw out my update week…lol. Have a good day!!! Tomorrows update will be about one of my favorite things.