Sept - First day of school!

First day of school!!! They are both sooo very cute and excited for school! They are stoked that their backpacks even have drink holders!! hehehe... I can hardly believe that Sam's already in Kindergarten....time goes by WAY to fast!!

Samantha's teacher this year is Ms. Renee, and we have heard nothing but FABULOUS things about her. Samantha is already reading (thanks to Grandma) so I'm sure she's going to do just fine. Sam said that her chair is at table 1, and she sits with Tessa, Shaylee, Gracie and Zachary. I'm volunteering in her classroom once a week. It'll be really cool to be able to meet her new classmates and potential friends.

Today is Kaity's first day of any school!! She starts preschool at the Sports Academy. Samantha went there 2 years ago, and we loved them. As part of her school, she gets to have swimming lessons on monday, gymnastics (or as Kaity calls is - gymnasterbats....soooo adorable) on wednesdays and alternates between dance and tennis on fridays. She'll get to try a lot of things...plus the preschool part of the program is fantastic. And she's excited that she met a new friend on her first day...Bergan Billings. Isn't everything is better with a friend...

Sisters...I hope that they are always this close...or closer...

Fun birthday cakes '09

Kaity turned 3 Aug 13, 2009. It's been almost a year already, but I thought this picture was too sweet to not post. :0) Her cake was really fun to make and she loved the fruit by the foot ribbon....almost as much as she loved playing with her cousins and family at her party. :0)

Tawnya really outdid herself (well, ok...all of us...) with the perfectly sphere baseball cake. And the field to go with it....sand, bases, backstop and even the foul posts. My favorite is the white chalk lines are there too. :0) She's amazing.

Blogging? What's that?

Well...it's been about a year since I've updated by blog. Pathetic... I'm just taking a quick poll to see if it's worth updating. So...what do you think? Do you write for people to read and comment or do you write for you own benefit? Is it worth my own personal satisfaction to update?

Just thought I'd send that thought into space and see if there are still other more dedicated bloggers out there...while I deliberate...

Feb & March 2010

February was a month filled with home projects. We first finished the salon in the basement. I really love it!! Sean laid the wood floors, molding, light fixtures...and I painted and painted and painted... Shortly after we finished the bare-bones of the job then we got the furniture, sink and mirror all put in. I really love the way it turned out.

Then since that wasn't enough to do...hehe... Sean also laid the floors in the laundry room and the bathroom with all the molding everywhere.

And then we lucked out and got the chance to put carpet in the rest of the basement. So...I had the bright idea to glaze all of our walls before we had the carpet installed. ;0) I thought it wouldn't be all that bad...plus I didn't want a bit of paint needed after the carpet was installed. Makes sense, right?? Well.....it was CRAZY HARD!!! hahaha... I quickly had to recruit everyone to help me get it finished. But, I love the way it turned out. Thanks everyone!!! Here's good before and after wall to see the difference...

Jan 2010

I was lucky enough to go back to my home away from home and visit my SWEET friends in AZ in January. I had SOOO much fun!! I got to bunk down at Susan's and do some fun haircuts. I also stayed out in the boonies (hehe) with Ash and her fam. I got to have way better than just a girls night.... It was like girls WEEK! I LOVED it and seriously can't wait to get back down there. :0)

I also decided we needed to have FUN with the winter months! So, we got some extra water bottles and filled them with water and food coloring and sprayed fun designs on the ground. It was really fun! And the girls had a blast. :0) I highly recommend it to break up the cabin fever!

Welcome Fall...

I can't believe how time flies...

I've been completely detached from my blogging world. :0/ But, I'm back

and I'll be updating over the next little bit. :0)

We have had a wonderful summer. And now fall is here. This morning I opened my windows to crisp, fresh air....admittedly, one of my favorite things.....(sigh...) :0) Welcome back fall.

Summertime in Bear Lake

We have had a lot of fun over at Bear Lake this year with the fam and a lot of time at the beach. My kids and Tawnya's kids are pretty much inseparable...kinda like me and Tawnya. ;0)

This summer I also started dabbling in photography.

I've really had a lot of fun with it. Plus, my kids are the perfect muse. :0) My goal for this next year is to actually have Sean and I in

at least a few of the photos. hehe

Family Campout July 09 (hehe...I'll get caught up eventually) :0)

We found the greatest campsite up Logan canyon this summer. The road was a bit sketchy in several places, but it helped to hold my breath and close my eyes and imagine us on a paved highway somewhere...haha. BUT, once we got there it was well worth it! We had a great spot for all of our huge tents, Dad's camper all our vehicles, 3-4 wheelers and all our junk. It was quite the procession. :0)

Right when we got there, the guys went out to gather some fire wood. And they came back with an entire tree! hahaha....seriously... You can see the pile of firewood behind Mason in his football picture. It was impressive. Especially since we were staying there for an entire day and night. ;0)

The site also had great places to climb and explore. Just a short 4 wheeler ride to fun fishing. We had lots of delicious food and chats by the fire. Mom got to study her map of the world...memorizing every country. :0) The kids and Zoe had a great time too. Even though we used up 2 canisters of mosquitoes spray in the first 2 hours, it was really a GREAT time!! And I can't wait to go again this year...despite my new crazy fear of Bears that my family loves so much. hehe

"Zoo Am-mi-mals"

Perfect weather, all the animals out for us to see, happy children and great company...what more could you want on a summer day?! :0) We all had such a great time!! We saw pretty much all the animals and fun lunch in the shade. Samantha was our tour guide. She helped us find our way all day by reading the map. Jentry found a tiny little green caterpillar and let it crawl on her hand, she was equally grossed out and proud. haha Mason and Kaity were always a step ahead of us...anxious to see what was next. And luckily, there were as many adults as there were kids, so we all had a great time. haha

The carousel was a first my most of the kids. Samantha rode on a Zebra - her first choice and favorite animal of the day. Brinley rode next to Sam on an ant eater....hahaha, cool, huh. :0) Kaitlyn mustered up every ounce of bravery, and with Lydia's help, she rode on a penquin. Wahoo!! She even managed to wave with one hand for a sec. :0) Tawnya helped Mason ride a wolf. He really had a lot of fun even though his face looks a bit stressed...haha. Jentry rode on a sea lion (I think). And Drew and Lori had a sweet ride in the bench. Wahoo!! :0)

The last thing we did was ride on the train. Samantha was talking about it all day, and was really excited to ride, but when we got there she said, "Mom! It's a real train!! I can NOT BELIEVE IT!! I thought it was just going to be a toy train!!" haha It was soooo fun for the kids. Kaitlyn was super tense, but let herself have a great time.

The girls had such a great day. They were asleep withing minutes of being in the car. That's always a good sign. :0) All in all...great day, good times, and can't wait to go again. :0)

Bahamian Paradise

Sean took me on a cruise to celebrate my 30th birthday. It was SOOOO much fun!!! We left on Sunday night and didn't get back until Friday night. We left our children with my sister Tawnya...I have to admit, it was really hard for me to leave them that long! Eek! But, they had a blast while we were gone. In fact, just last night, Samantha asked if we could go on the boat again so that she could stay at Tawnya's. hahaha... Thanks Tawn!!

Anyway...we had the best time!!! We went snorkeling...and Sean was able to dive and swim with a sea turtle...very cool!! The water in the Bahama's is insanely salty....bluh.... So, as long as you NEVER taste the water it is so fun to snorkle. :0) We saw some fun beaches and little shops on shore. And there was soooo many things to do on the boat. Lots and lots of yummy food!! mmmm.... Fun shows to attend, great performers, and a fabulous spa. We looooved the spa!!

I looooved being able to relax that much with Sean. We would lounge on the pool deck and watch the water horizon. Every evening there would be a distant storm on the water. So, it was really fun to watch the lightening, listen to the band and chill...

We met several really great people! I really do hope we cross paths with them again. :0) I enjoy the times when i am reminded of what a small world it really is, and how many wonderful people there are. Thank you Sean for an amazing birthday celebration!! I love you...and...I'm loving being 30 so far!! :0)