Back to School 2010

Ally started school two days before Kaitlyn. Both had a great 1st days. I can't really say Ally's excited to be back, but it has been a good week. She's happy to have a nice teacher and see her friends each day. Kaitlyn is thrilled to be riding the "big" bus with sister and knows she'll have a good time at Kindergarten this year. I am ready for a full week of school and getting into a set-routine. So far, so good.

HTC 2010

Okay....so about a year ago a friend asked if I was interested in running Hood to Coast, my reply "no way!". I came up with several reasons why I wouldn't/couldn't do it. 5 months later, the friend came to me seeing if my reply would be the same....I was wishy washy and after my husband heard me...his comment was "you'll come up with any excuse in the book, won't you?" Well, I couldn't take that...and knew I had my husband's support ;-)

So here I am with my "Speedy Runners: OnDemand" team. I can't believe I actually completed all three of my assigned legs! It was a great opportunity and I'm thankful for the experience...though I'm not sure I'd ever do it again! Note to self: NEVER do leg 20 again (terrible...horrific experience! I'll just say hills, gravel, dust and more hills, gravel, dust combined....and not excluding an animal attack)...Uggg! I do plan to keep up with the running or jogging as my husband would say :) I agree, I'm slow!


I had fun getting the jitters, days before the run while watching the tents go up for the finish line "party".


There were 2 vans, I was in van 2. Very mello van, with lots of team support. Our Mascot, Speedy Gonzales.



Khara, thanks for putting the team together, reserving my spot and being a great friend!


AND...thanks to my family and friends, who encouraged all along this journey. You're support, prayers and encouragement got me through this! THANK YOU!!!

Family Beach Trip 2010

This is beach trip #3 for Jeremy's side of the family. We all had a lot of fun and are grateful Grandpa and Grandma allowed us the opportunity to be together. We had a great beach house with lots of fun things to do (hot tub, nice patio for bbq, fuse ball, air hocky, tv's everywhere and some games...including "fact or crap"...mom's favorite :) There are a few in the fam who were not able to make it (Becky, Leif and Lairen...we missed all of you and your families). You better make it next time!

We had a great time meeting one of the new additions, Jade (Kierstin and Wes's newest little bundle). Love the little tongue!


The cousins had a blast playing together....


We thoroughly enjoyed our time together (beach fun, games, paintin' toes, girls first sunset, finding crabs and other sea things)....


And being together as a family...



Thanks for the GREAT time!

Bull Riding 2010

Great Grandpa was able to attend our 13th year at the CC Fair Bull Riding Championship. The bulls were incredible, especially the first! We all loved it!


Queen Taylor, Kaitlyn's tutor from last year, rode during the opening ceremonies for the Muttin Bustin and the Bull Riding. She did a wonderful job! We were thrilled we got to the fair just in time to snap a great photo of the two together. Isn't Kaitlyn an adorable cowgirl?! She got all dressed up herself, early in the morning, for the fair outting :-) The girls favorite part???....the horses of course!

Daddy's 34!

Daddy birthday was yesterday. He is officially 34 and hates aging. He does love the attention and extra little things we do to celebrate his special day.

Who would have thought the thing that meant the most is....giving his favorite dog a bath so she could be in a a couple hours. Yes, Jeremy loves Daisy....I agree that she is pretty sweet and was actually easy to bathe. Other favoites: the fact that we had a relaxing evening at home with no visitors (no offense friends and family), the mini cakes the girls made with their easy bake oven and the steak dinner with german chocolate cake for dessert. WE LOVE YOU JER!!!

A thought unrelated to Jeremy's birthday: Every time I make a german chocolate cake (frosting imparticular), I think about my maternal Grandpa. I remember years ago, baking him a german chocolate cake for his birthday and hearing his reaction. He commented how good it must be, because I got the frosting to attach to the sides of a double layer cake. Each time I frost this type of cake, I think of this. Unfortunately, today I didn't have the time to get the sides frosted...but we still think it was yummy...grandma's coconut pecan frosting is the best :)

Kamie's Visit

Kamie came to visit last Wednesday. I miss her being so close. We've been friends since we were 9. I'm so grateful for her friendship and the fact that we've remained close through the years. Her daughter Katelynn, turned 12 on Sunday. Jake is 8, 9 in September. We also got to meet the new addition, Jane! She is adorable and such a good baby! Congrats you guys and thanks for the visit!

Baby Charlie's 1st Cone

I had the opportunity to travel to the Seattle area and visit my friend Natalie and her family. Charlie, her little guy who's 1, was given his first DQ cone. This one's for you Nat. Enjoy! He's SO cute and it was a joy to hang out and finally spend a good amount of time together.

Heading Home

We said our goodbyes to Porters extended family after the parade. Porter and Jen followed us over to Ezra Taft Benson's graveside. He was the 13th President of our church. I'm told that he is 1 of 2 prophets (latter day) buried outside of Salt Lake City, UT. President Benson was from the town of Whitney, just outside of Preston.

We said goodbyes to Porter and Jen there at the cemetery.
Thanks for the GREAT trip you guys!


We left at 8:30 (their time), just in time to see the sunset and catch sight of a rainbow. Jeremy drive through the night and allowed his girls to sleep. I slept all I could, but unfortunately wole up everytime the road changed texture. I kept thinking it was Jeremy going off the road :-( I only had to drive for an hour, the girls slept from 10pm on and I'm thankful the drive flew by.

Day 5 - Temple & Parade

Day 5, Porter and Jen needed to attend a baptism for their neice, so we headed for the girls trip to Utah (they were very excited for). Utah is 20 minutes away...I asked the girls what they thought as we crossed the border, Ally's comment "huh, it's not much different than Idaho".


We were happy to see the temple and take turns with the camera. We finally got the family pic for the calendar dad puts together :) Jeremy got a couple by setting the timer...he did pretty good!


The parade is a big deal in Preston. There are 3 straight nights of parades and rodeos. Many attend the parades each night; lots of horses, princesses from each small town (Kaitlyn's favorite) and of course CANDY and other surprises (yoyos, water bottles, chocolate/strawberry milk and otter pops).


Jeremy liked the Orange County "Patriot Chopper". I liked the huge tractor and watching the kiddos.

Day 4 - Fun around the House

Day 4, we stayed around the house and let the kids play. They had fun on the trampoline Riley got for her birthday, playing with the kittens, swinging and of course playing barbies, horsed or whatever else their imaginations stirred up....like those baggies with a straw, they used to blow air in and out (weird).


Late in the afternoon, we headed down to the pond for a yummy dutch oven dinner and just hang out....it was so peaceful! Neither of our phones got reception...do you know what a rarity it is to not have a single phone call...ahh SO nice!

Have I mentioned Jen and Porter have a new addition? Last November they had Easton...what a cutie!!! Each time you turn around to look at him, he makes an immediate smile with those adorable cheeks and bottom teeth showing.

You see a pic of Ally with a bloody nose??? Yeah, that was her second. It came outta no where, while the kids were playing near the sprinkler. The first came the night the boys set up the trampoline. The kids were playing a game, Ally had her eyes shut trying to find one of the others, then hit the pole. There was so much blood we couldn't believe it! I need to research bloody noses at such a high elevation...we were around 5000 feet, I think that has alot to do with it.

Preston, ID Rodeo

I loved, loved, loved the opening ceremonies for the Preston, ID rodeo! After introducing all the princesses, skydivers landed in the arena. There were 3 parachuters and the final parachuter had the American Flag swaying behind him. It took a little while to see that it was the American flag and by the time you could, "I'm proud to be an American"(my favorite patriotic song of all times!) played in the background. Goosebumps covered my arms, the moment was beautiful!

We've never been to an actual rodeo, only bull riding championships. We're used to a couple hour show, this lasted 3 and didn't end until 11:30pm. The kids did amazingly well, considering there were no naps. Kaitlyn did fall asleep thru about 45 minutes of it, waking up just in time to see the bucking broncs herd with their ponies come out for the ending finalee. It too was amazing and sent chills...knowing how much my girls LOVE horses!


We experienced a good storm through the show. LOTS of lightening which gave Ally a scare. Kaitlyn had nothing but excitement though each strike, since she kept trying to spot them earlier in the afternoon and had much frustration over it. We all stayed dry during the couple downpours which lasted about 5 minutes each.

Another experience we won't forget is the calf roping. I could do nothing but laugh, for it seemed funny to watch the calf go down so quickily. I laughed until one of the calves broke its neck and had to be hulled off. This is an event Ally could have done without, but got over it quickily as we helped her shrug it off.

The Trip to ID

This year, for our family trip, we decided to head to Preston to see our friends Porter and Jen (who came to see us last year). We're having a great trip and enjoying the time away from the hussle and bustle.


The Drive to Preston, ID went better than expected. Jeremy took the first leg until 5am (left at 11:30pm), I drove until 11am (our time) and couldn't take anymore. We arrived in Preston at 12:30 (their time). Leaving in the middle of the night made things much more peaceful and much quicker for all of us. We all were happy to arrive.


The first night, we headed for Porter's brother, Jordon's home. All the boys headed for the hills after dinner to try to spot a few deer, they saw more than just deer, elk too. Jordon's wife Suzanne, just got her certificate to do nails. She was kind to provide manicures for Jen and I. The kids were fasinated with the long pretty nails Jen was getting.

The second day, we relaxed and helped Jen prepare for Miss Riley's 7th birthday. It was a twilight themed party and I was impressed with Jen's cake idea, the cover of Eclipse. She did a great job and it was fun to help her.


For the party we headed down the family's pond and recreation area. Lots of fun stuff to do; bomb fire, basketball, playhouse, riding 4-wheelers and the rhino (4 person ATV vehicle). We had a great BBQ with all the trimmings and the opportunity to visit with Porter and Jen's families (only Porters family is in the picture). Ally enjoyed catching grasshoppers. Kaitlyn enjoyed riding the mini 4 wheeler and getting it too close to the pond....having to push it back up the little hill.


More to come soon....all from our third night: 3 hour rodeo with lots of entertainment; thunder storm, sky divers, calf roping (with calf neck-break), barrel racing, bare-back broncs, bull riding and did I say lots of lighting really close by?

Visit from Becky's Family

We had a great time visiting with Becky and her family last night. This is their week of birthdays: Stevens on Wednesday, Steve's on Thursday and Becky's on Friday. We had fun giving Steven his little gift early. The attention span of a 5 year olds isn't long....but I was amazed he and Kaitlyn got through over half of putting his lego helicopter together. I lured them back when it was time to put the propellers on :) It was a lot of fun!! The kiddos had a blast and were sad to leave their cousins.


Here's a cute one of Aunt Lairen with Tori.

Fun on the river!

Fawn and Henry (friends from church), took us out on their boat this afternoon. Our families had so much fun together! We were surprised when we saw the boat...it's one of those pontoon party boats that holds upto about 18 people....super fun! It goes about 30 mph and pulls a tube at the perfect speed. The girls were really nervous, but ended up having a blast. Both didn't think they would want to go tubing, but found that they loved it! The top left picture is of some ducks (ducklings were there too). They were at the dock when we first arrived.

These next pictures, only Jeremy and I (and Fawn and Henry) will find humor in. I couldn't choose just one for they all give me a laugh. Jeremy was in a zillion different positions for this ride, which made it difficult for me to hang on. I look like I'm freaked out the whole time, but really I'm laughing histarically the entire time and ready to pee my pants....I continued to laugh even though my head kept colliding with the tube, almost got a nose bleed, had a scraped up ankle from getting out of the boat and scraped up elbows from hanging on so tight (and Jeremy slamming into me with each wave). It was a fun and crazy ride...I'm hoping this will bring some good laughs for the 4 of us and our "crazy rides". I really wish I would have got picture of Fawn and Henry...their ride was just as crazy...especially with Jeremy's driving!

Pioneer Day Fun!

First of all, we've been to 2 pioneer day celebrations over the past two weeks. A couple regrets: 1. I forgot the camera when we went with Tom and Jeannie last Saturday. 2. I forgot to take pictures of mom with the girls today. Both events were great and it was a fun time seeing the way two stakes in our area, put the festivities together. Lots of time and dedication for lots of people to have fun together :)


It's like a reunion when we have these events! So many people throughout the years, going in so many directions. Last week, I saw families I babysat for 20 years ago and others that I attended church with 10 years ago. Today, I saw a friend from 25 years ago (a family that went to the temple with our family almost 30 years ago) and a gal I served in Young Women's with 7 years ago (with her 1 year old triplets)...this was also Ally's nursery teacher. And the girls were more than thrilled to see Megan (a friend/babysitter that moved a while back), who painted the girls faces.


After we had hamburgers and hot dogs, the girls couldn't wait to do some of the other activities like the bouncer obstacle course, hula hoops, face painting, eating snow cones and watching kids get dunked into the tank!

Some of these items were done at East Stake's activity too...Ally loved the 5K walk around the track with Aunt Lairen and dessert before lunch (because of the long lines). Kaitlyn loved the chicken and time on the bouncers and the fishing booth. I loved the creativity of coverings over the serving tables....each table had the "covered wagon look". They used white sheets attached to 3 long curved PVC pipes stuck into the ground....great idea.


We had a great time at both pioneer events! (Thanks for the picture mom....wish I had the one of you and the girls though!) Oh and did I mention I ran the 5K with 15 others from my ward???!!! The necklace I'm wearing in the pic is my metal for finishing :) (thanks Natasha)

Natalie and Charlie

Okay...so I realized I did not post pictures from the first time I met baby Charlie! It was clear back in April. Natalie (friend from high school and my maid of honor) had Charlie back in June of 2009. I didn't even meet him until he was 9 months old :( Isn't he adorable??!! Thursday, we had a short visit. It was great to see, what feels like, my long lost friend from Seattle. Who I'll hopefully get to see one more time before summer is gone.

Ally told a FUNNY!

Yesterday, we had blueberry muffins for breakfast. As we sat at the table, Kaitlyn kept imagining all the different things we could put in our muffins. "What if we had strawberries in our muffins? What if we had...." this and that, getting sillier as she carried on. I've learned that evenually you just have to tune her out. Ally on the other hand, decided to join in and say "Kaitlyn...what if we had a little 'shush it' in our muffins" I couldn't help but laugh as I scolded Ally and asked her to appologize. She has so much patience for Kaitlyn most of the time.

Ride in the Hills

We had a nice truck ride last night on a beautiful night. Five mountains were in view with just a turn of the head, a herd of elk with their young were in view and I got to spend some time alone with Jer. Many memories from our earlier years came traveling back....the porcupine waddling down the road, the first camping spot, the many rides in the truck and 4-wheeler, the love of bugling with elk and spotting wildlife and of course the companionship. This is something we used to do several times a week (before children). It was fun and I hope I get my ride on the 4-wheeler, in this area, soon :-)

Water Awareness Program - AWESOME!!!

I'm so fortunate that I was able to get my girls into an AWESOME water awareness program. My girls have never had swimming lessons. The one time Ally did, she was kicked out because of her fear and pulling attention away from the others. We did do a couple private lessons and work with them last summer (thanks for Aunt Rachel's help), but it didn't get us that far.

Boy, are we feeling good as parents after the first session! You have to understand that Ally and Kaitlyn DID NOT like putting their face under water, getting ears or noses wet. Fear doesn't even describe the emotions at the beginning of session 1. Ally saw the "big kids" on the other end of the pool jumping off the diving board and thought she would have to too. She panicked and cryed to the instructor the first day and was dreading going back. The next day, nothing but pure excitment formed and each day they can't wait to go back for more.


Session two has just begun and Ally jumped off the diving board, TWICE! No floatation devices!!! and swam under water all the way to the ladder.


Kaitlyn's huge advancement is the fact that she'll lay in the water on her back. She wouldn't even do this in the bath tub, for she's always been afraid of getting her ears wet. She is swimming on her back and will fetch toys under water (with a little help getting down).


I'm so proud of my little fishes in the water!!!!