So, This Is Life

Temple Square X 2

2012-01-22T16:22:00.002-07:00

This December there were 2 trips to Temple Square.

First we wanted to go up as a family at the beginning of the month so it wouldn't be so crowded.

We decided to ask if anyone in Jim's family wanted to join us and after a few scheduling snags we made it.

It was very nice and really no crowds.

Unless you consider that we ate at The Pie on a Friday night - NOT smart!

That is a very, very busy night there. Let's just say that my line/order anxiety was pretty high.

It was pretty cold and my poor Liam only had his hoodie I really did get him a coat shortly after this was taken. And then it got really warm for December, of course.

Liam and I went on the next Temple Square trip with my dad, Andrea, Jackie, and Stephen.

We were able to get seats for the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.

We had pretty good seats too, just a couple rows behind President Packer.

Thank goodness for electronic devises because we got there REALLY early so that we could get good seats. We had at least 1 1/2 hours to kill before it started. Do you see Liam not looking at the camera in the shot below because he's in the middle of a game?

Liam and Grandma P and Pie

2012-01-22T16:09:00.002-07:00

I have been very close to my grandma my entire life. My son, Liam, has also had the chance to spend a lot of time with her and I'm VERY grateful for that. He used to walk to her house every single day after school for during all of elementary school. He would wait there for me until I got there after teaching, and later just until I got there.

This year we had a little trouble with a jr high foods class. The class before Liam's didn't have time to clean so they all just left. When Liam's class came in there was a giant mess to clean before they could start. Somehow, Liam and 2 other boys ended up doing pretty much all of the work and having no time to cook. There was a misunderstanding - the teacher thought they wanted to clean and make their pies at home and the boys thought they had to clean. Not sure how that dialogue actually went in class but whatever.

It turned out to be a great opportunity for Liam. I took him over to my grandma's house and she taught him how to make a pie crust. I stood there and watched so that I could learn too. I just love that he was able to spend that time with her and to learn how to do it from his great grandma. Not many people get to know their great grandparents very well. We ended up being cheaters and buying an apple pie filling at the store because I didn't know how to make the filling and my grandma doesn't make apple pies from scratch either. Oh well, the assignment was done. I told him next time to talk to the teacher a little more clearly.

It's Fall!

2011-11-19T15:08:00.001-07:00

First, it's back to school time. Both boys got to go this year. Yay! Liam's in 8th grade and Gavin is in preschool. So glad Gavin gets to go. Not because I want the time (although it's nice), it's because that child will not listen to or believe either of his parents! The sound we say letters make are wrong. How things work is wrong. He'll believe his teacher though and is actually learning things!!

Liam was able to earn his Life rank in Boy Scouts. Now, we need a good Eagle project.

The first two attempts were turned down. Boo. They really are a ton of work.

We better get moving and get this done!

There were 3 dead trees in our yard (and one half dead). So, we finally got them all cut down. So glad. And I have to say that the view from the deck is much better now that dead trees in the way. Plus, look at all that free firewood for this winter.

My dad was able to sing in a men's choir for the Priesthood session of General Conference this fall. I'm so glad he had that experience. He invited us up for the dress rehearsal since we girls wouldn't be watching him. They sounded great.

Liam and Trev watching Grandpa Rick sing.

Liam is in men's choir this year. I'm so glad that he likes to sing.

He's planning on doing this choir again next year. He does a great job and really sings.

Gavin and I went with Jackie, Andrea, and Trey to the pumpkin patch at Vineyard Garden Center. Fun fall tradition, but frustrating when they put a sign at the front of the maze telling you to find the treasure box in the "hidden room" in the maze. Well, I'll tell you we looked for a long, long time and there was NO hidden room in that corn maze. Seriously. Poor Gavin didn't want to give up, but we couldn't be there all day.

Jim's sister Roxanne hosted a fun Halloween cookie decorating party. Yummy.

Gavin made some great cookies for us. Plenty of candy on top.

We didn't get to go anywhere for Fall Break so I decided to take the boys up the canyon. Unfortunately we were a couple weeks late for the really bright trees, but there were a few pretty ones left. We grabbed lunch (at our favorite Taco Amigo) and ate at Vivian Park. Then we started up the Alpine loop.

Gavin collected leaves and Liam took some pictures for his photo class.

And then it was pumpkin carving time, an activity I really don't like. I like having the tradition, I like going to pick pumpkins, I like them on our porch, but I hate the goo. It makes my arms red and itchy. I guess it's worth it for the yummy roasted seeds though.

And it's Halloween. Half the people thought Gavin was the Hulk (which is correct) and a quarter thought he was Green Lantern and the last quarter though he was a Ninja Turtle. I guess I better do a better job on costumes next year. Liam wouldn't trick or treat again this year. I tried to convince him, but I guess his friends weren't going. He was our door answerer and candy passer outer.

Gavin thinks he's one of my scouts. Actually, he thinks he's a scout leader. We took all the boys on a short hike (walk) to Bridal Veil Falls. Gavin came and froze his hands trying to grab ice in the water. Crazy. I was going to put up a picture of the scouts, but one kid had his mouth open and full of trail mix in every shot!! Boo to that kid.

Oh my gosh! Look at this, we are at the track by my house!

Really, why am I not there every single day.

And what would fall be without leaf clean up?

Gavin and I have had leaf duty. Well, we just work on it during the day because it's warm.

We just have too many trees and way too many leaves to clean up.

Finally, it looks like fall is ending and winter is coming.

Gavin was up and out there very early this morning, in old short snow pants.

I love snow and I love Christmas, but I hate cold and I hate icy roads.

Too bad I guess, here comes winter.

P.S. If it seems that I only have one child, it's because I have learned that 13 yr old boys do NOT want their picture taken and they do NOT want to go anywhere with their mom. Rude.

My New Cooking Blog!

2011-11-16T14:50:00.001-07:00

I have a new blog and I'm really excited to start it. I hope I can keep it going. I've found a ton of great recipes on Pinterest and a few recipe sites. I try them and then forget which ones I've made and if my family liked it. I'm going to attempt to keep track of the things I make and then share them. However, my main purpose for creating this blog is for myself. I've got to have a way to keep track. A common question at dinner time is "have we had this before?" and the answer is usually "no". There are just too many good recipes out there. I almost want to take a cooking class, but who has the money or time for that?? I've learned that I actually really like to cook! That's a new discovery and hopefully a welcome one.

Check it out!
http://momistryingtocookagain.blogspot.com/

Well, maybe give me a day or two to get started.

Dinosaurs for $2!

2011-09-27T08:56:00.001-06:00

Every Tuesday in August the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum

had $2 admission!! So of course, it was packed.

Luckily, we went on the Tuesday after school started so the line

was only to the door and not around the building.

Andrea and Trey went with us this time. See them in the back?

First stop was the fun experiment room. Gavin could have stayed there forever.

They have really cool hands on things for kids to try.

This paleontologist has an AWESOME mustache!

Posing with some old bones.

Really, what color were they?

Creating some new types of dinosaurs.

Then there's the wet sand to dig in.

They really need more dinosaurs in the sand. There were a few fights.

Luckily Gavin isn't a fighter, but gets his feelings hurt when kids take his dinosaurs. :(

I love Thanksgiving Point. I wish it weren't so expensive so we could go more often.

It was fun going with Andrea and Trey. He's getting so big and could kind of enjoy it.

What was that holiday back in July that I forgot to document??

2011-09-23T18:40:00.003-06:00

Yes, I'm still catching up. I keep telling myself to do a better job with blogging

(or my online family journal of fun events), but I just don't do it!

This year we did the 4th of July with my dad's family. They rarely get together so it was a good event. So glad that almost everyone came. Just missing one of my dad's brothers.

The funny thing is that my cousins are really the age of my kids.

All the kids got to play and have fun. We did dinner and sat around talking.

Then it was time for fireworks. Hopefully our neighbors still liked us.

Gavin and my little cousin were due the same week (although she was born

almost a month before him). I thought Gavin was tall, but I was wrong!

The next morning we did the Provo Freedom Festival Parade.

My aunt Pam and her family, my dad, sister Andrea and Trey met us

at our usual, wonderful spot in front of Bombay House.

The ice cream man conveniently parked his truck close to where we were sitting.

Fun times.

Summertime Recap 2011

2011-09-22T07:50:00.000-06:00

Summer 2011 is gone. Sad. I LOVE summer. I don't look forward to school starting.

I thought I'd put together a little highlight section to remind me what we did.

As I get older, I realize that time kind of blurs together.

Good thing we have digital cameras!

Gavin made his own Angry Birds game. Just in front of him is our strawberry patch.

The first half of the summer we really had a problem with birds eating our strawberries!

Gavin loved to chance them away when he could find them.

Now the birds are gone and we are overloaded with strawberries!

In June, we went to the Orem Summerfest Parade.

Very nice weather and fun time, but we missed our Liam.

He was out of town during our traditional parade and fireworks.

Gavin risked his life to get a lot of treats from the road.

Spent some time at the park next to our neighborhood school.

Gavin liked visiting where he will go to kindergarten.

We did the slip and slide at my sister's house a couple of times.

The second time, Liam ended up getting a large scrape down his back.

We turn on the sprinkling system to get the most water on the slide, but he went off the slide

and right over a sprinkler head with his back! OUCH!

We had the Utah County Pass of All Passes this year.

We spent a lot of time at Seven Peaks, as usual.

Jim and I attended the Pioneer Day Patriot Program

at the Conference Center with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The last week of July Liam went to Youth Conference with our ward

down in Bryce Canyon at Pine Lake Campground. He had a good time.

They did a really long bike ride and his bike ended up a little muddy.

Jim's work had a party at Boondocks. We got an unlimited pass and spent several hours playing.

It was really fun, they even provided dinner. We rarely do things like this as a whole family.

Liam's getting out of this bumper boat after getting SOAKED. I was on for only a minute because a grown woman that I didn't know was after me trying to soak me. Who does that??

Gavin did race cars with dad.

Gavin in the 4D Theater watching the Haunted Mine.

That was the first time I've been in one of those and they are crazy!

Well, I guess that Star Wars ride at Disneyland is like that, but I hate that ride.

Liam spending his tokens and avoiding his mom with the camera.

Jim and I celebrated our 6th anniversary in August.

My cousin did my hair - curls! Not something you will normally see on my head.

We went to eat at Texas Roadhouse and then saw the new Planet of the Apes movie.

Excuse the blurry photo. Liam is now in a digital photo class.

With our Pass of All Passes we got into Trafalga Lehi.

Gavin and Asher liked the airplanes.

Trevan and Liam avoided their moms.

Gavin on his first merry-go-round ride.

Our Stake has a summer party every year. We had a big picnic at Scera Park

and then they rent out the pool from 8 to 10, a little late for tiny kids but oh well.

Liam went home for a neighborhood outdoor movie party.

Gavin braved the chilly air and wanted to swim.

Jim didn't feel great so I ended up in a swimming suit in front of everyone!

It was a fun, but pretty typical summer. No vacation for us.

Well, Liam got a vacation to Kentucky but the rest of us got to stick around Utah.

We did the Scera summer movie season again.

I miss summer. I miss sleeping in. I miss doing fun things.

But I also LOVE fall. I can see the trees in the mountains are turning bright red.

Plus, it's just over a month until HALLOWEEN!

Once Upon A Time There Was....May

2011-09-21T18:38:00.002-06:00

Wow, I really haven't been blogging!! I do it most for myself as a kind of journal of things our family has been doing. I hope I can remember back well enough.

Here was our exciting month of May.

My sister always does great parties for her kids. We are lucky and get to go.

This year her 5 yr old decided on the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy.

We had a great time. Here's Gavin on a giant frog and Liam trying to drive a boat.

At the end of May, Jim and I got to see U2 with his sister and brother.

It was an excellent show. This was the 4th time I've seen them and they are always great.

My only issue is that they are SO good that it almost doesn't sound live. Crazy.

Gavin was able to start his first session of swimming lessons.

He took 2 sessions at the Orem Rec Center and did really well.

He could almost float on his back by the end of the last session.

We should have worked on it a little more this summer.

On Memorial Day we went to the morning program at the church.

This is the one where Liam broke his arm last year.

This year it was really raining so they weren't able to do the bike/foot race.

Liam helped with the flag ceremony and Gavin colored a few patriotic pictures.

We made a trip to the Orem Cemetery so visit my mom and grandpa's graves.

Here's Gavin and my nephews at my grandpa's WWII cross.

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-21T08:44:00.001-06:00

This year I actually got to take the kids on a vacation for Spring Break! Vacations don't happen around here so they were excited.

We started the trip by going to Las Vegas for one night. Vegas has a lot of cool things to look at and some...not so awesome things to look at, especially for kids. I'm sure I said "close your eyes" too many times. We really got a lot of walking in though and the kids had fun looking at the fun things there.

Then we headed to St George for a few days. I know a very generous family that allowed us to stay in their vacation home for free. So nice! We went to Zions National Park and did the Emerald Pools hike. We rode the crowded shuttle in, hiked the crowded trails, and sat by the crowded pools/water falls. April is the PERFECT time to go temperature wise, but a lot of people have the same idea. We rewarded ourselves after the hike with an ice cream at the visitor center.

The next day we hiked in Snow Canyon with my dad. We saw lizards, cool plants, and lava tubes. It was just as good as Zions and cheaper (well, we got into Zions for free but if you had to pay Snow is cheaper).

We got to eat out and go swimming and just had a really, really fun time. I'm so glad we got to do it. I hope we can get down there again soon. Sometimes I forget that we live so close to really fun and beautiful places. If I were a tent camper, which I'm not, then we could do a lot more things.

Liam Likes Choir?

2011-04-19T11:55:00.000-06:00

Liam is in Mixed Jr. Choir this semester. He wasn't sure about it at first. Liam's never been a "singer". In fact, he kind of avoided it. But this year he really enjoys the class. I've noticed him actually singing at church and trying to do well.

Lean On Me

Liam's teacher must be good because she has him excited about the class. She even got him to sign up for men's choir for next year. That one is going to be all year. I'm glad he's doing it. It's nice to have good teachers!

Gavin Turns 4!

2011-04-01T08:17:00.001-06:00

My little Gavin turned 4 in February! We were a little worried because he really liked being 3 and he didn't want to be 4. But the day came and now he loves being 4!

We had my family over for dinner on his birthday, which is always a good time.

The big boys trying to hear TV over all the loud talking.

Gavin got some excellent gifts and was very excited!

Robot Arms!

When asked what he wanted for his birthday he kept saying "A Banana" so Uncle Eric gave him one.

Now baby horse has a mom.

Liam, Gavin, and bowling pins

He chose 4 tractor candles for his cake.

Gavin was sick when Jim's family got together for February birthdays. So, grandma and Roxanne came over on his birthday and brought him this awesome ROBOT cake!!

I'm going to have a helper in the garden this year.

And here's my big 4 year old boy!

And he was still in a cast for his birthday. It came off a couple weeks later.

This video is of Gavin blowing out the candles on his cake.....with his nose!

Good thing we put the candles on his piece only!

The birthday turned out pretty well given this is what he looked like most of the day. He was SO sick that weekend. We thought we'd have to have him sleeping in his room during his party. But he was miraculously better just in time for the party and then he crashed again when everyone left. I'm not sure what he had because nobody else caught it, thank goodness. But he was down for a few days.

iPhone Over Computer

2011-03-31T16:15:00.000-06:00

OK, we bought "refurbished" iPhones pretty cheap a couple of months ago. Since then I seem to go days without even getting on the computer! Those phones are GREAT! But, that means I miss out on some things like blogging and blog-stalking. I'll have to take that trip to the computer a little more often.

November Family Photos

2011-01-03T15:21:00.009-07:00

The Whole Group

Our individual family shots were at the end and Gavin was DONE. Don't you love how nice he's smiling??

Cute pictures of the boys

Grandparents and Grandkids

Grandma and Gavin

Gavin was rarely trying to be in a photo. Caught while playing in the plants. Oops.

Not the easiest photo shoot. Gavin was usually running away, hiding, making faces - anything except cooperating.

Gavin's favorite Baby Horse.

Uncle Eric and Gavin

Nice group shot

New Cast!

2010-12-29T20:01:00.006-07:00

Before
After

Gavin got his new cast on today. Blue of course. It's a longer one, above the elbow. If it's bugging him they can switch it for a shorter one (below the elbow) in 2 weeks. He'll have some sort of cast for at least 4 more weeks though. He's doing OK with it and figuring out how to do everything with one hand. It's kind of heavy for him though.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T19:42:00.006-07:00

We had a great Christmas. I feel bad that I have no photos from the time we spent with Jim's family. The first gathering ended quickly with our exit to the ER. Then on Christmas Eve, Gavin decided to throw a fit over singing. Plus, I just got side tracked with him and didn't get to my camera. We had a great time with them though.

Opening the first gift on Christmas Eve. Liam is old enough to realize it's always going to be pajamas. I think he wishes he could pick something else, but what about WEARING them on Christmas Eve??
Look at the surprised faces! Gavin's pjs even glow in the dark!

Looking good. I really am glad the sleeve fits over Gavin's arm. I keep thinking about all the long sleeved shirts going to waste right now because of that cast.....

Liam with our awesome tree of the year. Ya, it's fake and the same one from last year. Oh and yes, the lights near the bottom are out. Classy.

After we opened Santa gifts and got ready for the day we headed to my sister Melissa's house for their excellent breakfast!

Melissa helping Trey with his gift.

Dad opening gifts.

Sue and her new snugly blanket. Stephen trying not to shoot himself in the face with his new nerf gun.

Matt looking for his nerf gun bullet. Ryan hanging with Trey.

Stephen, Jackie, Sue lounging.

Trevan and Asher helping Gavin open his present - Handy Manny Construction set! He loves it.

This will be a Christmas to remember. Poor kid couldn't open gifts or even really play with them.

Andrea and Trey

The family on Christmas day.

OK, Gavin got a ladybug Pillow Pet and he loves it. It came with a baby ladybug that he also loves. He likes to bring all his animals to show Grandma Prestwich.

Please, please, please ignore the condition of the table. I swear we are going to re-stain it once Gavin stops destroying it. Anyway, Gavin is doing a great job painting his car bank with his LEFT hand. Maybe he'll be ambidextrous at the end of all this.

Another Broken Arm! What is going on this year??

2010-12-23T23:05:00.002-07:00

This has been quite a year. Between the 2 boys we've had three trips to the ER and two broken arms.

Tonight while gathered for dinner and gingerbread houses, Gavin decided to jump down a few stairs (at least that's what we were told). All the adults were upstairs and I hear a lot of crying and screaming. I just assume it's the usual child is hurt thing. But, he cried longer and harder than usual. He looked pale and he felt cold. I finally dared to lift his long sleeve. We all saw it at once and headed right for the door!

Luckily the wait at the ER wasn't too long. Poor little guy trying to hold it still.

One bone is broken all the way through and the other has a "buckle" fracture. It was really bent out of place so they had to put him out and set it. What did they do in the old days when they didn't put them out? Poor people. I'm SO thankful for modern medicine!!!

At least he got a new dog to go with the baby horse he got during his last ER visit.

All done and just waiting to wake up enough to go home. I feel so sorry for my little buddy. Just in time for Christmas and everything.

I wonder if he'll stop jumping off everything now.

White Christmas??

2010-12-21T14:41:00.003-07:00

Well, the snow I wanted for Christmas is here! It just doesn't feel right if there is no snow. I hope it doesn't warm up and melt before the big day.

Good thing Liam loves to shovel. I avoided the shovel because I'm an old lady with back problems. My back is finally feeling better and I wasn't going to take a chance. Although, Jim's is also hurting now after shoveling the snow. Liam may be on his own for the rest of the season.
Gavin had a good time. Maybe next year he'll be old enough for a shovel....

Time to nail some kids with snowballs!

Christmas Train

2010-12-21T14:18:00.007-07:00

My dad knows a man that runs a little train around his neighborhood. We did this a year or 2 ago as well so this post might look familiar. But, the kids are older so we needed more pictures.

Gavin was my lap rider this year. Actually he stood the whole time and we tried to keep our balance in the tiny seat. Gavin really liked it this year!

The first half of the trip is "The Polar Express". His yard is decorated with things from the movie and you listen to the music from the movie. Then you get off at the North Pole.

Inside the North Pole you get to visit with Santa. Too bad it's blurry because it's very hard to get Liam to visit with Santa anymore. I got him to go up with Trevan.

Santa's workshop is so cute and has a little train.

Gavin wants NOTHING to do with Santa. This is the closest we could get him to the big guy. He's barely touching the candy cane with the tips of his fingers.

Does Liam kind of look like a burglar?

Then we sent back outside to catch the train back.

On the way back they play Christmas music and have beautiful pictures of Christ's life.

Once you are back at the station there are cards to sign for missionaries and donation boxes for a local charity. This family runs this for free every year. It's very hard to get a spot because they fill up quickly. What a great time and a wonderful family for working so hard to make it fun for others.

Just some shots of the family hanging out after the train.

Liam seriously hates getting his picture taken. And I seriously hate how he won't smile for a picture!

The Polar Express half of the ride.

The Life of Christ half of the ride.

What do you get when you give a BYU student a free ticket to see David Archuleta?

2010-12-18T16:43:00.003-07:00

Answer:

A big plate of cinnamon rolls on a cute plate with a card telling how thankful they were delivered to your house at 10:20 at night. How nice was that?!?! They are good too - no raisins! (so we may have eaten half of them before this picture was taken)

Festival of Trees

2010-12-18T08:16:00.003-07:00

This year I went with my sister Andrea to the Festival of Trees. I'm not sure if I've ever been there before. Maybe when I was little. It was so much fun. Maybe this needs to be a new tradition. The problem....crowds! Oh and I seriously have issues with lines and people that follow the natural flow of things. Hmmm. Next year I think I'll go on a weekday during the day and hope for a better view of the trees and gingerbread houses.

My awkward crouch blocking out Bella and taking my rightful place. Yes, I'm embarrassing. Gavin's a little too interested in his pretzel and won't look at the camera.

Too bad it isn't a DIET Coke tree.

Soooo many cute trees. But so many sad stories behind the trees. We made the mistake of reading one story. We were both about to literally start crying so we stopped reading them.

Christmas Concert at Temple Square

2010-12-17T07:50:00.004-07:00

I love going to the Christmas Concert at Temple Square. Lately it's been hard to get tickets. This year was especially difficult because the guest singer was "DAVID ARCHULETA"!! No one in my family was able to get tickets and we were pretty sad. However, I have a friend (former teaching buddy) that came through. He and his wife are missionaries at the Conference Center and were able to pull some stings and get me some tickets.

The show was absolutely wonderful!! I loved it. I think it was my favorite Christmas concert so far.
David Archuleta really did a wonderful job. Even better than I expected.

We had great seats on the middle balcony. Front row! Although we did get in trouble for "leaning against the railing" OOPS!

Andrea, Grandma Sue, and Grandpa Rick got to come with Liam and me.

Oh look, it's little David Archuleta in a tux.

We were standing at the finale so I quietly got out my camera and took a quick video. Don't tell anyone.

Liam's a Star!

2010-12-09T16:33:00.003-07:00

Liam is a Star! He earned his Star in Boy Scouts in November. He actually has only 2 more merit badges before he gets his Life badge - well, he needs his service hours and time to pass of course. But, he's really doing well and motivated to get it done. He has already signed up for his next scout pow wow in March so he'll be ready to move right along.

He really cleaned up with the merit badges this time. At the Court of Honor in November he got basketry, archery, rifle shooting, weather, swimming, family life, citizenship in the world, and electricity merit badges in addition to earning his Star.

.
Lets give him a hand!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

2010-11-26T11:34:00.005-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year, visiting with family and eating of course.

It's been a rough year in our home, but this is a good time of year to remember all the things we do have to be thankful for. It's so easy to dwell on all the things that go wrong and all the things you don't have. But, all of the things that are really important we do have.

This year I'm thankful for:

Healthy & happy boys in my home!
A wonderful husband that is very good to me!
A very supportive and loving extended family!
The knowledge we have of the true gospel that keeps my focus on what is truly important in this life!

So, as we enter the Christmas season I am going to try very hard to be happy and enjoy this time of year. I'm going to try not to focus on what is missing, but what we have. Christmas isn't about what presents you can give or what presents you get. It's about celebrating the birth of Christ. Maybe this year it might be even easier to keep the focus in the right place.

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-26T07:55:00.002-06:00

What do we do every year on the Monday before Halloween? Carve pumpkins of course!

Jim gets to help Gavin. Gavin wanted a "cat" pumpkin and luckily Jim had the ability to make one. Liam on the other hand, has my lack of artistic ability so both of our pumpkins are "traditional", at least that is what we are calling them.

Getting them set on the porch.

Finished products.

Trevan's Annual Birthday at the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-22T08:19:00.004-06:00

Again this year we got to go to the pumpkin patch for my nephews birthday party.

It's fun hanging with the family!!

Gavin had more fun this year.

Nice shot from inside the slide.

Asher obviously thinks I'm crazy and doesn't love my picture taking.

I love Trey's cute hat!

Cute tractor swings!

Liam trying to pet the little horses.

Gavin found a "corn flag" during the corn maze.

And, we took a crazy hayride out to the pumpkin patch where we were let off to pick out pumpkins. We thought they were waiting for us so he hurried to grab pumpkins. We turned around and our ride had LEFT! We waited with all the kids (lots from Trev's party) in the dark until it came back. Then we got to take the very bumpy ride back. Liam found the perfect looking pumpkin! I seriously love Halloween!

Asher and Gavin were too short to reach the pedals so Gavin gave Asher a push. Cute boys!!

Vineyard Pumpkinland/Fall Break

2010-10-15T18:32:00.009-06:00

It's fall break and we had nothing to do. Luckily my sister Andrea and her baby invited us to go to the pumpkin patch.

Gavin found a new furry friend and just LOVED to touch its cage (gross!).

Vineyard is a cheap way to get out of the house. A lot of little activities.

Gavin and baby horse having a seat.

Andrea, Trey, and Liam checking out some pumpkins.

Why this was Gavin's favorite spot, I'm not sure.

Liam is SUPER excited to be here and taking pictures.

Both of my kids are just too excited!

How Much Competition Is Too Much Competition?

2010-10-12T13:59:00.009-06:00

This year Liam is playing on a coed recreation soccer team. It's been such a good experience. Last year he was on a competition league team and it was...not so fun. The coach was yelling at him to do things that Liam had no idea about. The coach was yelling/swearing at the refs. He was rarely played, partly because he joined a team that was already together and he was just a "sub". He didn't even know why we was having to go. Anyway, he had decided to drop soccer until his friend called to say they were joining a coed rec team. Liam was interested and signed up.

What a difference experience! This coach is so encouraging, the team members are encouraging. There are 17 year old boys on the team that have been in AAA leagues and are refs and incredible players there with girls that have no idea what they are doing. They help each other and nobody kills you if you miss a shot. It's actually FUN!

I had a conversation with a couple of friends about soccer. They were talking about their kids on competition teams and how they were screaming at the other team players and playing to the death. I told them about the league Liam is on and they were almost irritated at the idea. Why on earth would you play for fun and not to WIN? They almost seemed offended that score isn't recorded and placement isn't taken, like it's a waste of time.

So, I started to think about what I am teaching my kids with sports. Do I need to teach them to be more competitive? I realize there are times in life that it helps to have that attitude - selling yourself in an interview, getting ahead in school. But, learning to be sportsman like and having fun is good too. Do we really need to push them so hard in everything? Do we push them to do something to the point of making it not fun anymore? Do we encourage them to step on (or throw to the ground, literally) others to get ahead? Hmmm.....

For us, I think I like our new league. I like being nice. I like having fun. I like being able to have Liam play a lot and feel good about his contribution. I like building confidence without needing to crush others. I don't know. I guess it's just a sport. It's not life. But, to some screaming parents on the sidelines, you would think it's all that matters in the world.

Here is his fun little team.

Yep, they even let Liam try out being goalie (he's there with the yellow goalie shirt). Let's just say that the bigger and taller the player is, the better chance they have of covering that big goal. At least nobody got on him for missing a block.

Canning, Canning, Canning!

2010-10-12T13:56:00.004-06:00

This year our garden really did well! We had watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, green beans, green & red peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, pears, peaches, apples, apricots, grapes! It was crazy and it's still producing. We had to do something with it, so I started canning more than usual.

We have SO many tomatoes! The bushes just grew together and completely overtook their cages. I can hardly get in there to pick them.

Here is my very first batch from the vine. I love home-bottle tomatoes so much more than canned in the store. It takes time, but it's worth it.

So, my first batch didn't produce many bottles but that's OK.

I ended up doing a few kinds of jam, grape juice, tomato soup, canned peaches, and many bottles of diced tomatoes. I still have green ones on the vine waiting to be picked. I better hurry because it's getting cold out there.

Gavin's Trip to Jr High

2010-10-12T13:55:00.005-06:00

OK, I love the CTE class!! Liam is now better at sewing than I am. The funny thing is that he really likes this class. They have learned to do laundry (and he did our laundry, thank you), sew, cook, take care of kids. It's great! He had to put together a child activity folder and they each had to bring a 3 or 4 year old to class one day. He was able to take Gavin. He said Gavin was the best behaved! What? You don't believe me?? It's true, he was good. He doesn't like to participate in groups so he sat quietly. Oh well. Gavin had a lot of fun.

Liam Starts Jr. High!! I can't be that old.

2010-10-12T13:52:00.007-06:00

Well, at least the school picture turned out nicely. Too bad the background colors don't match the outfit. I remember hating my jr high pictures. I guess we all do.

This is Liam heading out for his first day. It was actually a little cold. He walks with a couple of friends since we are only a few blocks from the school.

It was a little weird for me going into that school since I went there as a 7th grader. He even has one teacher that I had!

So far things seem to be going pretty smoothly. It's a whole new thing needing to be organized and on top of things yourself. Hopefully it will be a good year.

Good Deals = Summer Fun

2010-08-27T17:42:00.005-06:00

For the last several years we have gotten Seven Peaks seasons passes. It's my way of having something to go and do when we are bored. Yes, it isn't as exciting as it could be because it's available all the time and because we've gone at least once a week for years. BUT this year they added a little surprise!! I guess they just bought Trafalga Lehi (formerly Liberty Land) and if you had a season pass to Seven Peaks, you could go to Trafalga Lehi for free throughout July. We didn't learn about this until almost the end of July, but got to go twice. Finally, something new for them to do that didn't cost me any money!! I love that!!

Gavin's a big cheater at mini-golf!

Small, indoor train that kind of made me dizzy because it almost went in a circle.

The little boys liked it though.

Liam did really well on the rock climbing wall. I didn't attempt that one.

Excellent golfers!

It's funny that the two littles gave the same pose

Gavin LOVED the bumper boats.

I did not love being sprayed by girls that I didn't even know.

I was soaked and my hair didn't like that.

Liam got to ride the airplane so that Gavin would go.

They also have a little roller coaster that we all went on. It was a little faster than I expected, but Gavin survived. Liam went back a second time with a friend and spent a lot of time playing laser tag. Look at all the free activities!! I really love FREE!

Scout Camp 2010

2010-08-07T14:31:00.003-06:00

Liam got to go to scout camp for the first time this summer. It was fun, but he also had a few mishaps. It feels like one of those summers.

First, he broke his glasses in half and lost the lens. Luckily he was still able to finish this rifle shooting and archery merit badges without being able to see.

Second, he had a bag of clothes thrown away - excellent. That's what I get for sending a trash bag for him to put his dirty clothes in. On the day they were packing up he was taking his things out of the tent and apparently the kid in charge of trash walked by and picked up his "trash". Good thing he didn't change his clothes as often as he should have or we would really be in trouble.

Jim got to go up one night since he's in deacons. Camping is NOT his favorite but he survived.

Gavin spent the week feeling abandoned. He kept telling me that he was "all alone" even though I was right there. He was so happy to see Liam when we went up on Friday evening for family night. We are glad he's home and I'm glad that I didn't have any laundry to do.

Better Safe than Sorry

2010-08-07T14:14:00.005-06:00

Seven Peaks Hospital Trip #2!

Last year we ended our Seven Peaks season with a trip to the doctor, a CT scan, and then a night and day in the hospital because of a concussion.

This year we had made the trip a little earlier (mid-July) and in a much fancier vehicle (an ambulance).

Those of you that know Gavin, know that he is too fast for me. He had a little slip and fall in the wave pool. While trying to comfort him, I noticed a HUGE goose egg on the back of his head. I took him to the first aid hut. The crying stopped and it got a little scary. He started to get really quiet and wouldn't sit up. He wasn't responding to pain so they called the EMTs.

They came and got him on a stretcher and headed to the ER by ambulance. He wouldn't say a word, he just looked into space. He had a good grip on his swimming rocket though.

At the hospital everyone was concerned until the CT scan results came back showing no bleeding or fracture. Once everyone was out of the room he started talking. I guess he was just freaked out by all of the attention and people. We got to take him home after about an hour. He had no other problems, other than a sore back of the head. He did get to come home with several "stickers" all over his body (as you can see in the picture). He didn't want us to take them off. They also gave him the cute little horse he's holding in the picture. It's been a new favorite.

2 Lessons Learned

When in doubt, just take them in. It's better to error on the side of caution. You really can't tell how bad it is without that scan.
I better be ready to chase a 3 year old the ENTIRE time we're at Seven Peaks. Both injuries have happened because he's taken off to have fun before I was ready to follow.

Pioneer Trek at Martin's Cove 2010

2010-07-26T15:14:00.003-06:00

Liam had the opportunity to go to Martin's Cove with the youth in our Stake this summer. Most of the pictures have Liam hiding somewhere in them, but I had to look through literally thousands (like 4000) pictures to find him. I got a call when they were headed home to warn me that he might be upset because the last night was particularly hard. But, when he got off the bus he had a big smile and said that he had a good experience. Maybe not a FUN experience, but a good one. He came home missing a lot of stuff and wearing his PJ pants because that's all he had, but it was worth it.

They went the 2nd week of June which was good and bad.

Bad:

Liam got the cast on his arm THE DAY BEFORE he left. And it wasn't water-proof.
It was not warm.
It RAINED, RAINED, RAINED
The wind BLEW, BLEW, BLEW (85 mph winds)
The tents were flattened and everything was soaked the first night.

Good:

The kids got a more realistic look at what the pioneers really went through!!
They experienced something hard, pulled together, and made it.
They learned to have a positive attitude.
They came home grateful for home, hopefully it lasts a while.

I can't begin to imagine what the actual pioneers went through. The kids in our ward have shared stories that they learned while on trek and even the teen boys were in tears.

What strong people the poineers were. It makes me grateful for the trials that I have today. I'm not sure I could have done that with my little family.

I'm so thankful Liam had this opportunity. Maybe one day our whole family will get to go.

ECLIPSE!!

2010-07-03T17:58:00.004-06:00

I totally stole this picture from Andrea's blog, sorry! Liam and Stephen aren't pictured, but I have to point out that they came with us.

But I LOVED Eclipse, and my Eclipse treat holders!! This book was by far my favorite in the Twilight Saga. In fact, I skimmed the book (thoroughly reading my favorite parts) before seeing the movie. Because I read the last 150 pgs the day of the show I realized that the movie really did follow the book. I was very happy about that. Even a lot the dialogue was right from the book.

Here is my frustration, and please don't think that I'm a giant pediphile. Movie Jacob is so good looking that it really ruins the story for me. In the book I loved Edward so, so much and was angry when Bella kissed him or would go to see him. But in the movie I'm thinking Edward is so....not Jacob that I keep finding myself leaning a little more Team Jacob than I should.

Now, who wants to go see it again??

More Soccer!!

2010-06-23T14:51:00.003-06:00

A few posts ago I said that I loved being a soccer mom and that Liam was ready to switch to track and leave soccer in the dust. Well.....he signed up for soccer again!! Thanks to his friends at school that decided to play which convinced him to give it another season. He's done with the stress so they are all doing a co-ed team (or maybe the "co-ed" decision has more to do with going into jr. high and wanting to meet some ladies). So, I'm happy to say I'll be sitting on the soccer sidelines once again.

Lessons Learned from Breaking An Arm

2010-06-23T14:15:00.005-06:00

Memorial Day 2010 will be one to remember!

We started the day with by going to the church Memorial Day program. Liam helped in the raising of the flag with a few other boy scouts. The program was nice and it was almost time for breakfast. Those "healthier" ward members moved to the street for the fun run/bike/scooter while the rest of us got in line for food. Liam decided to ride his bike in the race. Being 12 years old, he and a few other boys got in front and took off!! Liam made the distance and came in FIRST PLACE! However, there was no time to celebrate. Upon crossing the finish line he hit the brakes. Now this was only the 2nd time riding the new bike and he must not have been aware of the brake system. He ended up flipping over the top of the handles and onto the ground. The bike landed on top of him. I didn't see it, luckily others did and rushed to help. His scout master came to get me and I hurried over. He was in a lot of pain. We were very lucky and had a full medical team there quickly. Our ward had a doctor, nurse, and EMT that came to get him ready to transport to the hospital. I'm so thankful for those wonderful people!!

With a professional splint job we were off to the hospital.....

Turned out to be a "buckle" or "green stick" break. Not too bad as far as breaks go.

Finally the pain meds kicked in and he calmed down.

He was really in shock for the entire day though.

He had to wait an entire week to get the hard cast because of the swelling and mostly the scrapes. He decided on a lovely blue cast that only needed to be on for 4 weeks. It will be off on June 29th!

So, what lessons were learned?

Don't hit your front brakes!!
My brain freezes up when there is an actual emergency situation, even though I have had a TON of first aid training.
Go to the Orem Community Hospital if the emergency isn't life threatening. There was NO wait. We were the only ones in the ER the whole time.
When at a ward food function don't hang back and pretend you aren't eager to eat. Get the food and eat it BEFORE something goes wrong and you have to walk away from a full plate of food that you didn't get to taste!
If your child is in shock for the day don't try to take them out to eat. (they may be nauseous)
If you break your arm you will get a lot of gifts and treats!!!
If you break your arm you can get your mom to do things for you!
We live in a neighborhood full of very kind and concerned people.

6th Grade Graduation

2010-05-27T16:34:00.003-06:00

The last elementary school event ever!! It was a nice program, but of course it went over time. But, it I was happy to be there to watch my little Liam graduate from elementary school.

Good thing they had some brownies afterward. Gavin's craziness during the program needed to be rewarded. It's so sad for me to leave Cascade. I'm standing here in the same lunchroom that I ate in when I was in elementary school. It's sad to think it's the last time I'll go in. We are in a new school boundary now so Gavin will go to the new school. We couldn't make Liam switch schools and leave his friends. I'm glad he has had such a good school and such great teachers.

Dance Festival 2010

2010-05-27T16:29:00.002-06:00

Liam and his friend Carsen doing the hoedown.

I can't believe it's his last dance festival! He did a great job, even though he doesn't love the dancing. Just give him a few years I guess.

Liam's a DEACON!

2010-05-27T16:14:00.003-06:00

We are so excited to that Liam is 12 and is now a Deacon! He's such a good kid and we are really proud of him. Jim was able to ordain him the day after his birthday. So many of our family members were able to come and support him. It was a very nice day.

Looking good, but missing the ties. But of course that's the first thing you need to do when you walk in from church, right?

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Rick. Looks like even more time has passed allowing them to get out of those Sunday clothes!

Liam was really happy that his grandma was able to fly in from Kentucky. She's been very supportive of Liam and we were so glad she could be here.

And of course there's the food!! I'm pretty sure Stephen was the first one out of his church clothes, or maybe it was Melissa. All I know is that it was so crazy getting things ready to eat that I think I was the last one to get into the comfy clothes. As you can see, comfort is important to me. At least Roxanne's delicious salad was still there when I finally got to eat!

Thanks to all that came, brought food, and gave their support. We have a GREAT family!

Soccer or No Soccer??

2010-05-27T16:08:00.005-06:00

I'll start by saying, YES I know the picture is blurry. I have a love hate relationship with my camera. I can't work it on many occasions.

So, Liam played on a competition soccer team this year. The first half - hmmmm - ranked almost at the bottom of the league. The second half - moved up to about the middle. But, it was a much harder situation than he was used to. More practices and much more demanding practices. A coach that loved to YELL and usually at the ref (sometime even using some choice words and getting called out). It was great having the ref against us. Anyway, after this season he's thinking that's it for soccer. He's pretty fast and is thinking about moving to track since he'll be in jr. high next year. I have to say I'm feeling a little depressed about that. I love to go and watch his games!! Maybe track will be fun to watch too. But, I only have one season to sit out before Gavin gets to start soccer! He's ready to go! Who knew I'd love being an actual soccer mom??

Catching Up....

2010-05-27T15:49:00.005-06:00

OK, I have been horrible about blogging. I'm going to blame Facebook for it. I hear everything and tell everything on FB so I forget about blogs. I forget to post and I forget to read them. The bad thing is that my son's teacher has a blog with daily homework that we all could have really benefited from reading every day!! So, here's a quick catch up on the last couple of months.

Easter!

This was our first Easter in our new home. We did the same old traditions as usual - egg hunt, baskets, toys. But this year was nice because General Conference was on Easter so we didn't have to get up and dressed so quickly!!

Gavin got some things to use in his new sandbox! Too bad it took such a long time before he could use them.

Liam and his Nerf gun!!

And of course, the SNOW!!

Andrea's BABY!!

Was are so excited to have a new little cousin in the family!! My sister Andrea had her baby in April, 9 days early I think! He's such a cute and VERY good boy. Luckily I get to babysit sometimes. Gavin just LOVES him! When he was born Gavin went around the house and found things for baby Trey. He talks about him and is always so excited to see him.

Court of Honor

2010-03-30T14:39:00.003-06:00

I never thought of myself as much of a "scout parent", but I've enjoyed Liam being in the program. It's been a good way for him to get to know boys in our neighborhood as we've moved over the last couple of years. I think it helps him to see that he is good at things and he is able to feel good about accomplishing things.

The ward we just moved into is way behind Liam. He's been going but hasn't had a lot to do. He had a Court of Honor on March 21st and received 3 more merit badges (reading, scholarship, first aid). He has already earned another 3 for next time (space exploration, law, swimming). With the 3 he had before the Court of Honor (environmental science, forestry, geology) I would say that he is making good time on getting these done. Now he just needs to earn $100 for his scout camp in July. They want the boys to earn it on their own. We sure have a lot of yard work available....lucky for Liam.

I'm very proud of Liam and how hard he works. He really is a very good kid with a good heart. He likes to do well. We are glad he is getting Gavin excited for scouts already!

Skiing at Sundance

2010-03-18T14:56:00.004-06:00

So, Liam and I were given free tickets to ski at Sundance this year!! I have not been on skis since before Liam was born. I have to say I was a little worried about how I might do. I was surprised at how easily it came back to me. Not that I'm a great skier, but I only fell one time. Unfortunately that one time was on a part of the mountain where everyone going up on the ski lift could watch. Falling isn't the hard part, getting up is.

Liam was able to take skiing lessons starting when he was about 5, but hasn't been up in over a year. He is much better than I am. He would just meet me at the bottom. Then, when I needed a little rest (and delicious cookie) he did a run on his own.

Here is our $100 pizza & $20 drinks....OK, I may be exaggerating a bit. Next time I will know not to eat at the cafe. Instead I'll be going to the building with the grill and buying from the little counter by the store. Their sandwiches aren't pre-made and they have a better variety. Just in case you are planning to go....

Here is the way Liam would go and leave me behind. He's a little tricky and went on little curvy paths. My knees can't take that.

It really was a fun day. I love spending time with Liam.

He's a good kid, even if he is better on skis than his mom.

I have to just say that it was snowing the first half of the day. That is why I look like this. No, I do not have goggles or a helmet. I just have to get my face and hair wet. Maybe if I can afford to ski more than once a decade I will invest in some nice ski equipment.

Birthdays

2010-03-18T13:44:00.011-06:00

In our family we are lucky enough to have a birthday once a month for the first 4 months of the year. It helps us spread out our trips to Tucanos for our free meals. I realized that I had not updated the blog in a while and missed our first 2 birthdays of the year. With my birthday in just over a week, I think we'll try to skip that one all together and update again at Liam's birthday in April.

Anyway.....I made an awesome cake for Jim's birthday which was in January. Do you see how well I can decorate a cake?

Next, we celebrated Gavin's 3rd birthday in February. Gavin LOVES his birthday! We had a party with the Jim's family since Gavin and 2 of his cousin's have birthday close to one another. Gavin developed an excellent new smile for his birthday pictures!

Gavin developed an excellent new smile for his birthday pictures.

It looks like grandpa has developed the same smile.

On Gavin's actual birthday we had a small party with just our little family. Gavin got to open his presents.

Then the next night my family came over to celebrate. Gavin got a lot of birthday attention that month.

Apparently, Gavin doesn't love our singing!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T13:27:00.006-07:00

Liam and Gavin putting their ornaments on the tree. Every year each family member makes an ornament for the tree. Pretty soon the homemade decorations are going to over-run the tree. Everyone gets to put their own ornaments on the tree. It's a fun tradition.

The tree is done and presents are ready to go.

Everyone getting ready to open Christmas Eve pjs. I'm already wearing mine.

Gavin seems to like his pjs.

Me and my boys on Christmas day.

Jim and Gavin checking out the Snuggie. For some reason Gavin has been obsessed with Snuggies. So, Jim got him one for Christmas. I don't know that it's as fun as Gavin thought it would be. Nothing will replace his "B". (B is the blanket my grandma made him)

First Presidency Christmas Devotional 2009

2009-12-18T14:57:00.004-07:00

This year we were able to get tickets to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional! We have never been to see the Prophet speak in person, so it was a great experience.

We took Trax downtown. Liam and Trevan tried to see how long they could stand before falling over.

Liam and I in our seats. Same place we sat the last time we went.

This was Trevan's first trip to the Conference Center. Liam was happy not have another kid along for a change.

Me with all of my sisters.

Another pose with my Liam.

Temple Square 2009

2009-12-18T14:42:00.003-07:00

This year we went with half of Jim's family to see the lights at Temple Square.

It's so nice to be close enough to do this every year as a family tradition.

Liam with the Nativity at the pool

Nativity scene outside the visitor center.

This year we went into the museum across the street. They have a lot of fun activities going on there at Christmas time. I recommend stopping in!

Even though it's blurry, it's a good pose of Liam and Santa at the Museum.

Liam "giving a talk" at the museum

Gavin and aunt Kristina working on the puzzle.

Visiting dinosaurs with an old friend

2009-12-07T16:51:00.003-07:00

Because of Facebook, one of my best friends from high school and I were able to find each other. It's been fun being reconnected. And it turns out that she has a daughter only a few months younger than Gavin. So, we got together with the little ones to check out some dinosaurs!

Too bad he ended up with sand in his EYES, hair, clothes, and diaper!

Gavin is too SCARY!

Halloween Day

2009-11-04T15:32:00.002-07:00

This year the two boys went Trick or Treating together with me around our neighborhood.

We went through several ideas before Liam decided to be a mad scientist. He didn't want to go with any of my details (white powder on his face and dark circles under his eyes), so this is what we ended up with.

Gavin was a car and wore the costume OK this time.

And the side view.....

We have SO MUCH CANDY. The bad thing about it is that they are "small" candies. You eat one and feel like it's nothing because it's "small". But by the time you eat 3 small candy bars you might as well have eaten a regular sized one. Oh, it's that time of year again isn't it??

Trick or Treating at Jim's office

2009-11-04T15:29:00.002-07:00

Talk about a load of candy!!!

After 3 floors of cubicles, the kids had more than enough candy....to share with their parents.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-04T15:16:00.003-07:00

Oh pumpkin carving, it's a tradition you just have to do but one that is always such a mess. I HATE the slime and my hands end up all red, but I love Halloween and I love my kids so we do it every year.

Lately Gavin has decided that he is a cat. He meows all the time and crawls around brushing up against things. So, he got to have a cat pumpkin this year.

Luckily, Liam is finally old enough to do most of his carving all on his own. He did a great job!

Gavin really wanted to be helpful and wanted to get in there and do it, but we all know that a 2 year olds "help" isn't always so helpful. He did do a lot of hole poking though.

Here are the finished pumpkins. Mine is the "New Moon" pumpkin, in honor of the movie soon to be released!! (Not that I'm Team Jacob, I'll always be Team Edward)

Scary!!

Liam's Last Elementary School Halloween Parade and Party

2009-10-30T15:07:00.005-06:00

Liam is in 6th grade so this is his last elementary school

Halloween class party and parade.

Liam dressed up like a crazy snake and spider person (or something like that - it's hard to get him into a costume at all).

I was able to go and help run games at his class party. He got to try to eat a donut off of a string. Very funny to watch.

My aunt Peggy was even in the parade!

Gavin and I had a long, long wait for the parade to start. I tell myself every year not to go on time because it always takes forever. Well, I didn't want to chance it so we waited for about 30 minutes before Liam came through. Oh well, it's good exercise chasing him around.

This is Liam's class walking through for the parade.

Liam's attempt at the donut.

Our Ward Halloween Party 2009

2009-10-30T15:00:00.003-06:00

Liam preparing to enter the church Spook Alley!! I'm sure it was very scary. The young men got to run this activity. Liam hopes our new ward will do this too so that he can help run it next year.

Liam with his friends at the party.

Gavin had fun checking out the pumpkins. Most of the games were too hard for him to play. He did have fun playing the fishing pole game though.

This is the first time we could get Gavin to put on his costume. Neither of my kids like to dress up. It's a nightmare to force them. Gavin finally gave in once we got to the party. We'll see how trick or treating goes. I'm guessing that he'll do it to get the candy.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-30T14:50:00.005-06:00

Thanks again to Melissa and Ryan for another fun Pumpkin Patch/Trevan's birthday event!

Jim and Gavin shooting the corn gun. That thing is loud and shoots really far!

Trying out the little maze before entering the real one.

Taking a ride on the awesome tractor train.

More train fun.

Here are a couple of animals.

And here are some real animals. Gavin had fun going in to pet them.

Little farmer Gavin.

Checking out the rabbits.

It was really fun, but pretty cold. I love October!!

Our Tree/Fall Leaves

2009-10-30T14:40:00.002-06:00

We have a beautiful tree in our yard. I love it, until it's time to lose the leaves anyway. And, let me say that trying to rake leaves with a 2 year old around is pointless. I would rake and he would run through the pile and destroy it. I'm glad he had fun, but we had to figure out how to get the leaves cleaned up without his help.

Hospital Complaints

2009-10-30T14:31:00.003-06:00

So, I went in for surgery on Sept 29th. I admit that I was not a great patient when I got there, but I am amazed at the stupidity of some nurses. I just have to complain.

#1 If a patient is freaked out that they are going to feel their surgery or wake up but be unable to tell anyone they are awake (I know, irrational fear on my part) DO NOT reinforce it by telling them that it happens. Don't tell them that you have had c-sections that you could feel. All this does is freak them out even more.

#2 Don't go with the first vein you find. I have TWO fabulous veins that nobody has ever missed, until this event. It's like they don't even try to be careful.

#3 Too many patients, too few nurses. I realize there is a nursing shortage, but seriously - when you have to ask 3 people to ask your nurse for your meds and they finally show up 3 or 4 hours later it's ridiculous. And I have to add that the person that ended up pulling through for me was the cleaning lady!!

I picked this hospital because they are the best in the area. But, even though it wasn't that busy I felt like some nurses were just over worked. It sucked. I did have one male PCT that usually didn't even work on that floor that was wonderful! He was checking on my constantly. I should have written a little note about him to pin on the "star" board in their hall.

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-13T12:01:00.002-06:00

We wanted to get out of our house and do something on Labor Day. We decided to go to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. It turned out pretty well. Really cheap and not too crowded.

Admission even includes a ride on their horse drawn wagon. Gavin loved it. He's never been pulled around by a horse before.

Watch out for the dangerous horns, and Liam's look (not happy to be in pictures anymore)

Checking out some goats (goats, right??)

The evil horse with the red eyes (OK they were only red in the picture)

Everyone's looking a little crazy. It was fun.

Maybe we'll plan ahead next year and do something even more fun!

Gavin in the hospital

2009-08-27T15:06:00.003-06:00

We had a lot of fun at Seven Peaks this year. We went usually twice a week and had few problems. Until the last time we went that is....

Gavin and I decided to try Cave-In! He got out of the pool and started to run to go again. I was a little slower getting out of the pool and didn't catch him before he ran right into the handrail leading out of the pool. He cried really hard, but I thought he recovered OK. He and his cousin played in the kid pool for a while. Then he threw up (not in the pool), so we went home. I didn't think much of that either because he does that for no reason sometimes. Then as the day progressed he kept getting sicker and sicker. He was laying around and looking so pale. I took him into the doctor, where Jim joined us.

They were really worried so they sent us over to get a CT scan. Luckily they didn't find anything really bad, but were still worried enough about his behavior that they decided to admit him into the hospital for observation.

He was very dehydrated so he had to have on IV. He was doing much better the next morning once he was rehydrated!! Liam and Jim brought him a doughnut, the first thing he had eaten in almost a day.

He went to the pediatric playroom to see if he was acting "normal" and he was. And no, they don't allow contagious kids in there.

Liam was good to come and visit, but got a little bored after a while.

Gavin was finally released and got to ride to the car in a wagon.

I forgot to take a bruise picture sooner, but this was a few days later. All he has left is a big ugly bruise. When he saw it in the mirror he was a little bugged by it. Funny kid.

Summer Slip N Slide

2009-08-27T14:53:00.004-06:00

We didn't take any trips this summer so the kids got to find things to do around the house. We did spend a lot of time at Seven Peaks again, but you don't want to go there every single day.

Gavin has decided he loves guns and Liam is happy to spray him with one.

Liam's friend, Ben, spent a lot of time at our house this summer. It was nice to see them doing something other than playing video games or watching TV.

Gavin had fun until he really slipped and it freaked him out. It's sad to see summer ending.

4th of July Events of 2009

2009-07-06T13:54:00.004-06:00

Jim and Liam started their day with the 5K Freedom Run in Provo. They did a great job. Maybe next year I'll be up to pushing a jogging stroller, but not this year. My sisters, Melissa & Andrea, did the 10 K. I stayed home to bring Gavin and Trevan to the parade.

We all went to the 4th of July parade in Provo. Things didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. We reserved a spot the night before and Melissa and Andrea dropped off chairs are 6:30 that morning before their race. By the time Jim and Liam had finished the race and got there someone had moved our stuff! The people weren't there so Jim and Liam moved their stuff and put ours back. They felt dumb and gave me a Diet Coke so all it forgiven. Gavin did NOT love the sirens, but warmed up to the parade after a while. And, it rained on us (good thing we had a tarp to put over our heads) and then the sun came out and baked us.

After the parade we got ready and headed out to the Tea Party in Orem. We missed the main speaker (Mark Shurtleff), but heard some great messages. It was a great thing to do on Independence Day. We take a lot for granted and some people just sit by as our freedoms are being taken. It reminded us of our responsibilities to keep this country free.

After nap time we headed up to Hobble Creek Canyon to have a picnic with our families. Jim's family was very nice and invited my family up to eat. It was a beautiful SHADED spot. We ate a lot and enjoyed the afternoon. The kids played games and we tried really hard to keep Gavin occupied and within view. He's a little difficult.

We ended our day by attending "Cul De Sac of Fire". Some of our neighbors drive up to Wyoming and get the "good" fireworks and put on a great show in the street between our houses. They play patriotic music and passed out cupcakes. It was great. Plus, it turned out that some of their guests that sat on our lawn were very good friends of mine that I hadn't seen in YEARS. I grew up with them and spent a lot of my childhood at their house. It was a nice night. Gavin even survived the noisy fireworks, although I had to keep his ears covered the whole time. What a fun day!

Zoo Trip

2009-06-19T22:23:00.004-06:00

Melissa and I took our kids to the zoo today. We all had a great time - nice weather and not too crowded. We got to see the bird show and ride the train. Gavin was even willing to wear his "backpack" with a tail, although it wasn't really his friend. Some of the animals seemed to be missing though. And, there was a big monkey fight that scared us to death (me & Gavin anyway). Melissa, Liam, and Trevan went running back in to see if they could see the fight, but it was over. It sounded like they were going to kill someone.

Clear Creek

2009-06-10T16:41:00.005-06:00

Liam was able to go to Clear Creek the first week of June. It's a fun camp that our school district owns. His friend David was able to go the same week and they ended up in groups that were together most of the time. He really liked it.

Camp teachers/leaders

Catching animals in their traps

Liam with his trap. He had a camo trap and caught 2 animals,

a squirrel and a potgut.

Staff VS campers volleyball game

Liam's cabin

Stop at a museum (Liam doesn't remember which one).
It had a huge train set.

Stop at a dinosaur museum

At the Scofield Mine

Air Show at Hill AFB

2009-06-08T13:46:00.005-06:00

Jim, Liam, Gavin and I picked up Eric and headed to the air show at Hill AFB on Saturday. It was great, but the traffic was not. It took us over 3 1/2 hours to get there. Poor kids. At least we brought DVDs to watch. The weather was great and we had a really fun day.

The Thunderbirds show was great. Gavin had a bit of a problem when one flew right over us and scared him to death. Other than that, and the fact that he was so tired, I think he liked it.

Dance Festival 2009

2009-05-27T08:46:00.005-06:00

Another great dance festival.

A bunch of little white kids doing the Huka, kind of funny.

Liam the dancer!

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-27T08:42:00.003-06:00

Liam, Melissa, Trevan, and I went to the cemetery on Sunday with our grandma. This was the first year that they had the cross and flag out for our grandpa that passed away last year. My grandma was happy to see that his was right below a big tree. They are supposed to be putting his name on the veteran wall at the end of June.

The Cherry Tree

2009-05-27T08:28:00.002-06:00

We lost one of the cherry trees last week. We lost a branch when we had a really heavy snow in April and I guess caused the tree to become out of balance. It snapped in a strong wind. Now we just need to figure our where to take it and how to take it there.

Family Train Ride

2009-05-27T08:14:00.003-06:00

My dad's friend invited us over for a train ride. It's the same train we went on at Christmas time. I'm glad Gavin liked it this time.

This time, after the main train ride, they pulled out the little Thomas train and let the kids ride around on it. They had so much fun. I even think Liam had a lot of fun even though he thought he was too big for it.

Hope of America 2009

2009-05-23T08:16:00.011-06:00

This year Liam was in the Hope of America at the Marriott Center. All of the 5th grade students in the area participate and it's a great program. If you can find the bottom right hand corner of the blue part of the flag, Liam is sitting directly to the right of that corner in a red shirt.

There was a cute 92 year old lady that danced as part of the Golden Girls (or something like that). Then she stayed out and did a solo. She was pretty good.

This was one of Liam's favorite songs "America Rocks".

It really was a great program, much better than I expected.

Good Job Liam!!

Last Pack Meeting for Liam

2009-05-22T14:29:00.004-06:00

Liam has attended his last pack meeting as a cub scout.

He finished his Arrow of Light, but his mom was too lazy to get it on his shirt.

I can't believe he is old enough to be done and moving on to boy scouts.

He has even gone on his first overnight campout by himself! He had a great time!!

(by the way, yes I have purchased new "short" socks since this picture)

They really made him work for his last award though.

Then, Gavin helped out by going up and dumping the whole pool of

packing peanuts out. That was the BIGGEST mess ever to clean up.

They were stuck to everyone and they were everywhere. Nightmare.

Liam's 11th Birthday

2009-04-25T07:38:00.009-06:00

Liam had a very busy birthday. After school he had a party with his friends at the church. He had 11 friends come and they played speed (basketball), dodgeball, and midnight football. They had cake and pizza and had a fun time. Then we had our families over for a potluck dinner with cake and ice cream. It was a long day for me, but a really fun one.

No Wicked for Us

2009-04-25T07:33:00.002-06:00

So, Andrea and I attempted to get tickets to Wicked while it is here in SLC.

You can go up 2 hours before the show to put your name in a drawing

to be selected to buy 2 $25 tickets - sounds like a great deal huh.

Obviously everyone else in the world also thinks it sounds like a good deal.

There were hundreds of people there and they only draw 10 names.
Needless to say, we didn't get tickets. Maybe we'll try again....

Lucky Charms!

2009-03-18T10:25:00.002-06:00

So, here we are on St. Patrick's Day.

I go downstairs to switch the laundry and come back up to find this.

Gavin with a broom and dustpan in his hands.

I guess he thought he'd get a little St. Patrick's themed treat all by himself.

Unfortunately it ended up all over the entire kitchen floor.

At least he's taking the responsibility for cleaning it up, right??

Draper Temple Open House

2009-02-21T16:40:00.005-07:00

Picture of the Temple through the window of our bus

Grandma Sue and Liam

Gavin, Jim, Jen

Liam and Trevan

Melissa HATES being in pictures

This morning Grandpa Rick, Grandma Sue, Andrea, Chris, Melissa, Trevan, Jim, Liam, Gavin, and I went to the Draper Temple Open House. It was beautiful and a little different than the other temples I've been in. Thank goodness it was very organized (no line issues or waiting) and we got through easily. Afterwards we went to The Pie and got the gigantic pizza again. I love it!!

2 Year Old's Photo Shoot

2009-02-19T13:12:00.005-07:00

My sister Jackie is always so nice to take my kids pictures for their birthdays. Since Gavin is a February baby taking outdoor pictures is a bit of a challenge. He was SO EXCITED to take pictures, but quickly realized that it was cold and wanted to go home. He cried and cried, but we got a few shots that will work. I feel for photographers that have to take toddler pictures. It isn't easy!!

Gavin Turns 2 Years Old!!

2009-02-18T08:25:00.005-07:00

This is birthday party #2 for Gavin and was on his actual birthday. We celebrated with Jim's family the Saturday before because 2 of his nieces have February birthdays too. Unfortunately my camera's battery died and I didn't get any pictures at that party. I'm hoping to get some from his sister.

Gavin LOVES blowing out candles. We actually got him to wait until the end of the song.

Gavin loves the frosting, but could do without the cake.

Jim got to try to get the toys out of the packages.

Gavin loves the new plane

Gavin's new wagon with blocks in it.

Showing his toys around

Grandpa Andy even stopped by for a minute.

Everyone hanging out and eating soup. Here's our one shot of Liam. He spent most of the party in the basement playing. So did Asher, I didn't even get a picture of him (but we did get some video of him screaming, funny).

Gavin and Trevan reading a new book. Gavin thinks Trevan is very funny.

Gavin's 1st Hair Cut

2009-02-09T13:46:00.006-07:00

Gavin has cute curly hair in the back, but it was getting just a little too long. There was even a "rat tail" going in the back. Plus, it would get so frizzy. So, we finally gave in and decided to attempt to get his hair cut.

Wow, Gavin did NOT want to do this. It was a complete freak out from start to finish (actually from before we started until after we finished). Nothing could entertain him or comfort him.

Kristina did a good job for the situation she was given. I told her this would work for now. At least some of the length is gone in the back and sides. This is just before bed and he got it a little messy. Our camera died during the cut so I had to wait until it was charged to do the "after" picture.

We each took a turn at trying to calm him down.

Liam's story about his family

2009-02-06T14:09:00.003-07:00

OK, we went to parent teacher conference last night. Liam is doing great - good grades, tests very high on standardized tests, etc, etc. But, what we really enjoyed was Liam story and picture hanging in the hall for everyone to see. Each kid in the class drew a picture of their family and then wrote a story called "My Family". Liam drew beautiful stick figures of his family (yes he's in 5th grade - not really into art). And, in his story he told how old his parents and brother were (thank you Liam) and then explained that his mom likes to WATCH TV and his dad likes to PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT and his brother likes to WATCH TV and he likes to PLAY WORLD OF WARCRAFT. Wow, we don't sound like a lazy family do we. Brilliant!

Happy Birthday Jim

2009-01-13T13:37:00.005-07:00

For Jim's birthday this year we celebrated by eating at delicious

Tucanos on Saturday and then we invited his family over for cake

and ice cream last night. It was nice to have everyone over.

Happy Birthday Jim!!

Gavin enjoying some cake

Jim, Jennifer, and Gavin

Bob and Barbara

Kristina, Savannah, Melissa, and Mason

Liam and Camen playing Guitar Hero

Camen and Naomi

Melissa and Russ

Roxanne

Kristina and Eric

Temple Square 2008

2008-12-30T14:35:00.004-07:00

Last night we went to see the lights at Temple Square. First we got to eat at Rubios which is always one of my favorite things to do. We thought that since Christmas was over that the crowds might not be as bad. Well, we were wrong. It was a nightmare to find a parking spot and we ended up in the Conference Center parking lot. As we entered we saw a sign that it was $10 to park there and there was no way to get out. I thought that was quite a lot to park. Oh well, at least it ended our horrible looking for a spot experience and we were close.

We were glad that Jim's parents and brother were able to join us. And glad that they

found a spot to park easier than we did (obviously parking makes me crazy).

The Temple is always beautiful.

We actually got to go up and see the statue of Christ. It is usually too crowded to

get up there. I think this was the first time that Liam was able to walk up there.

Gavin would not keep his gloves on, but it actually turned out to be fairly warm.

It was a great night to be outside looking at lights.

Liam took our picture in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Gavin and Liam posing by the tree.

I LOVE the red and orange lights by the Assembly Hall.

Liam checking out the Tabernacle.

Christmas with Jim's family

2008-12-27T15:17:00.006-07:00

We were supposed to get a huge storm on Christmas but it missed us.

So, we were able to get around to visit everyone. It was a wonderful day.

Liam's dad picked him up in the middle of the day so he is missing for this

part of Christmas. I'm sure he had his own wonderful time though.

The family opening presents

Jim's parents Bob and Barbara

Gavin and "B" his favorite blankie

Mom and Gavin enjoying some cake.

Gavin playing with aunt Kristina

Gavin working off some of those holiday calories.

Gavin got a new basketball hoop.

We got it all set up at home.

Christmas at my dad's

2008-12-27T15:07:00.005-07:00

Liam got a remote controlled helicopter, binoculars, and a robot bug.

Gavin got some fun Elmo toys and a bear. He also had fun playing with the fake candles.

I'm glad that we were there Grandpa Andy came over.

Gavin and mom

Sue, me, and my dad

Our family Christmas picture.

Too bad I didn't close the last set of blinds to help get rid of that light.

Christmas at Melissa and Ryan's

2008-12-27T14:54:00.005-07:00

Here's Jackie demonstrating her coordination for Trevan.

Asher, Gavin, Liam, and Trevan playing with the goods.

Chris and Andrea

Melissa and Ryan

Stephen and Jackie

Chelsea and Matt

Grandma Sue and Liam

Gavin and Grandpa Rick

Grandpa Rick and Liam

After we opened presents at home we headed up to Melissa's where they made delicious breakfast (thanks guys). The problem is that they live on a really steep road up on the mountain. We made it part way up and ended up getting stuck. Luckily some nice people stopped and helped push us onto my dad's street. Matt came down in Andrea and Chris's lovely Jimmy and hauled us up.

Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home

2008-12-27T14:43:00.002-07:00

Here are the boys getting ready to open their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of them in them :( We had dinner, read the Christmas story from the scriptures, and then let Liam pick which Christmas movie to watch. He picked Christmas Vacation and then regretted it. He was bored. We should have switched it to Elf. They boys ended up just playing around in the living room.

Lucky for us, the kids didn't get up until about 7:40. Jim and I were up about an hour before they were. Weird kids. Anyway... here is Liam with some of his gifts. We were stupid and forgot to give him one of his main gifts.

Gavin had a good time, although it was hard to get him to stop playing with one gift and open the next. He is really loving his "new bike". He calls for it all the time.

Liam's Christmas Program 2008

2008-12-18T11:07:00.003-07:00

Gavin and I were able to go to Liam's annual Christmas program at school this morning. They did a great job as always. My pictures always turn out horribly in their auditorium though.

I tried to get most of the group, but my camera wouldn't go any wider.

Please forgive the shaky hands. I had a little Gavin on my lap that wouldn't hold still.

And I think this one is worse. Gavin had had it and was ready to go. They start with 1st grade and we had to sit through all of them until 5th grade when Liam came out.

First big snow of the season

2008-12-18T11:01:00.002-07:00

This week we are FINALLY getting some measurable snow here in Orem. It just doesn't feel like Christmas until we have snow. It's now 2 days after this picture was taken and it's still snowing with another bigger storm schedule to hit tomorrow.

This year Gavin is big enough to go out and play. The problem is that I haven't been able to find snow gloves his size yet so he tried it with the cloth mittens.

But, they kept coming off and we had to go in. I felt so bad. He wanted to be outside, but was crying because his hands hurt. I'll have to go looking for gloves again as soon as it's safe to drive around on the roads.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert 2008

2008-12-12T12:27:00.005-07:00

Last night we went to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert for the 3rd year in a row. I have to say it was my least favorite one. I did not like the guess singer at all. He was SO cheesy and I felt like I was either on a cruise ship or watching a variety show. His songs didn't even seem to be related to Christmas. I guess I just prefer the more tradition Christmas concert.

On our way we up Melissa, Andrea, Liam, Jim, and I stopped at our favorite pizza place, The Pie!!

As you can see we got a small pizza. We didn't realize how big the biggest one would be since we called ahead. Oops. We had plenty left over.

Melissa sat with Liam, Jim, and I while Andrea, Jackie, Sue, and my dad sat upstairs in another section. This year you could only get 4 tickets together.

Liam enjoyed parts of it, mostly the same parts I enjoyed - the story telling section by the guy that was the head vampire in Lost Boys (I forget his name).

We had fairly close seats because we got there early.

And look who we found...my aunt Debi, her husband Bruce, and my cousin Corbin. We ended up in the same section.

Here is a shot from our view. It was very nice as always.

We left half way through the last song because we were 5 floors down in the parking garage and wanted to be able to get out. Last year we were stuck in there for almost 2 hours!! But, we stopped for a quick Temple picture before we took off. Thanks to Kristina and Tyler for babysitting!!

Family Christmas Train

2008-12-11T08:42:00.012-07:00

On Wednesday, December 10th we went with my family to a Christmas train in Lindon. There is a man that my dad does a shift with at the Mt Timp Temple that runs a Christmas train through his and his families yards. It is completely free, you just have to be lucky enough to get a spot. He has to turn away thousands of people each year. It's just a very nice thing that he and his family do as a service. It must take him a LOT of time to get this set up! When you get there, you wait in his giant garage where he has Polar Express playing on this large projector screen.

Gavin was NOT excited to get on the train. Once it was going and he saw all the lights and displays he was fine.

Liam had a good time stuffed between Andrea and Chris on the train. See the cute little engine at the front.

Here's the family waiting to get on the train.

On the first leg of the trip it's decorated for Christmas and has a Polar Express theme.

We stopped at "Santa's Workshop" and saw Santa.

We still love Santa too.

Liam got to see Santa and asked for more cars....he already has WAY too many!!

Gavin wants NOTHING to do with Santa. This was as close as we could get for a visit with the big man.

We got to sing carols with Santa and his elves. Hear is a video clip of our awesome singing.

On the trip back from the North Pole there was a Life of Christ theme. It was beautiful and really helps you to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Here's a fun clip of the trip back from the North Pole. They had speakers in each train car that played Christmas music as we went. The songs went along with what you were seeing. So fun!!

Thanks to my dad for setting this up and getting us together. It was a wonderful time.

And their house and yard were incredible!!

Getting together with old friends

2008-12-01T14:32:00.002-07:00

Today I got to go to lunch with some of the girls that I worked with at Pegasus many, many years ago (about 11 yrs+ I think - I must be old). I loved working there and with these guys. We used to hang out together and it was so fun. It's kind of weird to have co-workers end up being good friends. We rarely get to see each other so it was really fun catching up. Good thing we have the internet or I would never keep in touch with anyone!

Liam's Arrow of Light

2008-11-28T13:54:00.004-07:00

Liam earned his Arrow of Light on November 18th, along with 2 other boys in his Webelos den.

We are very proud of Liam for how hard he works at scouts. He is doing a great job.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T13:48:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to my Grandma Prestwich's as usual this year. We are too big to fit in her house, so we headed over to the church. Most of the family was there, but we missed those of you that weren't. Poor Jim had to chase Gavin most of the time, that kid just won't stop and he's getting way to fast. The kids played games after dinner, some played basketball, and the rest of us talked. Then we all headed home to look at the ads to see where we would be going first thing on Friday morning (for me it was Toys R Us - one of the worst lines of course).

The Best Weekend!!

2008-11-24T11:12:00.005-07:00

Last weekend was the best weekend!! On Friday afternoon I went with Melissa, Andrea, Jackie, Sue, and Heidi to see Twilight. I tried to keep my expectations low so I wouldn't be disappointed. The movie was much better than I expected. Sure there were a few cheesy parts here and there, but overall it was a great movie. I can't wait to see it again. Now if I could just get Jim to go with me....

Then on Saturday night I got to see one of my favorite bands!! Now, I have been to more concerts in my life than I can count (or dare to admit) and Coldplay is one of the best live shows ever. I went with my sister Andrea and we were up in the cheap seats (that really weren't very cheap). We got tickets back in May, I think, and have been waiting and waiting. We saw them once before at Saltair, but this show was better. Good thing the people directly in front and behind us also want to stand and scream and dance and freak out so we didn't get any dirty looks. There were some lame people that just sat there the whole time though. Who does that?? Anyway, here is a clip from the actual show we went to. I decided to post Fix You because it's my favorite Coldplay song of all.

Muse - Twilight Soundtrack

2008-11-17T13:01:00.003-07:00

SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE by Muse

OK, I decided it was more appropriate to have a Muse song on my blog to represent Twilight. Muse is an excellent band! I am so looking forward to the movie this weekend and I'm so happy that Stephenie Meyer has such excellent taste in music. Have you checked out the playlists for each of the books?? If you haven't, you should. They are listed on her official website.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T14:07:00.003-06:00

Liam was Darth Vader for Halloween this year. The only problem is that we couldn't find the light saber when it was time to trick or treat.

My dad, Andrea (with Tonka), and Jackie (she wasn't there yet when I took the picture) came over to see the kids before trick or treating. My dad brought me a delicious homemade cookie from work. It was very nice.

Liam went trick or treating in our old neighborhood as usual. Here he is with Ben and Joey. A few other friends joined them after the picture. They had a great time and hit 2 neighborhoods, one of which has a spook ally for them to go through.

This is Gavin's first trick or treat door ever! So cute. They gave him a handful of dum dum suckers, which he loves. Do you like his trick or treat box? We realized at the last minute we couldn't find the pumpkin one. I wasn't very prepared yesterday.

Jim did a good job of keeping up with Gavin. My legs were sore from this dumb class at the gym and I couldn't chase him. We only trick or treated our cul de sac. Gavin had fun though. We had a good Halloween.

And it's always a good Halloween when nobody smashes your pumpkins.

School Costume Parade 2008

2008-10-31T11:20:00.006-06:00

Liam didn't want to wear his new costume to school because you can't tell who he is without the mask. So he wore last years costume. He wanted to pose with the potato bug he found before school.

Gavin and I caught him just outside his classroom during the school costume parade.

After going to each classroom they headed outside for all the parents to see.

I was able to get a little video of his class going by.