Baby's got blue eyes

You snooze you lose!

2010-03-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

I went for a long time not writing in my blog and now the posts I have no one sees evidently because no one has commented. Sorry family, been so busy even my mom hadn't heard from me in several weeks! Nothing personal.

MA Convention in Miami FL

2010-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Some of you know I went to the Market America Convention in Miami last week. It was a blast, met lots of great people in our group. Melanie Nelson made a video of all of us in the group on various days, thought I'd share. http://sharing.theflip.com/session/f6c3b4a565ddc09e9cc73d73dd01dffd/video/10343985

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Christmas in Colorado

2010-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

OK don't die of shock, I'm actually writing in my blog! Not to be entirely outdone by my sisters, of course I always am ha ha... here are a few of the lovely family pictures that Robin took of our family at Christmas time- Thanks Rob!

I love the winter pictures! Although it was pretty cold-pictures went much faster and the kids cooperated much better because they wanted to go back inside.

Wasatch Back Ragnar Veteran!

2009-06-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Just before my 3rd run wearing my very own official Ragnar "Runner" shirt

What an amazing experience! You honestly don't really understand what it is like until you experience it. Our team ran the 188 miles in 28 hours 43 minutes. I personally ran 3 hours of that and 13 of the miles... on 3 hours of sleep. I ran 3 legs each between 4 and 5 miles. The first leg was in the heat through the gorgeous farmland of Eden (seriously that was what the town is called). My next leg was between 1:30am and 2:30am up Hogback Summit from East Canyon State Park. It was a fabulous run with clear starry skies and a cool breeze, quiet and almost peaceful except for the cars driving by and the fact that the uphill seemed to stretch on forever! My last leg was 4.6 miles and was completed in the driving rain with lots of friendly runners with a smile and a wave of encouragement as they passed me by.

This is Creighton on his first run at dusk (all runners have to wear the reflector vest and blinking red light on their back and a headlamp between 8pm and 7am). This was the same run he did last year -only I got to be there to see him come in :)

Everyone had to run up some form of a mountain, summit etc. Some had long runs 7 to 9.6 miles for instance, or short 3.6 miles (straight up a mountain)This is our friend Doug Phillips who ran the 3.6 mile precurser to the actual "Ragnar" leg. It is hard to tell from the picture but his entire leg was a steep 7.6% grade. It was very physically challeging even for a good runner like Doug! Aaron ran the "Ragnar" leg and did it with 10min miles, and 24 kills! Incredible!

The elements conspired to give us the ultimate experience and extremes-- it was perfect! Just before Craig began his/our team's final leg he was saying to himself... please let the rain stop,please please please. So the rain stopped, the sun came out; however, the minute we all crossed the finish line together it began to pour again. So we hurried and got our picture taken and ran to our cars. I don't have a finish line picture yet except the official one which I assume will post in a couple of days.

This is an example of what a relay exchange looked like. Runners standing around waiting to take off on their run. Spectators, teammates waiting to cheer their runner in... orange tape and orange cones to designate the exchange area. Cars driving by on their way to the next exchange or following their runners Exchanges could be just as fun as the time in the vehicles there was always an air of excitement, people bragging about their "kills" (the number of runners they had passed on their runs), looking for teams that our van was keeping pace with to see if we'd gained any time on them. Looking at all the crazy decorating on the vehicles! Ours was pretty tame compared to some- sorry no pictures.

This is Natanya Nielsen, my neighbor and wife of our team captain Aaron, she was our secret weapon! She did sports massage for everyone in both vans for the entire 24 hours. She was also the only other female in the van with me so I was so glad she was along. She got even less sleep than the rest of us.

This is Doug and Aaron chatting about Doug's 9 miler. Time in the vans was spent talking about the highlights of the just finished run, joking about kills, laughing at the funny slogans and decorating on the other vehicles and cheering any and all runners on as we passed, sleeping (although never very well), snacking and listening to the sage advise of more experienced runners ahem... Aaron.

This is Ryan he was the youngest member of our team at 14. He did great!

This gorgeous view was from the car on the leg for which the Ragnar is famous... it is a view of the valley of Midway from the dirt road that goes over the mountain and drops down into Deer Valley. Notice how green everything is this year thanks to all the rain!

Well here's to all the insane people who took part in this amazing race! I now know why it is so addicting, why everyone can't wait to do it again! It is, as I said, an experience to be experienced!

Warp 9 Woman- first 5k of many!

2009-03-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have been hibernating from my blog because I have been so busy working on my 90 day goal that I started on Dec. 15. So for the past 90 days I've been working toward my goal of running a 5k and on Saturday I finally ran that 5k! This is my official race number on a slimmer me :) I've actually lost 30 lbs in the process of preparing for my race. It was verrrry cold, so I wore my sweatshirt the entire time I ran. I really thought I'd be taking it off so I had my number pinned to my shirt. Oh well, next time I'll know- before April 1 you will be wearing the sweatshirt the entire time!My 90 day goal was part of a great program Craig and I have participated in the last 90 days called Outlook. As part of the program I had 2 buddies who I talked to daily and those great ladies were there to cheer me on the day of the race. Love ya Jules and Sally you rock! Doug who is one of the facilitators is in the back left corner and he and my running mentor Ashli Roberts actually ran the race with me. About a week before my race I got my first official runner's injury and so I ran my race with a knee brace. But even with the brace on I still improved my time by 4 minutes!Of course Craig and the kids were there to cheer me on. I love that my little girls race around the house now until they are breathing hard saying they are 'exercising'. And Emmalee's favorite game on the Wii fit is the running- she runs around the couch and kitchen breathing hard- it is so cute. Guess its rubbed off a bit on them also! Mom and Dad were in town for my race and made it just in time to see me cross the finish line. Dad was behind the camera and somehow I didn't get a single picture with them in it. Thanks for the support and love mom and dad!

Jules gave me a trophy with my super hero name on it- Warp 9 Woman.

It has been a wonderful 90 day adventure and I'm already planning my next 90 days with monthly 5ks and the Wasatch Back Ragnar June 19-20, not to mention more 'incredible shrinking woman'. More to come!

Holiday Blues!

2009-01-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over and I didn't take a single picture! I'm going to have to kidnap Marilyn's camera because she took tons! Does anyone else get the blues when the holidays are over? I love all the decorations and the pretty lights, I hate having to put it all away in Jan. Last year the Christmas village was out until March... He he he. One advantage of having lots and lots of snow, the yard lights won't be coming down very soon, they look so pretty in the snow and under the snow. The extra lights on the houses help to light our very dark cul de sac also. I'm definately going to petition for a street light to be put in, it is a little worrisome. Sorry this is a boring, pictureless post. I'll make that my new years resolution to take more pictures!

The Living Planet Aquarium

2008-12-01T15:42:00.001-08:00

Friday, the kids and I went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. The building is a supermaket or something of that size that has been converted for the aquarium. I was extremely impressed that they repurposed the building so ingeniously. Anyway, its about the price of a movie and your ticket is good the entire day $6 kids, $8 adultsThey have a hands on area that the kids can touch a manta ray (sp?), They also have starfish, and other various creatures that the kids can touch and experience different textures.Emily calls these the"freaking jellyfish" (because she was freaking out watching them! and her brothers thought it was hilarious) I personally thought they were kind of creepy myself, you watch them too long and anyone would get a little squeamish!Notice the 12 year old controlling the computer game, the 6 and 3 year old's rapt attention and the teenager making faces!This display made it seem like the kids were actually piloting a boat out onto the Great Salt Lake.This was part of the man made coral reef that the kids could climb on and under. The kids had fun, we laughed alot at the funny antics of the tropical fish etc. They all said they'd like to go back, that usually means they had a good time.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day, Craig and Birdie came to our house for the Thanksgiving feast and we sat down at the table by 2:10 (I had everything scheduled to be done by 2:00) I was excited that my schedule worked- Birdie has a finite amount of time that her strength/endurance to be up and about lasts so it worked out perfectly. The turkey came out perfect, it was so tender the leg bones came out as we were moving it to the platter. Creighton made a quick run to the grocery store and brought me back some Thanksgiving flowers (he knows I live for flowers). We had 3 different kinds of pie for dessert, but the lemon cream cheese was the hitWe still don't have any diningroom chairs, so we used the kitchen chairs again this year

Creighton put some Big Band music on as we were sitting together after dinner-Birdie and Erie used to dance with us at their house to many of the songs that he had on his MP3 player. Birdie was doing a little quick step as she and Craig were leaving and so the kids got the idea to dance . Anyway, we have this funny tradition as a family to dance after movies (the closing credit music) so the kids started dancing together in the livingroom, it was darling. Creighton grabbed me and was dancing in the entryway, until I had to get pictures of the kids because they were so cute.Paris read her "Thanksgiving books" to me after dinner, that she had made at school for just such an occasion. After the girls were in bed, Creighton, Connor, Zachary and I all watched Hancock on the diningroom wall (you can see the huge blank wall behind Creighton in the first picture) with the projector. I love it that I have my own personal big screen for movies! Who care if we have to wait for full dark to watch. (too much light in the livingroom). That's the projector above my head -you can just barely see it. The dresser has taken up permanent residence behind this couch until we get the tv room downstairs finished, so we can have movie nights!

My little cheerleaders

2008-11-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Emma and Paris were cheerleaders for Halloween, sorry I am so behind, but today these pictures reminded me that they are my cheerleaders. They always greet me at the door with a cheer and a smile. I love yous always follow. So here's to My Cheerleaders because every mom needs a good cheersquad to remind them to stay in the game.

I can hardly wait!

2008-10-28T19:48:00.001-07:00

I once again visited the Twilight site to see if any new pictures had been posted, here's a new one I found as well as the newest trailer. http://www.comcast.net/data/fan/html/popup.html?launchpoint=Search&repeat_search_query=twilight%20movie&v=898304730

The Harry Potter sites are still showing the old trailer;however, I found this new trailer, check it out:
http://www.comcast.net/movies/reelnews/1433/firstlooknewharrypottertrailer/ The Britains have an awesome trailer out right now for Harry Potter, much better than the teaser they've had out before. Twilight's new trailer is also verrry yummy! If you are a fan and haven't seen the trailers out check out the addresses above.

Playoff Update

2008-10-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

The boys played their hearts out but we lost, 41 to 7. The season is over for the Spartans. I have to say that for a first year team who had never played together before, who was expected to be bottom of the barrel in performance this year-the Spartans really showed them! They lost only 3 games out of 10 and only to the hardest teams. Good job boys, and thank you coaches. Because we have no high school yet, we had no high school coach so all of our coaches were volunteers coaching against regular hs coaches. They did an exceptional job with the boys and their dedication is to be commended. They coached in their free time after work, on weekends and in the early morning so that these boys could have the best experience possible and prepare them for next year. It is because of their dedication that we will have a good Varsity team next year in a brand new high school. Hats off to the coaches: Coach Parker, Coach Bates, Coach Martin, Coach Canfield and (the one whose name I can never remember:? the Coach with one artificial leg (seriously, he only has one leg).
So the football saga comes to an end.
Phew, I'm not going to miss all the time involved! But I will miss the fun and camraderie.

Playoffs begin

2008-10-25T08:36:00.001-07:00

We woke up this morning to the poster and balloons on our front porch. I guess the cheerleaders were pretty busy this morning. I immediately woke Connor up, he is soo funny, you could tell he was pleased but he was trying to stay cool. Ha ha Today is the first playoff game at 4:00pm in Pleasant Grove.

Basement Bathroom #1 Progress

2008-10-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly working on the 3/4 of our basement that remain unfinished. The electrician came two weeks ago and basicly rewired the unfinished rooms with separate switches and plugs, night lights in the hallway (which he left for me to install), and the washer and dryer plugs for the laundry room downstairs, etc. Anyway, this past weekend Dad and Mom came for Zach's birthday and ordination and Dad helped us get a cast iron tub in and put up the green board for the walls. We have a room! Thanks Dad, you were just the push we needed to keep going. Today, which is also Emmalee's birthday, I had the plumber here to finish the toliet, sink and shower valve. The travertine tile went in last night, and he came back this evening to finish the grout. I was working on the wainscot for the wall behind the toliet and sink, it isn't quite finished because we need to finish the mudding and taping this weekend before I put the top molding on. Progressss! We have a working toilet in the basement!

The batteries in my camera were dead!

2008-10-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Last game before the playoffs and my camera batteries were dead. The Spartans played Orem HS tonight... we lost 30 to 25 the boys actually intercepted the ball at our 15 yard line with 10 secs left on the clockin the 4th quarter but the QB threw the pass a little to far to the left and the Reciever couldn't reach it in the end zone so we lost by a very little bit really. The boys played hard! After the game, I had a car full. Connor's friends got dropped off at the game and then didn't have rides home (who does that?) We were in Orem so I piled everybody in the car and brought them home. It was fun! The girls totally razzed Connor, you can tell they are all good friends and have fun together. He took it and gave it right back, respectfully of course. Anyway, Playoffs are in two weeks so we get a couple days break from everyday practices. Yeah!!!!

The winning streak has been broken

2008-10-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

As you all know our family's current pasttime is attending weekly football games to cheer our Spartans on. We played Springville this last week on Thursday night and finally met our match. I love Springville, as many know we lived there for about 13 years, it was great to be back in the city. I think that the Springville freshman team had 3x the number of players that we did... and they were all very large boys. Ok, I'm sure they weren't all huge, but the ones we walked by as we were leaving were taller than Connor or at least as tall- an Connor is one of maybe 4 on our team that are almost or are 6'0. Wow! I knew there was something in that Springville water. Anyway, about the loss. I have to say that our boys really played hard and did the best they could- hats off to the offense who time after time marched that ball down the field yard by yard to finally score. Springville won 40 to 15. We (Craig, Cory,Zachary, Paris, Emmalee, and Connor's friend McKenna) cheered until we were hoarse. Threw the football back and forth to each other (this was Emma's favorite thing to do), ate the worst Taco Bell meal I've ever had, and groaned as their fresh players shot past our players to score. The little girls danced to the music, and Zachary and Paris played catch on the sideline for a little while.

All I want for Crissmess....

2008-09-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

She tried to sing the song and it sounded just like it should!

Spartans vs Timpview

2008-09-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Paris climbing around on the bleachers
The Spartan Cheer Squad Go Girls!
My daughter has a photo bug :) Too bad she's soooo cute.
Emmalee and Zachary playing a game to pass the time

Craig and I

Last night the Spartans played Timpview- they were ahead by 20 pts at the half, but Timpview recovered and scored 15 before the end of the game. Tough second half for the boys, some of the 2nd and 3rd string players didn't get to play because it got so tough second half. We had a nail biting last 4 minutes of the game, the other side (including the referees) gave Timpview several unfair advantages (like not keeping the clock going when Timpview had the ball) and an extra point on the scoreboard they didn't actually legitimately win-anyway the Spartans won 20 to 15 (not 16 they did eventually fix the error) It was a fun game, still not many parents attended on the opposing side (sad) but they appear to have a really good program. Running through the cheerleaders at half time (they usually have a banner for them to run through)Even Gabe Olsen #29, the player who got hurt two weeks ago was on the sidelines (standing the whole time!) with his teammates. Sorry the pictures are soo dark.

All the players are congragulating Spencer on his awesome interception, but Connor has to take a peek to see what the girls are doing (ahem, Jessica) She is the one on the right, he's #60 I actually didn't realize what this picture was until I looked closer, I think its funny I caught him looking back at the cheerleaders.

San Diego

2008-09-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Craig got the opportunity to go to San Diego for 4 days with his sister and her family. This is one of the sunset pictures he sent to my phone. I have it on my phone wallpaper, maybe someday I'll see a sunset over the ocean in person again.

Another Spartan Shut out

2008-09-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Half time shuffle
Team circle

Issac Birchett and Zachary at the game

Craig, Austin Birchett(Connor's age) Mike Birchett, Kristi Birchett

Sorry everyone who is following the football game scores, it has been a busy week. The Spartans played Payson last Saturday and they won again 37 to 0. Since it was in Payson, the Birchetts joined us for the game. The boys played hard and did a great job. I have to put in a plug for the cheerleaders and cheerleader parents. They are there to support the boys, just as much as we are and have made this season lots of fun- every game our section is triple or quadruple the spectators that the other teams have and I know that that makes the boys play their best and try really hard to be good sports. Often the other teams don't have cheerleaders and there may be only a handful of parents that show up. I think we have a really good start to an awesome program in years to come, if current trends are any indication. Here's hoping!

Connor and team doing the victory jumping jacks on the opponents' field

Student Council

2008-09-15T23:04:00.001-07:00

Zach looking very handsome in his sunday best
Unknown to his dad and I, Zachary gave a speech to his class several weeks ago and was nominated to be his Student Council Representative. We were very proud of him for his inititive and organization to get elected. What a great kid!

6th Grade Donut Date

2008-09-15T22:57:00.001-07:00

Emma looking cute for our Donut Date

Emmalee and I went to donut date for 6th grade. Zach was very pleased to show off his 96% on his school work. He read two books to Emmalee "If you give a Pig a Pancake" (which she made him read 2x and another really cute picture book that had a complicated title I can't remember. We had a great time, Emma didn't want to leave- thank heavens for preschool starting.

ON A ROLL

2008-09-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

Last night's game was very exciting! We played a team that had very poor sportsmanship with referees that were biased for the home team but...... we still won! Spartans 33 Skyhawks (Salem HS) 6, Last quarter, 1 minute to go, our head coach put in Gabe Olsen and had Connor sit out as Right Guard. Our quarterback passed, our receiver got another 1st down on our 30 yard and Gabe couldn't stay standing. Turns out in the tackle, Gabe got his shin bones broken, both on one leg. Connor felt horrible, said it was his fault, he should have been in, but I reminded him that that decision had been taken out of his hands by his coach, so he stopped fussing somewhat. I do think that Connor would have survived the tackle a bit better, he's quite a bit bigger than Gabe, their defense had a harder time moving Connor most of the game. But I also feel like we dodged a bullet with that injury...Eeek! Gabe was taken to Payson Hospital which is just down the road, we drove by so Connor could see the ambulance and medics had everything under control. This is the 'not so fun' part of football I dread!

Go Spartans!

2008-09-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Our Spartan team played the (Alpine) Lone Peak Knights tonight. We won 36 to 6. Connor got to play Defense in the second half and I have to say (to all you mothers with boys) when he grabbed the player with the ball and took him to the ground- my heart swelled with pride- soccer has nothing on football!- I may be a football mom yet!! It was awesome ha ha! The people in front of us were a little concerned at how excited Zach and I got about that particular takedown. Who cares! I told him to ask his coach to let him play defense once in awhile- for his mom :) you know, the crazy lady in the stands (sorry, no cowbells) (where do you buy cowbells?! just kidding) If they keep winning we may be playing into November for playoffs. We'll see! We are going to have to invest in a couple more stadium blankets... it was kind of chilly tonight.

First Football game

2008-09-01T19:13:00.001-07:00

Connor is #60 he's one of the tallest players
Connor is playing Right Guard, he's second in next to the Center
Cory, Paris and Zachary
Back, girls, back!
Nothing like love from a sister, it kills me how tiny Emmalee looks next to her big brother.

Connor's team is the Spartans this year because at the time they had to chose a name the new principal of the new high school hadn't named the school or the team. They played the Lehi Pioneers and won 22 to 6. They will actually be the West Lake Thunder next year. Any guesses what the school mascot will be? We're all wondering. Hate the name but I suppose we'll get used to it.

Summer Recap 2 Lagoon

2008-09-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

Paris Bee-utiful
Paris loves to pose

Emma on the Bulgy ride
Zach, Craig and Paris
Emma loved the dragon

she chose it every time

Our trip to Lagoon was alot of fun. Somehow I didn't get any pictures of the big boys, probably because Craig and I had to divide and conquer with the differences in ages and interests. Paris rode one big roller coaster, the oldest one at Lagoon and almost slipped under the bar, so after that I made her stick to the younger rides, maybe next year she'll be taller. Emma is completely fearless, she rode the baby rollercoaster and squealled and grinned the entire time. I love rollercoasters but I have to admit 'Spider' was the scariest rollercoaster I've ever ridden. Not only are you going fast everywhich way but the car itself rotates randomly. Craig and the boys loved it and rode several times- once was enough for me. However, just to maintain my fearless reputation "Colossus" scared all of them and I laughed my head off the entire time it was great!!! We closed down the park, mostly because the crowds began to dwindle and we found we got in many more rides. Also the little girls were tired and their rides were closed so we could trade off and ride the bigger rides more often. We did make it to Pioneer Village for our customary old time picture. We'll hang it next to the one we took the last time we went which was when Connor was an infant.

Summer recap 1

2008-08-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

Life has been so busy this summer that I haven't been a very good blogger. So much has happened so I'm going to devote the next few blogs to catching up.

16th Year Anniversary

Then-we looked so young

And Now-a little older and a little wiser

I knew when I met Creighton that I'd found a gem, 3 years later after missions and such a long separation where we got to know one another by letter (they didn't have email then), I realized I had found the perfect 'other half' for me. And 16 years later I have to say, "I'm such a smart girl!" my husband is everything I ever dreamed of and more. I couldn't have hand picked a better father to my children, a more perfect soulmate and lover and friend. He is a 'great man' in every sense. Here's to us! with many more interesting, lovely and difficult-wonderful years to come.

I can't figure out how to leave a message

2008-08-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the dumbest blogger there is, I can't even figure out how to leave a message for: Becca- who has the most beautiful baby in the world!!!! I'm checking your site daily to see all your pictures. I'm dying to see your little sweetheart in person soon. Robin whose rollar coaster pictures are really cool-hey Rob we're going to Lagoon this weekend we'll have to trade coaster kid stories. Jacqui-Loved your montage of out of date clothing-please don't look at my closet! Kelli-your site always brings a smile, uplifts my spirit and reminds me that "RENCHERS RULE!" ha ha. And Brenda-that is such a great picture of mom and keep up the Friday five I love to read all the insightful and funny things you have to say about everything! Sorry, I'm so boring everyone, but I hope you've looked at my site to see the postings I would have left you if I could have. Any suggestions?

Football

2008-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

OK. I entitled this post Football because it is on my mind now that Connor has started Freshman (yes, that's high school!) football. I never really got into the game in high school or college, although I went for the socializing at the statium (great way to make your guy friends happy). I guess I enjoy watching BYU play, when we are able to get tickets. Although, I think I drive my husband nuts asking questions about ref calls and plays trying to "cheer like I get it" I don't especially search it out during the tv season, although we always record the Super Bowl on the DVR (so we can fast forward to the commercials- I know pitiful!). But now that my oldest is embarking on the football quest I'm starting to see that I'm going to actually have to understand the game, help him memorize plays, attend and cheer (as though I get it) It will take up precious evenings, weekends etc... I am asking myself at this point if there was any way I could have possibly just said, "no" when he begged to play?! Selfish???? Yeah! Well so far he makes it to practice on his own, he's starting to seriously exercise so that he's in better shape for the grueling practices-all I can say is "Who Knew!!!" my teenage boy would find something (besides the girl I'm trying hard to make him forget about) to focus his time, energy on and get fit also. So here's to football! I just hope I can make it through! Please let him become obsessed with the game and forget about the girl !!!!!!! :) Now that I think about it I think I might just add that to my evening prayer tonight- ha ha.

Camping crash!

2008-07-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Camping Extravaganza Begins!

Rock Cliff Campground, Heber Ut

We have had a marvelous summer for camping. Craig and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary with a romantic camping trip to Rock Cliff Campground. Our campsite was right next to the Provo River and the scenery was gorgeous. Robin graciously offered to watch our children so we could go on our get away. We were sooooo grateful because we haven't had a true "by ourselves" anniversary trip since I was pregnant with Zachary (l2 years ago). Thanks again Robin! Sorry, I forgot the camera so there aren't any pictures of the beautiful campsite, but this is a picture from the website and gives you an idea of the scenery.

The Homestead, Idaho

Our next camping adventure was the Homestead the following weekend (which is actually our anniversary weekend). We all had a wonderful time thanks to all the prep time and organization of Mom(Helen) and Dad(Clifford). One of my favorite memories is the 2year olds bathing in Mom's dish pans at the 'washing station'. Emmalee loved this and still talks about it. Jacqui and Robin I need copies of the digital pictures we took -for her scrapbook :) I lost my two boys (Connor and Zachary) for hours because they were off playing with cousins (my cousins' children) I'm so grateful that they are able to make these connections with family. Connor continues to text and call his cousins now that they are reaquainted. I think they have a end of summer party idea brewing at our house?! Love it! I enjoyed reacquainting with my own cousins and the greatest thing of all is how much my husband enjoys my cousins also and looks forward to seeing and getting reacquainted as well.

Ok, I have to say it, because everyone else has commented about it what is up with cousins packing heat! Are they waiting to "Cap a Cousin?" are they afraid we are going to be attacked by terrorists at the Homestead, ok maybe we are their definition of terrorists :)

Good times!!!!

Lebaron Lake, Beaver Ut

Our final camping trip was just this past weekend, we went to Lebaron lake up above Beaver in Fishlake National Park/State Park? ok I'm not sure if it was a national or state park, anyway it was absolutely gorgeous. We were right off the lake-Dennis, Patty, Taylor and Zach spent most of the time fishing. I began the Hobbit again (I know, I know its like the 15th time I've read it) I just love the book, its relatively short and who can resist hobbits anyway! We were completely innundated on Saturday with rain for about 2 hours then it cleared for awhile and rained again in the night. (Our new tent leaks at a few seams-anyone know what to get to waterproof seams?) We all stayed in our tent (condo as Paris calls it) including the dog who just gets better and better behaved everytime he comes with us. The second night he actually burrowed down to the bottom of Connor's sleeping bag to sleep (Connor said he only licked his toes a couple of times- can you say EEEEWWWW!) The only reason I even considered letting him sleep with Connor was because his bedding got really wet in the rainstorm and he was cold and shivering when we came in for the night. Am I becoming a dog person? The jury is still out.

Casey loved the lake! He saw Dennis out in the lake (with waders on) and went bouncing (imagine a bunny) out to see him through the grass and splash landed right in the lake- it was hilarious- honestly to see his face (can dogs blush?) There weren't any convinient showers or port a potties at this camp site. We had to drive to the one outhouse at the top of the hill, but we had a lot of fun. The girls found lots to entertain themselves with; Paris had Marisa, Emmalee seemed content to play in the dirt, blow dandilions and try to get the dogs to give her kisses.

Ragnar:Wasatch Back Relay Race

2008-07-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

Warning! This relay is not for the faint of heart, knees, stamina! Ok, first the disclaimer- we had 7200 (thats 600 teams!) crazy people in on the back roads of the Wasatch mountains June 21-22! I mean seriously mentally deranged... they had to be to as the slogan says: "Run, Drive, Sleep?, Repeat". And then there were those of us who volunteered to faciliate this madness-ahem Cory.

My husband and our neighbor Aaron and my neighbor Ashlee all participated in this insanity. There are 12 racers (some teams had only 6 so they all ran twice as much) each racer runs 3 different legs of a 36 leg, 181 mile race; all of the legs varied in difficulty (whether or not the runner was running up a mountain! or not) and length (I swear I heard that woman I passed swearing under her breath as she ran by). Craig had a 3.1 mile starting at 8:30pm on 6/21 and climbed 1000 feet to the top of Snow Basin Mountain. Next was an moderate (ha ha) 5.1 mile run at 4:30am from Wanship past the Rockport Reservoir to the other end- Gorgeous sunrise!!!!!. Finally, he ran the easy (ha, ha, Ha) 5.2 miler at 1:30pm to the finish line in 92 degree, not a cloud in the sky weather to the finish line (with no water).

Meanwhile, I was at the Wanship exchange volunteering from 9pm to 2am marking down the runners as they came into the exchange point as my fellow volunteers called them out. It was a balmy 38 degrees (we were cooooold) and the runners were coming in in shorts, etc. After my shift, I climbed into my van to catch a scant 2 hour nap before my group arrived to exchange and Creighton took off running.

Between leg 24 and 30 a group of us went to the Kamas high school where people could shower, sleep on the gym floor (a hard hardwoodfloor never looked so good) and catch a bite to eat before their next leg started. Our group (van 2) got about 1 1/2 hours sleep (thank heavens I brought the air mattress for the back of the van) then they all started again. I think that was pretty much the amount of sleep any of the 2 vans full of people got during the 24 hour period. It was a very physically brutal, but somehow crazy fun bonding experience for the runners and helpers. CRAZY!!!!!!, but at the end, we all agreed we'd do it again-- next year!Two very tired people finally at home!

We might have wolves but Daniel had lions

2008-05-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

You know it has been a difficult day in the trenches when your husband and business partner makes a comment like the title, "we might have wolves but Daniel had lions" that is looking on the bright side of a trial. I don't really have anything pithy or cute to share like all of my other bloggers. I'm just glad to have Monday over with, guess I should title the post. It's 1:13am, thank heavens that Monday is over!

Mr. and Mrs. Tony Morris

2008-04-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

We spent a lovely weekend with family celebrating the marriage of Ashlee Sierra Wyatt to Anthony Morris in St. George. We stayed with my sister-in-law Patty Wyatt and her family + a house full of guests and 10 dogs. My inlaws, Marilyn and Dennis; Jacob (my nephew) and his friends Kristen(they met on Eharmony) :) and Anthony. Rod, Jenny, Katy, Mckenzy, Heidi and Brighton Carter; Patty, Scott, Marisa, Taylor, Karlee and boyfriend Jesse, and Sierra. The dogs were 4 chihuahas, 1 poodle, 1 Great Pyrenese,1 bull dog, 1 sheltie, 1 pug, 1 boxador (Casey). Talk about a full house with lots of yapping and yakking going on.

Sierra was a beautiful bride, Tony cried when she walked up the aisle, so did Scott as he walked her to him, we were in a beautiful campground setting in Snow Canyon, the weather was windy but a perfect temperature. We met many of Tony's family who seemed really nice. The reception was fun with lots of dancing to songs new and old. Ketra, Scott's sister, did the DJing and also helped with much of the decorating and planning. She did beautiful flower arrangements and bouquets, fun sea shell chocolate wedding favors in little buckets with sugar sand.

Afterwards, we all went back to the house and swam and talked and laughed. Sierra and Tony came over and opended their gifts and we got the chance to tease them and see all the lovely things they were given. It was a relaxing weekend and now we are glad to be home.

1996 Hyundai Elantra GLS

2008-04-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone, Brenda and Darren wanted to see pictures of the car we have for sale. This was the easiest way I could think of to upload all the pictures. Brenda it has a CD player, sorry no cassette, I need to go out and test it to see if it works. It also has a sunroof which is nice. Vin# KMHJF34M8TU318264 if you want to check for salvage title, as far as we are aware it has a clean title. We have replaced: Right CV axle, Windshield washer pump, headlight assy, 4 new tires, new upper and lower exhaust manifold gaskets, 4 wheel alignment it passes the safety and emission tests here in Utah.

Sammy Bear, what will you wear?

2008-03-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

My family knows that when Samuel was born, Brenda took the kids to Build a Bear and designed a bear to represent Samuel in all our family pictures. Well, today the boys and I went to University Mall and I visited the Build a Bear there and found the cutest little outfit for our Sammy Bear. Since Samuel is in a very great sense a saving grace for our family, I thought a missionary outfit appropriate for him. Samuel would be 4 this year and I'm sure would look just as cute in a similar little outfit. :) Thanks Brenda and Robin for such a thoughtful gift to our family. He makes a wonderful little reminder of our little angel who is watching over us.

An Associates Degree in High School

2008-03-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

As if the world doesn't already push kids to overachieve, we just found out that if Connor plans his classes right and takes some online classes in the summer, he could have his associates degree by the time he graduates from high school! One: the fact that I just attended my sons high school planning meeting with his counselor and that he will officially be a high schooler next year was crazy enough, but his counselor really thinks Connor could do the program- in other words he's very bright and would do well in the Honors, AP and College classes. Eeek! I swear just yesterday he was learning to walk with his arms straight up in the air. What happened!! Two: doesn't that mean that driving is right around the corner! Gasps, Screams of horror from the peanut gallery.

Children watch your every move

2008-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

So its Homeade Pizza Saturday and I had finished separating the dough balls of the second batch and had left them to rest on a little flour and went to my room. I returned 6 minutes later to find Emma had pushed a chair over to the counter and had started rolling out the dough by herself!!! and was doing a heck of a job too. Ok, is my baby starving or is she just anxious to the rest of the process over. Of course, Paris wanted her turn as well. Cute girls! They are soo much fun. If you look close you can see the missing tooth in front. Notice Emma's outfit... Dora. She loves to play dress up with her Dora clothes. Who would have thought that purple, pink and orange would be such a fashion statement in a two year old's world.

Zachary's Science Fair Project

2008-03-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

I suppose every parent of a 5th grader dreads the day they bring home the science fair assignment. Having already had the experience with Connor, I knew that it would mean countless hours of experiments on the kitchen floor or table. The late night push the night before the actual fair to finish the tri fold display board. Then the dread sets in... what is he/she going to choose? Connor chose a mouse trap car. Which meant hours of this wild thing whipping around my kitchen floor testing distance. Zachary chose to experiment on a Reed Switch Motor. Ok, first of all, I didn't even know what that was... where does he come up with these things- oh yeah, internet access.:) He chose to test the difference of the wire guage effect on the speed of the motor. My boys are so smart... its amazing their dad and I can keep up.

Spoiled Puppy

2008-01-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Petsmart to find a new collar for Casey because he had grown out of his first one, and while we were there we found a nice dog bed for him so that I can put the blanket away finally. Emma and I were walking looking at the hamsters and birds, and we found the christmas toys that were 75% off. He has been so good with his reindeer that he got for Christmas that I asked Emma to find another toy for him. She chose a Christmas mouse. So now Casey gathers his little friends around him as he snuggles down to nap, he doesn't bite them, usually if he picks them up he does so really softly with his mouth- he licks them a couple of times then proceeds to fall asleep. Now not being a dog owner before I don't know if this is common but Casey sleeps sometimes with his feet straight up in the air. His sleeping positions are a source of humor in our house. The girls crawled into his fenced area to play with him in his new bed, it was so sweet that we took a picture of them.

Paris has a loose tooth

2008-01-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

It is official, our Paris has finally gotten a loose tooth after much waiting. It has been a topic of conversation lately because many of her kndergarten friends have already lost one. This may be the last picture for awhile with all of Paris' teeth in her mouth

It's Pizza Night!

2008-01-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, for my much more together sisters this won't seem like a big deal, but I actually made pizza from scratch the other night. It was a Saturday, so I had plenty of time to make the dough etc, well, it was such a big hit (even though I've known how, I've never made homeade pizza for my children before) Zach has officially declared that Saturday nights are homeade pizza night. Every Sat. night.:) Craig loves to get creative with the pizza and I am actually surprised at how quickly I can put together 2-4 pizzas. It really isn't much cheaper than the cheap 5 buck place but it is better for that price, and well there is the whole "mother of the year" thing that I'm trying to win-I've already gotten major points for the first two weekends. I might even have enough points by the time I've done this for a few weeks that I won't even need to worry about blowing it. ha ha

No, its not a child labor violation!

2008-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Emmalee is my child that loves to write on walls, she scored a colored pencil out of Zach's room the other night and had drawn all the way down the wall and hall, how the rest of us missed her doing this I don't know, but she is fast. She had so much fun cleaning the walls, now I'm worried she'll find reasons to clean the walls by drawing more often. Shoot!

Casey got snipped

2008-01-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

Poor Casey, due to some not so PC behavior lately, we decided to up his nueter appt. to today. I was worried that he was developing bad habits that might not go away with the neutering if we waited much longer, so he is now an "IT dog" as my boys call him now.

Bat Dog

2008-01-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

The men in my life the other night were in tears laughing so hard at the pictures they were taking of Casey. They asked me to post them, other than the entertainment value they gave my obviously bored children and husband, they are rather silly. I've included a picture of how big he is getting.

Dancing Brenda

2008-01-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

So last night I'm sitting on the couch watching some tv program waiting for the 8:00 hour to finally hit :) and I hear Emma singing so I turned around and she is dancing her little doll on the floor by the fridge and singing "Dancing, dancing, dancing" she noticed I was looking at her and got embarrassed and ran over to me to bury her head in the red cuddlebag. So I asked her what her doll's name was and she said, "Brenda" and then added "Dancing Brenda". She has continued to call the doll "Dancing Brenda" not just Brenda and even demanded to sleep with her last night. She is such an imaginative little girl. Just for future reference can any of you bloggers out there tell me how to fix a sideways picture.

Christmas has come to the Boormans's

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, while Craig, Connor and Austin (cousin) were working on the dog house, Paris and I worked on the Christmas decorations. She helped me set up the Christmas village, I loved her stories as she set the people in their places and was chattering on about what they were doing and why they were standing where they were. It reminded me of making gingerbread houses in Connecticut with Mom. We put my little red VW bug in a snow drift of frosting... I still remember that- its a fun memory. Good times! Emma's not really aware of the village, thank goodness so it is safe in its current location. I hung the tin star that we got in San Diego above the village, it looks really cute.uII the

Who let the dogs out?

2007-11-27T09:27:00.000-08:00

Casey has a new name, true to puppy form, he has found a way into the neighbor's yard to play with their German Sheppard 'Sunny'. Lucky for him she is so good natured and enjoys his company. I've caught her coming to our fence and barking at him to come see her. :) So Casey is now 'Houdini dog' I have replaced all the wire ties on that side of the fence but he has still found a way around.

The past two weeks we have been working on Casey's dog house, it's really sturdy and should eventually allow him to be outside in any weather. It's fully insulated and we'll put a heat lamp in it for really cold days. I had Craig put a heater vent in it to vent the heat in the summer, its louvered so that we can keep it closed off during the winter. The roof will lift up so we can get to his bedding to change periodically. Craig plans on putting car trunk hydraulic supports to raise it up and down. Spoiled puppy!

Who we are!

2007-11-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

I am a mother of 4 living in Saratoga Springs, Ut. I enjoy quilting, scrapbooking, movies-videos, books, cross stitch, and watching my children grow. Craig and I own our own business Certified Auto Care and are just completing our 10th year of operation. We live on the NW shore of Utah lake and enjoy the wildlife in the area immensely. The Blue Heron are gorgeous when they fly over. Fall is a fun time for the honking geese that are flying over as they migrate south. They are so loud that they can be heard all the way inside the house. We are enjoying the warmer temperatures this Fall, walking to the bus stop for Paris in the mid morning is much more pleasant.

****Baby's got blue eyes****