West Point City Halloween Carnival......October 22, 2010

Every Halloween we go to our city's Halloween Carnival. This year was more fun than others years past. There wasn't as many people this year so the kids had a ball. They played all the games at least 3 times or more. They each won 2 little pumpkins at the pumpkin walk, they each made some cute crafts, and they each came home with lots of candy and toys. Fun, fun, fun!

Hadlie and Kelsey, THE BEE's!

(They look sweet, but watch out, they may sting you! :) )

Ahoy Mattie's! It's Daxton and Tage on deck!

Princess P the cute little kitty!

Dairy Farm/ Fieldtrip 2.....October 12, 2010

Today Tage's Preschool class went to the dairy farm. We had a really fun time. We toured all around the farm; we saw where the feed and milk the cows, we saw where they kept the baby calves, and we also got to feed the cows their favorite treat, carrots! It was a smelly good time! :)

Tage in front of where the feed the cows.

Our tour guide telling us about the cows grain.

She explained to the kids about the different ingredients in the grain and how they stored it.

Our tour guide feeding one of the baby calves.

Tage and Lucy enjoying a carrot as they looked at the calves.

Jeremy holding Paizlie.

Jeremy, Lucy's dad, carried Paizlie for me the whole time. SHE LOVED the calves. In fact, she kept signing "more" to Jeremy. She wanted to see all of them. She would get so excited and clap at every cow she saw. At one point, Jeremy had the calf right next to her for her to pet and she got scared. It was too close I guess. :) She sure was cute and it was so nice of Jeremy to take her for me. I think they had a good time together.

Paizlie, Me, and Tage on the farm.

Tage feeding the cows their favorite treat, CARROTS!

Cory, Jeremy, and Lucy.

Paizlie, Me, Tage, and Spot the Cow.

Say: "Vacas"!

Us, adults, got a kick out of this....Lucy said to her mom, "Mom, what are the cows doing?" Cory said, "They are playing with each other."

I think the kids learned more then what they bargained for down on the farm.

GRanDPa Jerry's Knee Replacement......October 9, 2010

Sam's dad, Jerry, got kicked by a horse and did some major damage to his leg about five years ago. That accident has affected his leg greatly and caused him to have a knee replacement. We went to see Grandpa this afternoon in Provo. He is doing well and hopes to go home tomorrow. It was good to visit with him and Grandma for the afternoon.

Grandpa, Tage, Daxton, and Paizlie.

Paizlie LOVES Grandma Bobbi. She was loving on her most of the time. They have a very strong bond.

Giving kisses....

We hope you continue to feel better Grandpa and you heal fast. We LOVE you so much and miss you lots. Good Luck!

Layton Half Marathon.....October 9, 2010

Well we DID IT again! 13.1 baby! My brother, Dave, his wife, Meagan, Tyson, Dave's friend, and I all ran another half marathon. None of us trained for it that well this year!

I actually was proud of myself and how well I felt during the race due to of my lack of training this season. I was supposed to be training on a three month schedule for this half and lets just say I ran 12 days TOTAL during the 3 month training period. I came in at 2hrs. 9 min's. and I felt pretty good the whole race. It wasn't my best time I've ever done but considering my training, well I did GREAT, if I do say so myself.

Me coming across the finish line.

Hadlie wants to start training with me next year for a race. I think I may let her, but start her with smaller races first. We'll see!

Dave coming across the line.

Meagan cheering as she crosses.

This is Meagan's first half. GOOD JOB Meagan.

We are proud of you. You did it!

Meagan and Dave.

Tyson, Dave's friend, Dave, and Meagan.

I'd have to say this race was fun but I was really disappointed that they DID NOT provide ANY supplements during and after the race except water and Gatorade. They did provide fruit after the race, but that is not great recovery food. That part sucked!

BiG NeWS!......October 8, 2010

I am so very excited about my news.... Me and my book partners just got our royalty statement in the mail this week. It revealed awesome news: We have almost sold 10,000 books already! Ta Da!

When we signed with Scholastic, to give them permission to sale our book: My Dad's A Hero, they gave us an upfront royalty check for the sale of 10,000 books. The deal was if Scholastic didn't sale more than 10,000 of our books, we would get to keep the money. If Scholastic hit the sale of 10,000 books, then we would start to recieve royalties. Our contract is for 7 years. We thought the 10,000 books would most likely sell over the next 7 years. We also figured we'd end up breaking even with money each of us invested into the book to get it up and going.

Well, Scholastic started selling our book in their book club last March, 7 months ago, and they have sold 7, 268 + copies of our book ALREADY! Can you believe that? We are VERY EXCITED! We had no idea it will sell so fast. We know we won't ever make the big bucks on the book, but to know it's has sold 7, 268 + copies with Scholastic already is beyond our wildest imaginations.

I feel so blest to have had a part in this. I am just very grateful for my partners, Jewel and Becca, and also Tom, the gentleman who does our self published printing. He is the one that sent it to Scholastic for us. Thank you Jewel, Becca, and Tom! This has been an amazing experience and I love to watch our book have success.

TooTHLEsS WonDeR!.....October 7, 2010

I was out with my 3 best friends from high school tonight and I received an exciting phone call...."Mom," said Daxton, "Dad and I pulled all four of my loose teeth." "ALL FOUR? Wow!" I said.

Daxton has had FOUR loose teeth for over a month now. Sam finally convinced him to pull them while I was gone. Sam pulled three of them and Dax pulled one. I guess they were hanging by a thread. (Aren't they always when the finally come out?) I can't believe it. He hasn't lost any teeth for over a year now. It's all or nothing with this kid! He is officially THE TooTHLEsS WonDeR!

Look at that SMiLe! :)

I am sure he'll be wishing for his four front teeth for Christmas this year!

ThE RaIN ......October 4, 2010

I love the RaIN. I love everything about it: the smell, the sound, the look, and the way it cleans everything. It has a very calming effect on me. It makes me feel at peace. When it rains, I love nothing more then to open all my windows, lay in my bed, snuggle under my blankets and enjoy the beauty that sings from the Rain.

I know most people would disagree with me and the rain, but I love it. I love it for another reason too. When I was on my mission, in Ecuador, it rained a lot during the rainy season. When I first got to Ecuador, it was the rainy season and I experienced El Nino. The rains would FLOOD and I mean, FLOOD the streets everyday. We would walk in water up to our knees, literally, drenched like wet dogs, all day long. I loved to wade through it even though I was in a dress and sopping wet. In fact, para aguas, or umbrellas, were useless. At nights when me and my companion would get back to our apartment, I would prepare for bed, and then I would lay in my bed and listen to it cleanse. It was very peaceful.

Today, I was sitting in my living room, watching and listening to it RaIN. It came down just like it did when I was on my mission. It poured down, taping on my windows and striking the pavement and grass outside. The water began to collect in the gutters and the streets began to fill with a sense of Ecuadorian peace. It caused me to reflect for a moment on the many reasons why I LOVE ThE RaIN!

Aye Matte! Happy Birthday Party for Pirate Emma.....September 30, 2010

My niece, Emma, had a birthday party at the Pirates Cove. It was really fun! My sister-in-law, Andrea, went all out. She made each of the kids the cutest pirate shirts, so all the kids could dress in pirate garb. She gave them each a pirate necklace, pirate eye patch, pirate tattoos, and pirate candy to go along with their garb. It was very authentic! She also made the cutest pirate cake and pirate Oreo snacks.

The kids ate a pirate pizza feast, then took to the high seas in search of the lost treasure, they played in the arcade and dug up quite a bit of fun. It was a very fun night. Thanks Emma! We hope you had a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We had a fun time on the Pink Pearl. You sure know how to throw a pirate party.....we're glad no one had to walk the plank....arrggh!

Captain Emma, 5th Happy Birthday!

Cute Pirate Cake and Pirate Oreo treats!

Grady, Daxton, Kagen, and Hadlie in their pirate garb.

Paizlie loved the pirate treats, arrrgh!

Ahoy Mattie's.....raise your Jolly Roger to a good time!

Sam had a little too much fun with the kids in the arcade too!

Pirate Pizza Feast TIME!

Matte Dax aboard.

First Matte, Andrea, Emma's mom!

(GREAT JOB Andrea!)

Grandma Bobbi and Princess P enjoying the pirate festivities.

Matte Grady and Princess P waiting to walk the plank.

Everyone aboard the Pink Pearl for Captain Emma's party.

HapPy BiRtHDaY GRaNdMa!.....October 1, 2010

Happy Birthday Nanny, it's your BIRTHDAY!

This day is such a special one; it's birthday time for you. We'd really like to celebrate your happy day with you. Zip-a-dee-ay and heigh-dee-ho, there's something we can do. We'll sing a song that we all know,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We love you Nanny and hope you have a wonderful Birthday! We can't wait to see you this weekend and celebrate!

HoNeY.......September 28, 2010

There are moments in life that I want to cherish and things my kids say that I want to remember. It's these days, days of children, that will vanish someday and all I will have left are my cherished memories.

I have to admit my kids can cause me to feel mad sometimes. However, there are times when they say the cutest things that make me smile and make me feel glad to be their mom.

Tonight Sam was vacuuming the floors and I was cleaning the rest of the house. I was upstairs cleaning and I needed Sam for something. I could not find him anywhere. I called out to him, "Sam". No, Sam. Then I walked down the stairs into our kitchen, still could not find him. Then I proceeded down the next flight of stairs, "Sam", I called. The kids were in the family room playing the wii, still no Sam. I started down the next set of stairs into the basement, "HONEY?" I called out. "Honey, where are you?" No Sam there either. I then began my accent back up the stairs; Tage walked to the top of the stairs, he looked at me with his big brown eyes and said, "Honey is outside in the garage, mom."

I smiled, laughed, and said, "Thanks Tage." How cute I thought, "Honey is outside in the garage." (He was right, Honey was outside in the garage emptying the vacuum bag.)

That made me smile for the rest of the night and into the next day. I hope I can remember the sweet things that my kids say while they are still little, tomorrow will come and I want to have a mind full of sweet memories to cherish.