Lake Powell 2009

The highlights of our summers always include a trip to Lake Powell with the Meadows. Tim's uncle has a houseboat timeshare and the they are so nice to invite us to spend the week with them! We always have so much fun with them. We fish, hike, swim, wakeboard, jet ski, play games, and eat cookie dough. That is one of my favorite parts! My kids would spend all day in the water if we let them. They were awesome too. So happy almost all the time and never complained about eating, sleeping, and playing in their life jackets. I'm not paranoid or anything. My sister, Val, was awesome and let us leave Keslie with her so we could enjoy Brooklyn and Tallan even more! Seriously owe her big time!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was evening out my farmer's tan and also going down one of the little canyons that gets so narrow we just had to wedge our boat because we couldn't go any further. Once we wedged we had a nice lunch in the shade and decided to swim the rest of the way in to see what we could find. All we found were more corners and at the end, a trail with more corners. It was seriously a way long swim but it was awesome.





We had really nice water for some wakeboard runs and Tim even got up on the air chair for a few seconds. So fun to spend time with the Meadows and Havertz. Another memorable Lake Powell trip. Thank you, Uncle Mark!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

On our way to Lake Powell we stopped in Hurricane so I could make a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to my mom. Her birthday was a few days earlier, but Jenn and I wanted to celebrate it with her so we did it all again when we both arrived!


My mom is amazing. Always down the earth, practical, and level headed. The best person to go to for advice on anything from cooking to child-rearing to life's major decisions She is strong and independent and has proven to be a fighter. She loves to have fun, play games, is an amazing quilter, plays the piano, and loves to be with her family.

(Brooklyn and Tallan were actually already at Lake Powell with Tim. I joined them the next day!)

Next year will be another party and everyone is invited!

I actually loved Girls Camp

I hated going to Girls Camp growing up. I wasn't a fan of dirt or heat, or spending a week with girls I didn't get along with very well. I didn't like hiking and not having normal bathrooms or showers. But, I got to go this year as a leader (camp cook to be exact) up in Heber and had SO much fun! Girls camp in Utah is way different than in CA for one thing, so that was a positive in some ways. But, all 22 girls were amazing. NO one complained or fought or anything. Everyone was so happy and fun and so willing to help others out. I was so impressed. I had great "tent-mates" and each night was very entertaining because Mandy talks in her sleep and you never knew what she was going to say next! We had some food fights, "bear" attacks, and had some awesome spiritual moments with devotionals and the Testimony meeting the last night. We ate good food and my very favorite part was singing around the campfire every night with Blair playing the guitar. Seriously some of the most talented girls I know! It's been a long time since I have laughed as hard as I did and I really hope I get to go back again next year!

July has been busy already...

July 2nd
Tim and I actually went on a date! Dinner with the Whitfords and NO kids! Went to Los Hermanos for dinner and Red Mango for dessert. Went back to Melissa's parents house for a game of spades just like old times. For the record, the girls won! I have to add that because it just doesn't happen that often.

July 3rd
Started the morning with the Provo balloon festival. It's a worthwhile tradition, but glad it's only once a year. Met up with the Whitfords who were visiting from Washington. It's always fun to see Parker and Brooklyn reunite. They truly are best little friends. Had a really yummy breakfast at Melissa's parents house, the boys went golfing, we stayed with the kids and all had naps.




July 4th
Hosted the 2nd annual neighborhood pancake breakfast and had about 15 families come over. Went to the Whitfords for a BBQ and then to the Provo Temple lawn for Stadium of Fire fireworks.







July 5th
BBQ and fireworks for our neighbor, Drew's, b-day. He really wanted to pose for the camera once he found out it would probably end up on my blog! We have such fun neighbors! Happy Bday, Drew!





July 6th

dinner at P712 with Jen and Kristin; 2 of my favorite girls from USU. I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since we met! It is so fun to catch up whenever we end up in the same state at the same time!


July 9th
Relief Society vs YW softball game. I should have kept my mouth shut, but right before I went up to bat I told some of the girls that last time I played softball I broke my nose. This time I only ended up with a black eye and the cut above my left eye didn't need stitches, so that was good.

July 11th
Tallan gave me a fat lip to match my black eye. He threw a temper tantrum when I took him out of Keslie's crib after he climbed in a woke her up and head butted me in the mouth. He almost spent more time in the "naughty chair" today than all of the other times put together.

I cooked 3 pounds of sausage, 4 pounds of bacon, and 8 pounds of ground beef getting ready for Girl's Camp this week. Sick!


...and the month is just beginning. I'm tired already!

Rush II

This blog is normally not about me, but I really have something to be proud of. Over the past year now, I have been working very hard to lose my baby weight...3 baby weights to be exact. I have been exercising very consistently and even changed some of my bad eating habits. No more white bread or ice cream for me! I know, weird! But, I have lost 17 pounds now and I can finally see and feel a difference. (you can check the blog for pictures a year ago and see for yourself!) As part of my motivation, I made a goal to someday run at least a half marathon, but a couple of months ago, I got a call from my Aunt Patty that someone had dropped from their Ragnar team and I jumped on the opportunity.

This past weekend was a huge physical and mental accomplishment for me as I ran in the Wasatch Back Relay with 11 other team members in 2 vans. It was amazing. There are a few words that describe the experience I had...

running
no eating
no sleeping
team
encouragement
hills
endurance
running
beautiful
stars
rain
exhaustion
running
188 miles
finish line
accomplishment
pride

Our team, Rush II, finished 85th out of over 400 teams. We did it in 28 hours and 20 minutes. Wish I had more pictures, but I was too tired to take any.

Can't wait until next year!

As usual, it's way too late and I should be in bed fast asleep, but I really need to update this struggling blog of mine.

First of all, let me just say that Tim and I really feel like grown ups because we got a brand new bedroom set delivered today and it's our first real "set". We painted the walls this past weekend in preparation for the big delivery and had so much fun getting the drawers filled and everything organized tonight. We still have to find some good wall decor and lighting fixtures, and our window coverings won't come for another month, so I am going to wait to post any pictures until it's all complete. I know the suspense it probably going to kill you, right?!

Brooklyn had a run in with the sidewalk when she was running in the rain and she got her first stitches. Just 3 in her chin and she was very brave. I was brave too. I stayed very calm holding her chin together until Tim could come home from work with the car-seats. While Brooklyn was sitting on the kitchen counter with me holding her chin together with a paper towel, she started to fall asleep. Since I didn't actually see the fall I was worried she might have hit her head so I gave her a little quiz to see if she was still with us and this was our conversation:

Me: "What's your name?"

Brooklyn: "Brooklyn"

M: "How old are you?"

B: "Five:

M: "Where do you live?"

B: "California"

Ummm, should I be worried, or is it just wishful thinking???

Tallan didn't want to be left out of picture taking.

For the record, Keslie was taking a nap. I do love her too!


My mom and Brian, and my sister, Val, came up to SLC for a very disappointing appt at Huntsman last week (see my mom's cancer blog), and we were able to celebrate my Aunt Lynn's birthday with her. She is my dad's sister and is very special to me.

My mom is hanging in there and doing a lot better than we had anticipated. For a quick update...she finished her 15 treatments of back radiation, and has had 5 on her brain already. She has her 2nd chemo treatment next Tuesday. She hasn't lost any hair yet, but we are kind of expecting that to happen any time now. She is getting tired, but is actually letting herself sit and rest. That is something I have NEVER seen her do. She is just amazing! I can't thank everyone enough for all of the prayers, fasting, thoughts, and support. We are all surrounded by such awesome people.