One down...two to go!

As we were getting our talks ready for Sunday, Mike said that he felt we had 3 big stress things to get through in the next month. Speaking in Sacrament was one of them and it's done! We did well. There was a lot going on that Sunday. A report from a Young Woman about girls camp, a couple that was moving gave their testimonies, plus the youth speaker and a special musical number by the Young Women. So, we actually went over the scheduled time, instead of under! Usually when we speak together, I give a 2.5 minute youth talk and leave Mike with 40 minutes to fill! I worked really hard this time and gave a 15-20 minute talk and he had only 10 minutes left! He shortened his talk and we got out about 5 minutes late. BUT! We are DONE! and we had a lot on nice comments from ward members!

We were also talking the other day about something Brandon said...and I just need to document it. When we were at Lake Powell, one of the bosses (I think it was Kevin) was telling Brandon that he needed to keep his life jacket on because the police will come get us if he doesn't wear it on the boat.

Brandon didn't miss a beat and said to Kevin, 'Police not have boats!'

Smart kid....

A couple of not fun days!

To balance out all the summer fun we have been having...I have had a couple of bad moments lately, that I will share, so that there is truth in blogging.....the bad stuff along with the good stuff.

First, our Pioneer day wasn't fun! Mike had to work which put a big damper on our partying. I love this holiday. I wanted to have enough energy to get up and take the kids to the parade, but that didn't happen. Maybe next year. So, I sat with the kids in the a.m. and we watched the parade on t.v.

Then, I got out in the 90+ degree heat and mowed the lawn. Usually I love to do this...but, it was HOT! Then, Amanda (having just seen the KFC float), wanted to get KFC for lunch. That of course, has to bring an opposing opinion from her sister. This happens with basically everything those two are involved in. But, we went and picked up the chicken, came home and ate out on the patio.

That was fun, until they started fighting over something insignificant...and this repeated itself all afternoon...fighting, fighting, fighting.

So, we just hung out, waiting for Daddy to come home. But, Daddy having had some really stressful days at work, was not in a playing mood. The kids were begging to go to Lagoon, go boating, etc, but neither of their parents was up for that.

We tried to go to the Bees game, but it was sold out. We had a bbq planned with our friends, but they were painting all day and cancelled on us. So, I ended up taking the kids to Cafe Rio and bringing Mike home some grub. We went to our 'cancelling' friends for a pretty lame fireworks show (but thanks to them, it was better than nothing).

We awoke glad for a new morning to give us a better day. I left Amanda tending while I went to IMC to get my yearly Mammo....when I got there, I signed in and the lady ignored me until there was only me and two other ladies in the waiting room. The woman that had signed in before me had an appointment at the same time as I did, but got in as soon as she signed in.

So, finally the girl calls me and says she can't find my name on her schedule. I was so ready to say...well, you are doing it anyway because I have an appointment (I knew I was there on the right day because they called to register me), when she found me. I had waited for 25 minutes to be called, and the mammo only took 10 minutes (dressing time included). I wouldn't have been hyper about it other than I left the kids at home and knew it could have been faster.

Sydney & Brandon among the mountain of half frozen bread.

I called the kids on the way home and they were fine, so I stopped at Costco to fill up my car (UGH!$$$) and get a couple of things. By the time I left, the kids were calling because they were starting to fight. I got home and found that my outside freezer was leaking! I have caught the door open (by kids getting Otter Pops) a couple of times in the past week, so I was scared of how long it had been open.

My bread was all thawed. The popsicles melted and it was just getting worse. So, I enlisted the help of the kids and we took all the food out of the outside freezer and STUFFED it into my tiny side-by-side in the house. What a nightmare!

I still don't know if the freezer is having problems, but I thought I may as well defrost and clean it now. And, really a terrible day to do this with the temperature climbing to 102 degrees today!

(we won't even go into the mess my house is, the fact that we have TONS to do for the reunion still, I still have to finish my talk for Sacrament Mtg. and do the lesson for the class I'm subbing for Sunday and on and on and on....) I know that whomever reads this is probably having a worse time than I am, but it does help me to write it out! Good therapy....now on to clean the freezer! Cross your fingers that it's not broken!

My summer play boy...

Or, I should just say, Mikey is a play boy all year round. I was just talking to my friend, Nicole, and inviting she and her family to go boating tonight with us. Here I am, stressed about speaking in church on Sunday, stressed about getting the stuff done for our high school reunion in 9 days, stressed about getting my piano lessons organized to start in 12 weeks, stressed about the ward campout we are in charge of, stressed about having the kids and all their friends running in and out of the house WET, stressed because I need to clean the toliets, floors, HOUSE, etc....and my cute hubby calls and asks me if we should go boating tonight and to round up some friends to go.

So, I told Nicole, it's a good thing that Mikey likes to play or else I don't think we would ever do anything fun! I'm always about trying to get the millions of things done and I forget to hang back, take a breath and go enjoy some fun in the sun!

Mikey, I'm so glad that our kids have such a fun Daddy to keep their lives entertaining! I'm so lucky you are my hubby! It's good for me to leave it (the stress and chores) all behind and go enjoy being with my family and friends! I love you! Ahoy!

Cousin day & an indoor parade!

GO UTES! The kids all wanted their pictures taken with this float!

Smartie Kat found out that the Days of '47 parade does a float preview that's FREE a couple of days before the parade. So, we decided to make that our cousin day! We also called Staci and her kids since we were in their neck of the woods to come meet us there! We had a great time and it was fun to see the floats close-up. We even participated in the 'people's choice' award by voting for our favorite float!

We first met up with the cousins at Crown Burger and even had Stacie G. come from work and meet us! Then, we arrived at the parade and the first thing we saw was FREE face-painting (they work off tips). Brandon HAD to be Spiderman! We waited a LONG time for the face painting, but it was worth the wait! Brandon looked awesome! Brandon and Tate with their cool faces!
Our girlies all looked beautiful! Amanda, friend Susie, diva Sydney and Rachel!

Kate & Elyse

The Murray Park float....oh, we were sentimental!
There was also a cute Noah's ark float:

We love the Jazz float!

What? Who is Staci making out with? Oh!! Kyle Korver!!!
The kids hung out with Jack Sparrow for some candy....they were a little scared to go over and chat with the pirates...

And the girls love the parade princesses!

And one more thing...

It's late on Sunday, but I feel the need to finish up last week in bloggerville...as we start a new and busy week tomorrow! I am grateful for a restful Sunday. But, the busyness doesn't end. After two weeks of subbing for the jr. Primary chorister (not liking that ever!), Amanda has to speak on Sunday in Primary, I have to sub in Primary for the 6 year olds, Mike & I both have to speak in Sacrament Mtg (after 3.5 years...they finally got us!) and in the back of our minds, we are still working out details for the Ward Campout and our High School Reunion. All the while, planning to enjoy the Pioneer holiday this week and as much family time as possible!

With that intro, let me tell you about cousin day for last week! Cozette decided to take her kids to the zoo, so we tagged along! We missed the other cousins, but we had a good time. We started with the carousel. Quite cute little animals and it's powered by solar power (the zoo is QUITE environmental if you haven't noticed). I have a darling picture of them all waiting in line, but of course it's horizontal and I can't get it to stay vertical.

Brandon was all about getting on the boy lion. Elyse and Sydney are behind in the peacock seats, but later changed to the monkey and girl lion right beside Brandon. Amanda was on the Panda! Amanda Panda! Too cute!
We packed a lunch and had a little picnic. It was quite warm, so we did treat the kids (and Moms) to some ice cream later.


On our way out, the train ride! It was really crowded. Apparently, a lot of people ride the train on the way out! Amanda, Kate, Sydney, CJ (Coze's nephew), Coze & Elyse...and Brandon.

Then, we got a call from Daddy about going boating that night! We were all up for it and called the Westenskow's. They were already going (and camping), so we just met up for a fun night of kids tubing and Amanda wakeboarding again! We are so proud of her getting out in the cold air/water and trying to do this again! She's a pro!

Brandon driving the boat! He was so proud!

Saturday, we ran some errands in SL, but then ended up at the State Capitol (which we recently remodeled) and then took a walk down into City Creek Canyon and Memory Grove. I have never been there before! It's really pretty and there were 3 different wedding parties getting pictures taken (kind of a different crowd, too). The kids soon found a steep hill that they could slide down on their bums. It looked so fun that Mike & I did it, too!

Arvy's & the Lion House

Our legacy....in front of the temple that made us an eternal family!

We were treated to a special night by Jim & Renae last week. We had dinner at the Lion House in honor of Doug & Cath and Steve & Hillary being with us. We had a yummy dinner...it was just served at a snail's pace (when you have a ton of kids that want to eat faster). Afterward, we strolled along the COB plaza. The kids had a great time playing in the east fountain. It was a nice relaxing time to be with family and enjoy one another's company on a warm summer night.

Abi, Hillary, Stevie, Emma Lu Lu, and Mikey

The host & hostess
As a side note, when I was a child, my elementary school toured the Lion House and Beehive House. I remember coming home from that field trip and telling my Mom that I wanted to live at the Lion House. I felt a strange longing to be there and connect with the pioneers. The children always seemed to have such adventures in their day to day lives. I love this time of year as we celebrate the sacrifices of the pioneers in coming to and settling our beloved home.

Jace, Sydney, Amanda, Maddie, Zach and Brandon (playing pirate head) at the Kid Table Corvin, Kristine, Andrew and Brock Catherine, Sami, Doug & Ali Kellie, Emily & Scott Matt, Alisa, Kelsey and Eliza

Quick visit to Dad's work

We used to go meet Mike for lunch a lot more often than we do now! The kids love visiting their Daddy and seeing where he spends most of his days. This day we were picking him up to go to dinner with the Arvy's, and since we had to change cars and the work day was over, we ran up to his office! It has changed! He has all new (to him) office furniture and right away Brandon noticed the tractor/trailers in the window. Dad had to show him how this fun toy worked. The girls were pretty interested, too!

Mr. Sandman

Don't you just hate it when you are watching Spongebob and you fall asleep? This cute boy was totally exhausted! Too bad it was about 5:30pm when he konked out! That means he didn't go to bed for the night until 11:30pm!

Update

I have killed 12 flies in my house today! UGH! And there is still one on the loose!

Bugs and Thugs

My whole day has consisted of 'terminating' 10 flies in our house (ok, 9...the 10th is still on the fly) and removing at least a billion flying ants from the pool on the waterslide! (First I tired to squirt them out with the hose, then sweep them out with a broom, finally I blew up the waterslide and used a bucket to go bug fishing). I think someone is messing with me!

There must have been a swarm of bugs last night....with our little party and the door to our house being pretty much open all night, and the overwhelming number of bugs in the pool...it's pretty good evidence of a bug invasion!

Then, a couple of weeks ago I found out I have a really, really low thyroid! I was semi-relieved, knowing that I wasn't in denial when I said I have been working my butt off to lose weight and the exercise is not getting easier and I'm gaining instead! I'm hoping that at least now when I try to lose weight, it will come off.

I know it's going to take awhile to get my meds right and that I have to stay on top of it. I have felt some improvement on some days, but today I feel like a thug! I tried to take a little nap, but when you have small children, that's a hard thing to do. Just when you get in a deep sleep, someone taps your head and needs something. So, I decided to just chalk up my accomplishments today in small numbers....9 dead flies and a billion flying ants outta the pool!

Cousin's on the flip side!

More Summer Fun

Some of the kids on the slide. Corvin, Greg, Brandon...

Doug, Ali, Ryan, Eliza
Amanda, Emma, Steven....I didn't get pictures of the rest, but we had Matt & Ryan, Greg, Kelsey. Jim & Renae. Scott. Jim & Kristine and their boys, Doug & Cath & their girls, Steve & Hill and their girls. And after Mike had picked Amanda up from Brynna's house again, our whole family was there.

We had cousin day at our house today, but with the other side of the family. Doug & Cath and Steve & Hillary are all in town, but the family hadn't been together yet, so Mike and I volunteered to have everyone over for dinner and watersliding! We had a good time chatting and getting all caught up with each other. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. After dinner, Brock treated us to some electric guitar and his singing. Brandon got out his guitar and "Rocked Out" with Brock. That was so cute to see! Mike said B was watching Brock's fingers and trying to copy his movements.

After everyone had left, Brandon had to watch Star Wars with his Dad. He had been asking to do this since about 3pm today. So, everyone cuddled up on our bed and had a little movie-time, until I kicked everyone out so I could go to bed!

We had a great night! I love my little family!

a Slice of Heaven

We were so fortunate to go to Lake Powell with Mike's bosses and families. They all left early on the 4th, we left after the fireworks which made Mikey drive all night! We went to Wahweap, so we didn't get there until around 5am. We thought we'd have a good hour to sleep before we had to meet up with the rest of our party, but the marina was so crowded, we couldn't find a place to park. After a potty stop and fueling up the boat, it was too late (or early) to sleep. So, we went to Stateline Marina and launched our boat. Then, we waited....it took another hour at least to get the houseboat and other speedboat loaded. That first day is long, but by the time we found a great spot (thanks to Mikey) and got settled, it was only noon! We couldn't believe it...it felt like dinner time!

So, out on the boats we go! Brandon made fast friends with Caden and Jared. Amanda made fast friends with Brynna and Brytin. Actually, all the kids were so nice and fun with our kids. It made it a nice vacation. Brandon did really well with keeping his lifejacket on. He also learned how to take it off, but was a good boy.
Jared, Kai, Brandon, Sydney on the yellow tube. Amanda, Brytin and Brynna on the flat tube. They rode so much they were chaffed on their legs! Break out the bag balm!

The lake was beautiful and we stayed right by Gunsite. The lake rose a foot while we were there. The only storm we had was a quick, thunderburst during the mid-afternoon one day. We hurried and covered the boats (it was really coming down), but we saw the most amazing thing that in all the years we have been to L.P. never experienced. There were waterfalls coming off the big rock...just pouring down and they were so pretty! Then, the rain ceased and so did the waterfalls. I didn't have my camera...my battery was going dead and I hadn't downloaded the memory stick (I wasn't prepared picture-wise at all).

We went to Dangling Rope marina to fuel up one day and our boat vapor-locked. We had to sit at the marina...all 20 of us....waiting on the mechanic for 2 hours....until the boat finally would work again. But, we stocked up on ice cream and a few toys. When we went to Wahweap marina one day, Spencer's boat stopped working!

We decided that the marina's were bad luck and stopped going!

We spent a lot of time TUBING! The kids were crazy about the tubes. I remember going to Lake Powell with our families and everyone would get up early to ski....not with this crew. They sleep in...then we tube! Spencer would take the skiers and wakeboarders out. Mike got to ski once, but he was an awesome tubing driver! Except for the one time he bounced me out of the tube, I did a backflip and must have had some good air because I remember thinking...when am I going to hit the water? It was crazy....but fun.Brandon and kids on the water weinie, being held up by boss, Kevin.
We played a lot of card games and some rummicube. We watched movies at night and also had great food. It was a very fun trip and we are so grateful we got to go this year! One day, Spencer sat across from Amanda and said, 'Amanda, you are a tough girl' I could just see she was embarassed (she reminded me of myself at her age...I knew exactly how she was feeling getting a compliment). Then, he told her that he knew she could wakeboard. He had taught everyone of the kids there how to wakeboard and he knew she could do it. It was a very nice moment to hear him build her up. So, the next day she tried. Cute Braden got in the water with her and tried to help her. Then, when he stopped trying to help - she got up! She was so cute and looked like a pro. Then, all of a sudden...she said cut it. We think she just got nervous because Spencer was turning the boat, but we think she could have gone on forever. We had an unfortunate poop incident with Brandon. He had a mushy diaper one day (hang in there...) and Tyra (boss's wife) was playing with Brandon, tickling and tossing him up and down. Then, she looks at her shorts...and goes, 'what is that?'.....hmmmmm, poop! On her shorts and on the floor of this nice houseboat! I wanted to die....I yelled for Mike to come clean up the floor. I threw a bag of wipes at Tyra and ran with Brandon to change him. I know you can't force them to potty train and I know he is so stubborn about it....but that moment right there made me decide to just put him in underwear and play outside until he's trained. UGH! Needless to say, Tyra didn't really play with him anymore after that.

Everyone had older kids. The youngest of their crews was Brynna who is Amanda's age (9). So, they were getting a kick out of how Sydney and Brandon say their R's. They said it's so cute and we need to get video (our camcorder broke a long time ago...no video at all of Brandon!).

They were telling us you forget how cute it is when your kids are grown. Everyone was quite enamored with these cute kids. It was fun to watch them play together.

The only details I can remember are from coming home! We were worn-out, but not wanting to go home. We loaded up our boat quickly and took off for the marina to get it out of the water (after we helped get the houseboat launched again). Then, we looked for showers! You can buy a 15 minute shower for $2 at the campground store. That always feels so good to wash with fresh water! Then, after a stop for souveniers, we headed to where the houseboat is stored to help. We got there too late to help, but we all caravaned home together. After a really LONG stop at McDonald's in Kanab for lunch...it was northward home.

Since we were getting home fairly early, we decided to stop at Lagoon! Mike's family was there with ICS, so we thought we could stop and say hi and let the kids do rides for a bit. About 10:30pm, I was crashing, so we came home. It was fun....but we were very tired all weekend!

On Saturday, since Brandon is obessed with Wall-E, the movie, we decided we should see it. We headed to Gateway and had lunch at Happy Sumo (YUM!) and went to see the movie.

The kids liked it. I thought it was way too political and long.

Sunday, we were lucky enough to have Steve & Hillary up for dinner with a couple from our ward who they knew from their old ward. The girls are so cute and getting so big!

So, I need a vacation now that we are home. It's hard to come back to reality! I'm sure Mike has had a long, hard day at work after being gone a week. The kids were excited to see their friends and Amanda actually went to Brynna's to play today. Amanda also started tennis this morning and really liked it.

We had a great week. Summer is great. I forget how fun it is to have the kids around, unscheduled, not teaching as much piano and eating outside on the patio. Spending time with family and friends and enjoying life.

It's Darin's birthday today and they are having a party at Echo....we wish we could have gone, but we are fun-ed out. So, it only cost me cookies...for us to miss D's big 3-0 party!