New pics from Boys Camp

Just an update from Boys Camp. These are some pictures Mike took while there. They have a dock next to the camp. Mike and Brandon just slept on the boat! Beautiful morning!

Sleeping on the boat!

That is the ultimate waterbed!

I love pictures of our sleeping children!

My boys had a fantastic time! Brandon still talks about it!

Cabin - 4 wheeling

So, here come the 4 wheelers! You could drive them in a loop around the cabin. There were dirt roads off the property and many little trails. The kids LOVED them!

Here's Sydney's courageous/no fear moment. So, she tried the 4 wheeler. But, she didn't like it because it was scary. I love her body language here.

She jumped off and refused to ride one again unless she was a passenger with her Dad.

We found out later, when Mike & I were on a ride (yes, even in my compromised situation, I got on the 4 wheeler! It had awesome cushy seats and so we had a blast!), she got back on one of the little 4 wheelers! We were so proud of her! She thinks she lost control down the little hill, but she didn't hit anything and did a great job!

Also, this day, we saw a moose walk right through the property! It was awesome! Mike climbed up the neighbor's deck and was within feet of it (and yet still a safe distance away).

Amanda and her cousins were everywhere on these things! She LOVED it! The rule is an adult has to be with the kids when they leave the property. So, Scott took them out for awhile. Amanda got stuck at one point, hopped off the 4 wheeler and push it, it rolled back onto her leg and she got a 2nd degree burn! Scott put her on his 4 wheeler, they left hers and rushed her back to the cabin.

After getting a good look at it, Mike & I decided to take her into an Instacare to have it checked out. I guess in Heber there is only a regional center and so we ended up at the ER. The doc told us what he thought and gave us some supplies. One of the best moments on the way to the ER, Amanda started bawling! We thought she was in a ton of pain, but it was really because her soccer season starts in 2 days and she knew she wouldn't be able to play! We told her to relax until we talk to the doctor. He cleared her if she feels up to it. She didn't play Monday, but her team is in a tourney that starts today and she's going to play some limited minutes. I was so proud of her for not wanting to miss school. She's had some long days, but has done really well. Her courageous/no fear moment is that she endured this injury! She got back on the zip line and wanted to ride the 4 wheelers again (it was too late when we got back). She's a trooper!

Here's more kids ready to ride! Emily with Eliza driving. Zac and Taylor in the background.

Grandpa kicking up some dust!

Mikey getting his ride on!

Doug and one of his boys

Kellie and Sami (I think)

Cath and Eliza

Mike with Brandon and Sydney

Off they go!

Don't they look like ducks in a row?

I loved sitting outside this day. It was a perfect temperature and I love to be in the mountains. There is something about being there that helps me to reconnect with nature and my Heavenly Father. I remember to be grateful for my life and my family.

That was my best moment of the weekend!

Cabin....Zip Line

One of the highlights of the weekend was this zip line! The kids were crazy for it!

I was a little worried that it would end up being like a swing....where the parent spends hours pushing their little one....I thought the adults would end up dragging kids up the zip line, letting them fly, and then dragging them up again.

Amazingly, this did not happen! The kids were all sooo good about taking turns riding and pulling each other up. We have such good kids!

Zac and his friend, Taylor were great 'ride operators' I love the line forming to the left!

Going up!

Sydney is ready to fly!

Here is Emily. The girl is an adrenaline junky and I never got a good shot of her face! She was always flying!

Sami

Maddie

Amanda's turn

Wheeeeeeeee!

So, at first we couldn't get Brandon on the zip line. Then, when the other kids went 4 wheeling, he and Sydney were in the back checking out the line again. Pretty soon, he wanted to try it and then we couldn't get him to stop!

He and Sydney took turns riding until Mike came out to take them on the 4 wheelers. On Sunday for 'church' we watched/listened to Music and the Spoken word. The theme was Courage. Don't let fear stop you from trying.

As we rode home we talked to the kids about the things we saw them do that were courageous this weekend.

For Brandon, we talked about the zip line. How he was so scared to try, but then he did try and found out he loved it!

Maddie & Ali

Eliza

Next adventure? Four wheelers!

Cabin weekend with the Arvy's

My camera was seriously freaking out. No idea how to change this so they are easier to see! Sorry!

Scott & Kellie invited the whole family up to Kellie's parent's cabin outside of Heber last weekend. Jim & Renae have gone up with them before and Renae has been telling us that this place is a mansion and amazingly awesome. Well, she wasn't exaggerating! But, I think the best part of staying at this cabin was being with family. The kids LOVE hanging out with their cousins!

Friday, we met in Heber at the Dairy Keen for a quick dinner and then caravaned to the cabin.
Since it was getting late, we all chose bedrooms and then put a movie on in the theater room.

I'm going to start another post because the pictures being this way are driving me crazy!

The longest week ever....

(these feet are badly in need of a pedi!)

In my mind, this week was going to go a lot differently. The first week the kids were in school....all day...no running home by noon to catch a kindergartner coming off the bus, no rushing out the door to get errands done.

I was ready to put a new schedule into play. One that involved cleaning up this house after 3 months of summer fun. Mowing the lawn. Getting exercise in first thing. Walking the dog. Lunch with my honey. Lunch with friends. A light piano lesson load, so more time with my kids after school.

Something, anything other than what I have been doing!

Because of my last procedure and my subsequent gimping around, my knees are both swollen up to the size of cantaloupes!

I have spent time 'resting' and 'icing' and 'heating' and using crutches and gimping around the house for a different reason. I have taken all my 'major' painkillers and am down to relying on good old ibuprofen every four hours.

My chores have taken on a deadline of one a day, instead of all of them in one day.

I've gotten a few things done...laundry, ironing (possible because you stand in one spot!), clean one bathroom per day, one time I vacuumed.

I have been able to drive carpools. Once I get down the garage stairs and hoist myself into my Tahoe, then it's a go!

I decided to skip Amanda's back to school night at the jr high because there are stairs and I couldn't navigate them in the allotted time.

(Mike has had evening business commitments this week, so he couldn't fill in)

I went visiting teaching, sort of. We just dropped off a treat for Heidi's birthday. I wouldn't have been able to sit down to talk without hysterical laughing by my peers at my imitation of an 80 year old woman.

Just try to stand without using your knees....try it! This is especially hard getting off the toilet!

I was getting pretty discouraged when at the doctor this Tuesday, I was informed I have about 2 to 3 weeks left of healing and then he couldn't (or wouldn't) help my knees.

But, a quick hug from Heidi, many, many texts from my girls Nicole and Elise, phone calls from Nat, my Mom and Renae, and super kids that are willing to 'walk' an extra mile to put things away for me or get things from the other room and I'm starting to feel better.

Then, I read a post that I found randomly by a guy who had been in a car accident that killed his wife and baby son. His 6 year old son survived, but this man lost a leg, his shoulders were severed, along with many more awful injuries. I read how he laid in the hospital for 5 MONTHS, feeling despair and wanting to get up, walk and recover and he couldn't.

I know that my rehab time period is longer than I wanted it to be, but I will be fully functioning within a few more days and I have my loved ones near and dear.

It's all about perspective.

So, my big plans will be slower to come about over the next 2 weeks, but if you want to know about ANY show on television, give me a call! I've watched them all.....

First Day of School!

Seriously, I cannot believe this girl is now a 7th grader! She is junior high! Yikes! She had a great first day of school. She and her friends walked home and loved every minute of it!

Bubba and Sydney ready for their day! Sydney got worked up last night and couldn't sleep. Seems she is worried about being responsible for making sure she and Brandon make it on the right bus. She's a good girl and very responsible! She did a great job and they both made it home safe! She ran into her classroom and didn't look back! She has lots of friends in her class already and there is even a new boy who is cute!

Ok, first grader? I have dreaded this day! I'm so sad to have my last little buddy leave me for school! He has a really sweet teacher, but he didn't like the first day because he colored outside the lines and cut some line off he wasn't supposed to. His teacher said everything was fine, but he was upset about it. Can you say perfectionist? We need to nip that one in the bud!

The kids spent the afternoon at the Harwoods for Cooper's birthday because Emily and Scott had rented a huge bouncy slide! We went to dinner at Iggy's to celebrate this day and then had Father's Blessings before bedtime....

Thunder!

The administration had an open house on the Wednesday before school to show off the new Jr High. Centennial Jr High (named Centennial because Davis School District has been around for 100 years). This place is amazing! First, every student has a netbook which will take the place of most textbooks and papers. Everything is high tech. TV's everywhere, open area commons that are surrounded by classrooms, even breakout conference rooms. Amazing lunch area which can double as their auditorium. Great gym facilities. And just the fact that it is new, makes Jr High seem a little better!

We walked every inch of this school! I also had helped earlier that day with the PTA lunch for the teachers and got to meet a few of the instructors. I'm really excited!

Amanda loved her first day. She knows 4 or 5 people in every class. She can get her locker opened and it's decorated so cute.

We are excited that our kids get to be a part of this new jr. high. The old jr high was very, very old. People's grandparents went there and it hadn't changed. The air conditioning and heating were bad and it was small.

This new school is spacious and beautiful! Go Centennial Thunder!

Mountain Vistas Days

We live in a neighborhood that likes it's parties! We have an annual neighborhood party, called Mtn. Vistas Days. This year, it was 2 days after my surgery, so I wasn't as involved as past years. Not that it was a bad thing!

The gals that headed it up this year did a great job! The kid parade was complete with firetruck escort! They had things at the church for the kids to decorate bikes with....that took some stress off the parents.

We did make it out to the 8am flag ceremony, just because it was across the street :)

There is Brandon on the yellow bike! We also attended the dinner. I sat for too long and was feeling awful, so Elise grabbed Mike's keys and took me home. Our neighbor, Andrew, is in a band. They were our after dinner entertainment and they rocked!!! They are really good and there was quite a dance going, I heard.

There is Sydney in the purple shirt riding Amanda's bike. It was nice this year that the kids were old enough to hang out at the 'inflatables' by themselves.

After dinner there was an outdoor movie, 'Diary of a Whimpy Kid' which everyone loved! I loved that I got to stay home in bed! :)

Our last week of summer consisted of Amanda's soccer tourney, which they won 2 out of 4 games. They have mostly new girls on the team, so it was a good time for them to learn to play together. They actually are having a great time adjusting and could really be good this year!

Brandon finished up swimming lessons and I think I have mentioned how awesome he did this summer in lessons.

Sydney had her cheer parent meeting and is super excited! They start after Labor Day and she can't wait!

Friday, we went and got our eyebrows waxed as our spa day before school started! B had to come with us, but he was fine playing his DS. Sydney was getting really worked up and did not like how hot the wax was. But, it all turned out nicely!

Saturday, after ballet, we headed to Salt Lake and did some back to school shopping with the kids. This day I also realized that my knee was completely swollen! I haven't had this problem for about a year, but seeing as how my last 2 weeks have gone, it doesn't surprise me! Put me out to pasture! But, I gimped along and we got the girls some cute shirts for school.

We went to my parents afterwards to celebrate the August birthdays! I also had Mike and my Dad give me a blessing. Never hurts to get one of those! We had a great time with the family and had to leave about the time it started raining so that Amanda could go watch the Morgan twins. We were exhausted after a long day, but wouldn't change any of it.

Sunday, I couldn't walk at all! But, Elise brought me some crutches and I spent the day in bed!

Today, I'm getting along better:) I saw the doc this morning and he said everything is healing really well, but to expect 2 to 3 more weeks before feeling completely normal.

So, that being said, no more complaining from me! I'm just glad things can only get better!

Papa Arvy's birthday

We had a family birthday party for Grandpa the same day Boy's Camp was over. Mike was pretty beat, but we made it down to SL anyway. Can't miss the chance to hang out with cousins and celebrate Grandpa! Grandma had bought balloons and we all released them into the air to celebrate Grandpa's birthday.

Yum! Backer's Birthday Cake and homemade ice cream! Eliza, Brandon and Sami

After dinner, I tried to get pictures of everyone. Alisa and Matt were awol and I think I missed Ali and Emily.....but I was pretty close on everyone! Here's Kelsi hanging onto the balloon she wanted to take home.

Birthday boy and Catherine

Spencer and Gordon.....loving the sugar rush!

Grandma, Gregory and Matt (oh I did get Matt.....and Kaili was on a date)

The entertainers: Sydney and Maddie. Amanda texting....

Jim & Kateryne and Kellie

Zac and Ryan

Scott......Mike had gone downstairs and crashed on the couch :)

I wandered around to the front yard to see this 'keep away' game happening. I think that Zac and Ryan had gone out front to play catch with their football.....but as soon as Amanda, Sydney, Brandon and Maddie found out, it quickly became a game of keep away!

Zac isn't too happy about the girls getting the football!

Take down! Amanda gets the ball before Brandon!

Flies up! Brandon was loving hanging with the boys and he even tackled Ryan! Ryan is over 6 feet tall and B took him down!

Amanda does not want me taking pictures....but I thought this game was so much fun! Impromptu, made-up rules and cousins.....that's how I remember growing up and playing with cousins. It was just pure fun!

Zac and Brandon fighting for the ball!

This kid spent a lot of time on the ground, but he couldn't have been happier! Thanks Grandpa for having a birthday so we could party!!!