Bryce and Adrian

Weekend at the Cabin

2009-06-04T18:59:00.001-07:00

For Memorial Day Weekend our fabulous friends Greg and Aubrie invited us up to their cabin. It was our first time up there and WOW it was amazing!

This is my kind of camping! With 5 master suites, a huge kitchen and a great balcony this place is nicer than my house!
Bryce and I out by one of the 3 ponds each stocked with fish!
One of the many fish that Bryce caught. This picture was taken right before the fish slipped out of Bryce's hands, fell on the ground, flopped around and hit my leg, which freaked me out. I was screaming like a little girl and ended up scaring the actual little girls!
This must have been taken before the fish hit my leg, Kendra is definitely not scared!Hailey where are the Oreo's?

Hmm, which one of these kids is dirtier than the other?

Me and my girls out on the deck.

Our guys.

Woo hoo look at those buns!

After the boys did their funny picture, we needed one too!

And the little girls funny picture!

Greg and Aubrie - thanks for the invite to your cabin we had a fabulous time. We are totally ready to do it again!

And Hailey - thanks for being sad when I left. I had fun with you too!

Cheesecake Factory

2009-05-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

After the 5k and some shopping at Gateway with my mom we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Cameron's and my birthdays!Me and my girlies, love you!
The boys! I will never forget that Cam's steak came medium, which is a cardinal sin to me and Cam! He ate it anyways, which I am sure gave his mouth a good workout, all that chewing! I watched him take his last bite and then the waitress took his plate. I looked over a little later and he was still chewing that last bite! Hilarious! Sorry Cam, we should have gone to Benihana, they understand Medium Rare!

Race for the Cure

2009-05-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

On May 9 I ran in the Race for the Cure 5k to benefit breast cancer research. This was my first 5k and hopefully one of many, I had a great time! I believe we got up at the crack of dawn and rode the 6:30 trax train down to the Gateway. We checked out all the tents and picked up tons of giveaways (like pink capes). More than 18,000 people participated this year, which made for a very large crowd! I think it took us 5 minutes just to get to the start line once the race started. After joking about wanting to run by the water station, grab a cup and throw it on the ground, in true marathon style, I couldn't even figure out how I could get to the water station when I saw it, too many people! I finished in 43 minutes, including the 5 minutes to the start line and the fact that I had to walk the last quarter mile as we were all funneled into the Gateway!
All in all it was a great experience and I can't wait for my next 5k!

Pedicures

2009-05-25T08:09:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Mom H set everything up to give the little girls pedicures. She got out her foot soaker/massager, filled it with warm water and let the girls soak in it. They loved it! Apparently the boys thought it looked like fun too because when the girls were done they each wanted a turn!

Next it was time for nail polish and even nail stickers! The girls ended up with cute purple toes and flower stickers. What fun!

Happy Birthday Easton and Addison!

2009-05-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we celebrated Easton's and Addison's birthdays. I can't believe that Easton is 6 now and Addison is 3. Where does the time go?

We got Easton Chicago Bears sheets. He wanted to sleep in the jersey we got him for Christmas, so I figured we should get him something he could sleep in every night.Since Addison turned 3 we made her a book, "Addison's Alphabet Book." It was so fun to write and take the pictures for. We had a blast making it.

We love you Easton and Addy!

Happy Late Easter

2009-05-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter, which commenced with an Easter egg hunt at Mom and Dad H's house. Miraculously we managed to find a 15 minute window on Saturday when it wasn't raining.

This picture totally cracks me up. I asked Addy to slide closer to Bella and put her arm around her so I could take a photo of them. This is Bella rejecting my idea. In fact, I'm pretty sure she's thinking, "Don't touch me! Get your arm off me! In fact, will you just go back to sitting over there?"

Next we ate dinner, the kids got their Easter baskets and then it was time to decorate eggs!

Bells and I decorated eggs together. Not sure if this picture was taken before or after she threw one of the eggs accross the table. Then when I grabbed the egg she fell off her chair. Must be before, that egg looks pretty intact!
Check out this adorable bunnycake Mom H made! The kids loved it.

Me and the girls hanging out. I love my nieces. I hope everyone had a great Easter.

April Dessert

2009-05-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was assigned the task of bringing dessert to Sunday dinner. I made some yummy brownies and bought some ice cream to go on top. Yum-o! I thought it would be fun to have the kids decorate their own cookies, so we bought a kit at the store. We had a ball!

Everyone got a duck shaped cookie and a little cheese ball knife to spread frosting. Then the fun times began!

Whoa Tan, that's like an inch of frosting!Camden is shocked.

Hey, where did the frosting go?

When we ran out of yelow frosting I opened up the frosting to the brownies!

A very effective strategy to eat only frosting and no cookie!

Bryce's Birthday

2009-04-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

So my cute hubby turned 28 last month and we're officially in that 6 week period of every year where is older that I am! It's sure a short period of time, I have to rub it in a little! Mama H always makes his favorite foods for his birthday. This year it was ham, twice baked potatoes and strawberry shortcake. Yum-o!

I love this picture of Bryce and Bella. She sure is a "cheeser!"
Bryce and Cam, check out that yummy dessert!Cute cousins all in their jammies.
Happy Birthday Baby, I love you so much.

PS. Thanks to everyone who came to our house for Bryce's party. We had a great time and feel very blessed to have such great friends. We need to do it again because I want to play Crud, as long as I don't have to go after Travis! As promised the video of Kendra and Hailey cleaning my floor! Thanks moms for letting Greg do it one more time so I could get it on video.

Paralympic Event

2009-03-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to participate in a Paralympic experience put on by Hartford Life. I was very excited to attend this event. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.

The day started out with sled hockey. I was strapped into a sled complete with helmet, neck guard, and two ice picks/hockey sticks to propel on the ice and pass the puck. We were given a couple of minutes to practice before participating in a little friendly competition! During warm-up I have never laughed so hard in my life. I literally thought I was going to pee my pants when my co-worker Holly flipped her sled on it's side and couldn't get up. I don't think I stopped laughing until it happened to me and I was stuck! We lost our first game and won the second (no thanks to anything I did). I was truly amazed by the 3 actual sled hockey athletes that were there. What they do is amazing.

Next we headed inside for some Paralympic trivia and then out for some cross country skiing. Before this I had never cross country skied in my life. It was a good thing that my team's leader was a Paralympic cross country skiier! After a brief crash course in cross country skiing we took a tour of the lap we would be skiing as part of the relay. I thought it would just be a little loop, oh no it was a huge loop complete with an uphill section and a downhill section. I was totally winded after the "warm-up" lap and then told I was only going to get to use 1 pole for the real thing. All I can say is that I made it through my lap of the relay without collapsing and my team captain made up for my pathetic time! All in all it was an incredible day and a wonderful experience.

Cyclops Cat

2009-03-01T15:54:00.001-08:00

Ever had a project that didn't turn out like the picture on the box? We've all been there right? Meet Cyclops Cat, affectionately referred to as CC. On one of my many trips to Michaels I picked up a "Cuddly Pom Kit" which makes one cuddly cat, or so I thought! I thought it would be fun for our neighbor Erin to do while she was over at our house. The kit says a "fun and easy project" ages 7 and up. Perfect, I thought, because Erin is 7, plus she loves cats. About the only "easy" think about the project was getting the box open. We quickly determined that regular Elmer's glue wasn't working, so we switched to instant adhesive gel, which is not suitable for children 7 and up! We did end up having a pretty good time putting it together. We were laughing so hard while trying not to glue our fingers together at the same time!
The end result, looks just like the box right? Oh, we got the name Cyslops Cat because the kit only came with one eye. Either that or we lost the other one, who knows! I have to admit: Fun, yes Easy, absolutely not! It doesn't advertise that it is cute, just cuddly, so I can agree with that!

Update & Random Pics

2009-02-19T20:22:00.001-08:00

I figured that it has been a while since I last blogged, but January and February are really slow months it seems. The crazy busy time around Thanksgiving and Christmas is over and it's time to kick back and relax. I thought I would put together some random thoughts and give everyone an update on what we have been up to.

Bryce and I have officially gotten on Face book, finally. I mean, my grandmother was Face book before me, literally. Way to go Nana! Although, it must have skipped a generation because I still don't think my mom has accepted me as a friend yet. Mom, hello, people are starting to talk! My wonderful husband found me a Wii Fit, yeah! Bryce's grandma taught me how to knit right around Christmas and now I am totally obsessed. Laugh all you want, my scarves are totally amazing.

Recently the fam got together and took over our favorite Chinese food place (other than PF Changs) Enjoy, where a family of 5 can eat for $16. Seriously, they're on 7800 South in good old West Jordan.

Bryce's Mom and Dad put together little Valentine's Day gift bag for the kids filled with lots of goodies.

So, funny story. From her Valentine's goodie bag, Bella hands me her candy hearts to open. I open them, give them back to her and go about my business taking pictures, etc. I turn around to find her sitting behind the kitchen table eating the candy hearts. I snap a couple of photos because she is so cute and then I notice that she is shoving them into her mouth as fast as she can! So I hurry and try to take them away from her so we doesn't choke. She of course starts screaming at me. After I pry them out of her hands, seriously she didn't want to give them up, she is bawling. So I pick her up and give her a hug, I want to keep my "cool aunt" status after all, and count that she has 6 candy hearts in her mouth! From then on, the candy hearts were rationed.

She eventually forgave me!

Merry Christmas

2009-01-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it has officially been forever since I have blogged. We had great Christmas and New Year's holidays spent with family and friends. We are very blessed to have wonderful families and friends that I consider our chosen family. My New Year's resolution is to take more pictures (along with losing 10 pounds). Christmas is for the kids right, which might explain why Bryce and I do not have a single picture of us on Christmas! We also have no pictures of opening gifts at my mom's house or any adults at Bryce's parent's house. Seriously, and we did so good last year. What happened?
When I was in Chicago (the third time I believe last year) I bought Easton a Bears jersey, Devin Hester to be exact. Cam already had one, so we picked him up a Ute jersey. They were both so happy. Easton asked me if he could wear his everyday and sleep in it every night. I told him he could, but he might want his mom to wash it every once in a while!

Addy was so funny at Christmas, she was really excited to open presents. We got her a cute outfit for summer. can't wait to see it. Will it get warm already?

Bella didn't want anyone touching her gifts and it didn't matter if she was currently playing with them or not! We got her a cute summer outfit also, seriously ready for it to warm up!

My favorite Christmas picture, Tan as Spiderman in his Spiderman jammies. We got Tan a D-Will jersey, which he had asked Santa for. See, I told you I know Santa, better be on your best behavior for next year kids!

I hope everyone had great Christmas and New Year's holidays. Here's to a great 2009!

Disneyland

2008-12-22T18:43:00.001-08:00

One of the many reasons I am still not done with my Christmas shopping this year is because we headed out on a fun-filled family vacation to Disneyland December 10-14. Nothing quite like 5 days at Disney with 5 kids 5 and under! The first couple of days we were there it was so warm. I dusted off my capri's and sleeveless shirts! The last couple days were colder, but nothing like the blizzard we came home to.
If anyone knows the magic secret to make 5 kids look at the camera simutaneously and smile, I would love to know. Seriously, call me and let me know!
Me and my buddies Easton and Cam who produced some of my favorite quotes of the trip. Easton: "Am I stuck with Ace again, I'm kidding!" "Can I use your bathroom, Cam is dropping it like it's hot in ours?" "Tanner, what brings you here?"

Camden calls me on the hotel room phone: "Ace, can I come over to your hotel?" I say sure. Then click, followed by a knock on the door.

The Christmas parade at Disney is amazing. We found our seats at least an hour before the parade as we learned from the night before that a half an hour isn't early enough! To kill the time Bryce's mom bought the kids suckers, which was a huge mess and really funny all at the same time.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T19:36:00.001-08:00

This was our year with my mom for Thanksgiving dinner, which is always fantastic because we don't cook! Instead we headed to Stein Erickson's lodge at Deer Valley with our fabulous friends and their fabulous friends. With my extended family living so far away while I was growing up I have come to believe that family is whoever you want them to be. I consider good friends my chosen family, which is what I am most thankful for this year. Bryce and I are so lucky to have such great families and such great friends. The lovely ladies, Amelia, Davee, my mom and me after making several trips through the buffet line! PS. they have an entire room devoted to dessert, Yum-o!
After dinner we headed to Bryce's grandparent's house for dessert. Yes, for those of you math geniuses out there that does make 2 desserts! It's just that Aunt Peggy's apple pie is so good I can't pass it up (and I don't even like pie). I thought this pic was so cute, grandma reading a story to her great-grandchildren.
And of course, then there's Bella, so cute! We bonded over some Coke Zero and pumpkin pie. Don't really know which she liked better, but I did end up having to hide the coke and distract her with some poker chips (not sure that was better, but at least she wouldn't be on a caffeine high that night)!

Jazz vs. Grizzlies

2008-11-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

As some of you might know, my company did not renew it's Utah Jazz season tickets this year. With my boss being out of town all the time, it didn't make sense. My boss did buy Wednesday's game from his neighbor (who coincidently has the 2 seats next to ours) to give to a VP at Delta. Unfortunately, the Delta VP couldn't make the game and my boss was headed back to London earlier that afternoon, so he gave them to me! For those of you who don't like your boss, or those who kind of like your boss, sorry, but I love mine! My favorite Jazz player, D Will and yes, this is the view from our seats! This is why Bryce and I are so spoiled and can't sit in the upper bowl. Nothing quite like row 2. Of course the Jazz beat the Grizzlies 117 to 100. Go Jazz! PS. thanks to my wonderful mother for letting me borrow her camera. Love you Mom!

James Bond

2008-11-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my Mom, Bryce and I went to see the new James Bond movie. Whatever you have heard about this movie was an understatement. For example, if you heard it was action packed, that was an understatement as this movie is so full of action there are only a couple of moments to catch your breath. If you heard that Daniel Craig is a great James Bond, that was an understatement, as Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever. The story is fairly complex, so I recommend watching the last Bond movie before you see this one (wish we had). This is an incredible movie, go see it!

Go Utes

2008-11-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

In Utah, you are either a Ute or a Cougar. There is nothing in between and I have yet to meet someone who doesn't have strong feelings one way or the other. In case there were any doubts, Bryce and I are Utah fans. My dad was a professor at the U, Bryce and I both graduated from the U and have friends who play or played for the U football team. So I am sure you all can imagine how happy we were yesterday when the Utes beat the Cougs, resulting in another undefeated season with a BCS bowl! Go Utes!

We went over to the Domans for the big game. Although there were Utes and Cougs, Bryce's queso brought everyone together (inside joke, probably had to be there)! We had a great time, I was thoroughly entertained with Wendy's outlook on the game, Colin's tongue tricks and all the banter going on. The food was great (just pull it apart with two forks Les) and the company was fantastic. Thanks Trav and Les for a great party, we love you guys!

I'm confused, are these all Ute fans? Looks like Colin is booing the Cougs, just kidding!As promised, my favorite picture of the whole night. That about sums it up!

Twilight

2008-11-22T07:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am obsessed. A big group of us went to see Twilight last night. My mom and I arrived at the theatre an hour and a half before the movie started and ended up being second in line with a nice place to sit while waiting. By the time they let us in, the line behind us was ridiculously long. We ended up with great seats!

After watching the trailers, I was convinced that I wasn't going to like the movie. I was convinced that the actors were all wrong and they were going to kill a book that I love. But, they really didn't. The meat of the story is there, abbreviated, but there for the most part. The actors who play Edward and Bella are really good, so much better than I thought.

I really only have one complaint. There needed to be more of the romance. We needed to see more of why they fell in love and what they were like together. They left out my favorite part, where Bella wakes up in Edward's arms and he has heard her say that she loves him in her sleep. Bella says, but you already knew that. That's good stuff right there!

Thanks Mom H for the tickets!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

So, we have Bumblebee, a Bears Cheerleader, Optimus Prime, a Pirate and Ironman. What a cute bunch!

On Wednesday night Bella and I shared a bowl of butternut squash mac and cheese. About an hour after we finished eating she started digging through her diaper bag. After she had pulled almost everything out she picked up her spoon and crawled around our kitchen with the spoon in her mouth like this. It was hilarious!

Happy Birthday Cam

2008-10-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that our nephew Camden just turned 4 years old. Where does the time go?
These are a couple of pics from the book that we made Camden for his birthday. He is so adorable, smart and funny. During our birthday book photo shoot we told Camden that we needed to go to the sporting goods store. He asked if there would be guys at the store. Bryce asks, "What guys?" Camden replies, "Guys, you know, humans!" We were totally cracking up. My other favorite moment is when he was trying to explain how we were not the same level of family. I am not sure that I totally understand even now, but I believe it has something to do with the number of family members. Bryce asked Cam if he wanted Aunt Ace and Uncle Bryce to have kids. Camden answered excitedly "Are you two getting married?" I was like, Cam we got married a long time ago. He said, "that's right I saw the pictures of you with the flowers."

Camden thanked everyone for coming.

Camden checking out "Camden the Sports Superstar"

Camden's football cake. Yum-O

Bella and the pink pony. A girl after my own heart. I mean, who doesn't want a pink pony?

Bryce and Addie. At least she knows his name! I was called everything in the book, even daddy!

After the party winded down we got out Guitar Hero.

Bella soon took over the drums.

In order to get a serious game going we stuck her in the Guitar Hero box, literally! She had a blast!

Random Pics

2008-10-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

I thought these pics from dinner last week were too cute. Bryce and I have such adorable nieces!

Funny Story

2008-10-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

The funniest thing happened on the way home from work today. I'm going to try and tell this story as best I can because I was laughing so hard I was crying almost the entire way home. I hope this isn't a "you had to be there" story. So Bryce picks me up from work today and he's already giving me a hard time immediately because I have a garbage can full of paper (I take everything from work home to recycle). So we're joking around with each other right off the bat. We start driving down the road and he is playing with this rubberband. He has it looped around the steering wheel and I tell him to quit messing around. He looks over and says "What, you ride your horses with reins, these are my reins." Not much I could say to that, I just laughed. So then he takes the rubber band stretches it out (like one does when they are going to shoot it at someone) at our car radio. He says "Do you want to listen to number 2 (the radio preset)?" and then proceeds to flip the rubber band at the #2 preset. Meanwhile, he is driving. All this is happening while he is driving. The rubberband richochets off the stereo and hits me right in the face! It didn't hurt or anything, but Bryce and I were laughing so hard. I was laughing so hard I was crying, my stomach hurt and I was squirming. For those of you who haven't heard Bryce really laugh, I mean really laugh, it is totally hilarious! I was laughing so hard I couldn't even tell him that he didn't actually change the radio station. My husband does the funniest stuff. Love you babe!

Happy Birthday Spencer

2008-10-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we gathered at Mom and Dad's to celebrate Spencer's birthday, which is Thursday. Happy Birthday Burt! We love you! PS. There sure are a lot of golf courses around here (remember that one?) When I was in Chicago last month I picked him up a Bears polo shirt. He even wore it that night, what a great brother! Bella, Cam, and Easton all had their Bears gear on too! Bears won by the way! Sorry honey (Bryce is a Lions fan). So, I had to bribe the boys to snap a couple of photos. They were like "no, I don't want to take a picture together." I told them I would post it to my blog so they could see themselves. So this is them giving "high fives."

And the more serious picture that I had to bribe them for. Thanks boys!
So Mom bought Halloween gingerbread houses. Not sure who was happier, me or the kids! Cam sat the entire time with me and decorated the house. We had some structural problems as our roof kept trying to cave in, but it held together in the end. Just don't touch it!
See my finger, still holding the roof on at this point!

Bella's Birthday Bash

2008-09-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Bella!

We went to Bella's first birthday party last night. Bella turned 1 on the 25th of this month. We gave Bella a butterfly painting and a Bears cheerleader outfit. She was not that interested in opening presents, but loved cake time!

Did I mention that Bella loved the cake? She resorted to eating the plate when the cake was all gone. I don't think Bella smiled during the entire party until it was bath time in the kitchen sink (she was covered in cake and frosting).

As we all know, Bella doesn't like it when food is taken away from her, not given to her fast enough, etc. She also didn't like it when the water coming out of the faucet was diverted (to wash dishes, rinse cloths, etc), turned off, or when bath time was over.

After almost everyone had gone home Bella modeled some of her new clothes (including the Bears outfit we got her). Amber, wait that has buttons on it!

A family of Bears fans! What a great Christmas card idea!

Night at the Races

2008-09-26T21:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight we headed out to Tooele to watch our neighbor's kids last motocross race of the season. Kylee is in second grade and ended up tying for first place this season. Way to go girl! She is an awesome little rider and looks totally adorable in her riding gear!
Trevor is in fifth grade and a fantastic rider. My heart skipped a beat when he went down after another rider landed on top of Trevor's bike in his second race. Luckily both kids were okay, phew! Good job Trev!
The hungry and thirsty cheerleaders! Our neighbor Erin (middle) with her cute cousins McKade and Brynlee.
For those of you who aren't aware, this is Bryce's counterpart Clint. They are so much alike it is scary! Don't get the two of them started.

This is my counterpart Terra. I think we find more are more ways we are alike every time we hang out. Watch out everyone, there's two of us! Terra, do I have to be a mom to get the cheese and crackers open! Seriously, why do they make those things so hard, they are for children!

Lola's Sister

2008-09-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

I have been driving for a little over 11 years now and have only had two different cars: Subie and Mazdie. I passed Subie along to my little brother and we traded Mazdie in to get our new car, which we haven't named yet. Lola's sister needs a name, any suggestions?

Good Eats at Grandma's

2008-09-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

The night the Bears played the Colts we went to mom and dad's house for dinner. I love football! We have quite a few Bears fans in the fam, yeah! I snapped a few quick pics during dessert. There's nothing quite like brownies and ice cream! Addie, you got a little something on your face there honey!

Cam and Tan snarfing down some dessert. Easton was much to sophisticated to get in on such behavior! Actually the little man doesn't like ice cream. I know, crazy huh! Maybe he'll grow out of it!

Bella didn't get in on too much dessert action, mostly baby food, and mostly because I was caught up in the Bears game. She didn't look to unhappy though, can you say cheese! Don't worry girl, I'll hook you up next time!

Hanging Out

2008-09-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to lately? A couple of weeks ago we shot the pictures for Tanner's birthday book, "Tanner the Soccer Star." We had a ball. Tanner is so funny. We took the pictures at a park right by his house. About half way through Tanner said he needed a break because he was tired. He wasn't really tired so much as he wanted to play on the playground! Nice try Tan, but Bryce saw right through that plan!
So, we forgot our camera for Tanner's birthday party. Sorry Patty! Someone will have to share their pics with us.

General silliness at Grandma's house for dinner.
Bella looked so pretty in her pink dress!
Grandma's house is so much fun, no one ever wants to leave. Bryce snapped this photo and said "WOW Tan, seriously!" Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Funeral in Chicago

2008-08-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Bryce and I spent August 16-21 in Chicago to attend my Uncle's funeral. My Uncle Ray died at the age of 84 on August 12. I was very thankful that I was able to visit him in May when he was still going strong. He was an incredibly smart, genuine, caring and thoughtful person. I will remember him quite fondly as we had many wonderful times together. He was a great uncle and I feel very blessed for all the time I had with him.

I was able to visit with my cousin Stephanie and her family while we were in Chicago. She has four great kids and a wonderful husband. Her youngest looks just like my daddy when he was little.

My Aunt and Uncle were almost married for 57 years (2 weeks short). My Aunt June has been very strong through this and is planning on moving to a retirement home in the middle of September. I of course, cried through the entire funeral from the time I sat in my chair until we all got up and went to the luncheon. Not surprising for those of you who know me. I love you Uncle Ray, you will be missed.

Babysitting is Fun

2008-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Bryce and I love being an uncle and aunt and try to take advantage of every opportunity we get to watch our nieces and nephews. On Monday night Amber and Spencer had tickets to James Taylor, so we took Easton, Camden and Bella home with us! On the way home we got the boys snow cones, hence Camden's blue lips!

The boys played with our neighbor Erin and traced themselves with chalk (I think Camden ended up with 12 guys) and rode bikes. Easton didn't mind riding the pink bike, but Camden wouldn't! He would, however, ride the purple scooter!

After snow cones, what better way to end the night then with popsicles! The boys even shared their popsicles with Bella. She would bite off huge chunks of popsicle, suck on them,then spit them into her hand and keep shoving them back into her mouth. She ended up a big sticky mess, but really happy!

Thanks Erin for sharing both your bikes, your scooter and even popsicles! You're awesome!

We Have Great Neighbors

2008-08-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago our fabulous neighbors, The Drury's, invited us and the Luft's to spend the weekend with them at their cabin. We all headed up to the cabin, which is just outside of Duchesne, on Friday July 26. The view from the front porch of the cabin, WOW!

After sleeping in on Saturday morning we went for an ATV ride. We took a 10 mile ride to some really cool rock formations.

Chandler, Erin, Kylee and Trevor on top of the rocks! Before we started out on our ride Cary had mentioned to us that it looked like it might rain. None of us were worried, we figured it wouldn't be that bad or it would blow over. About 5 minutes after we got to the rocks it started to rain, then pour and then hail. We were all huddled together under a tree (not sure it was really helping) yelling ouch as we were pelted with hail! We also ended up covered in pine needles and crap from the tree we were under. Hey Terra, I'll do you if you do me! Easy boys, just trying to get the crap off us!

All the rain and hail made for an interesting ride back to the cabin! There were huge mud puddles on the trail and we were soaking wet already. The minute we hit the trail mud was flying everywhere! I told Bryce to get me out of here, as I was freezing cold (tank tops do not do much to keep out the hail). As we were flying down the trail getting pelted with mud I was thinking to myself: I should have taken Jeri up on her offer of a helmet, goggles, etc. Bryce wanted a picture of us after the muddy ride so bad that we waited at least 20 minutes for everyone to get back to the cabin. And yes Clint, this is the dirtiest I have ever been!

After a nice shower we all gathered around the fire and roasted marshmallows and made smores. Thanks Terra for the pictures! Thanks Jeri and Cary for a great weekend at the cabin. We're ready to come back anytime!

Nice and Monte Carlo

2008-08-09T09:02:00.001-07:00

Our favorite stop on the European cruise was Nice and Monte Carlo. We spent the morning in Nice where we went to an open air market. There were tons of flowers, fish, fruit, vegetables, pastries, etc. We snacked on some fresh pastries and dried fruit. After that we headed to Monte Carlo. Above is a picture of us in front of the palace where the prince of Monaco lives.

There is a spot in Monte Carlo (just behind us in this photo) where you can see 3 different countries: Monaco, France and Italy. Wow!
With our new friends Ken and Joe in front of the church where Princess Grace is buried. Remember Grace Kelley the famous actress? She married Prince Rainier and became Princess Grace of Monaco.
The Monte Carlo Casino is probably the most famous attraction in Monte Carlo. Here we are in front of the Grand Casino, which was featured in the original Casino Royale James Bond movie.

I was in car heaven. I have never been anywhere where you would see a Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Audi sports car, etc. drive past while you were just trying to cross the street!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

Bryce and I spent the 4th of July swimming and barbecuing at Mom and Dad Hummel's house. This picture was taken a couple minutes before I knocked Camden off the swing. Not on purpose of course.

Waiting for the next firework can be boring! Have to do something to pass the time!

Amber and the boys doing fireworks! They loved the snakes and parachute guys, although we lost quite a few good soldiers in the neighbors tree!

Trip to Europe

2008-07-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

B arcelona

To celebrate our 5th Anniversary Bryce and I went on a Mediterranean cruise. We got up at 5 o'clock in the morning and arrived at 8 o'clock the next day in Spain (which is midnight Salt Lake time). We jumped on a bus to take a tour of downtown Barcelona. We stopped at Montjuic where there is a fortress built in the 17th century that overlooks the whole city of Barcelona and the harbor.

One of the most prominent sites of Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia. The church was originally designed by Antoni Gaudi, a very famous architect, who worked on it for over 40 years during the 1800's. The church has never been finished due to lack of funds and bombings during the Spanish Civil War. The church is scheduled to be completed in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi's death.

Park Guell was originally designed in the 19th century to be a
garden city for the richest families of Barcelona. There were to be 60 lots complete with a gatekeepers house and meeting area. The idea never took off as only 3 lots were ever sold. Bryce and I are sitting on the massive bench in the meeting area completely covered in mosaic tiles.

Malta

After a relaxing day at sea we arrived in Malta. If any of you are like me I didn't even know that Malta was a country. I would have missed this if it was a question on "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader." Malta is a small island nation 58 miles south of Sicily. Malta has been considered a crucial strategic location due to its location in the Mediterranean. In order to make the island easier to defend the famous Knights of St. John fortified the majority of the island.

Naples

We spent the next day in Naples where we started out driving down the Italian coast. A small group of us went with our tour guide to find the best pizza for lunch. We were a little late returning to the bus, which we didn't think was a big deal because we were with our guide. I mean we couldn't leave without the guide, right? Some people might not have felt the same way!

After lunch we headed for Pompeii. I am sure you all know the story of Pompeii being buried under 25 feet of ash. What I didn't know was that Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and the city wasn't discovered for nearly 1700 years. Only 2/3 of the city has been uncovered so far. They are having a difficult time excavating the other third as they are also trying to protect what they have already uncovered.

Rome

Our tour of Rome started at the Colosseum. The Colosseum was completed in 80 AD and was in use for approximately 500 years. At full capacity the Colosseum seated around 50,000 spectators and hosted gladiator games, mock sea battles, executions and dramas based on classical mythology.

The colosseum is in pretty bad shape due to earthquakes, the entire marble facade being removed to be used elsewhere when the public spectacles held there were banned, and the steel used to reinforce the structure was removed to make weaponsfountains in Rome.

We stopped for lunch by the Trevi Fountain, one of the largest fountains in Rome. One must toss coins over their left shoulder: one to return to the fountain, two for marriage and three for a divorce. I also heard four for grandchildren, but I didn't know that until after we had left, sorry Mom!

After lunch we went to Vatican City. We walked through the Vatican museum which houses some incredible works of art. We walked through the Sistine Chapel, which had recently been restored. This is the front of the Basilica of St. Peter, the burial site of St. Peter, who according to tradition was the first Bishop of Antioch and later the first Bishop of Rome. St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian Church in the world.

Florence

Our first stop of the day was in Pisa, where we took the typical tourist photos! Our tour guide laughed, but who knows if we'll ever be in Pisa again. Plus I'm sure she already has her picture by the leaning tower. The tower of Pisa was began in 1173. By the time the third phase was started in1178 the foundation had already given way by 3 meters. The person responsible for the construction of the tower thus far was never seen again. About 100 years later construction started again. This time the architect made one side of the floor shorter than the other in an effort to straighten the tower. He wasn't entirely successful as the tower is actually curved. After waiting for the tower to fall, the Pisans decided to intervene to save the
tower by reinforcing the structure. Now, after many years, groups of 20 are allowed to climb the 296 stairs to the top of the bell tower every hour.

Later that afternoon we saw the David. The photo is a replica that has been put in the original David's place outside of the Palazzo Vecchio. David was moved to a museum nearby in 1873. Michelangelo was only 26 years old when he started carving the single block of marble that would become the David in just three short years. Michelangelo worked under the premise that the image of David was already in the block of stone he was working on — he simply set him free. The block of marble had previously been rejected by several other artists because they felt there were too many veins and had been waiting to be carved for over 25 years.

Barcelona Again and then Goodbye Europe

After we departed from the ship we hopped on a tour bus and headed to the Spanish countryside. We visited a winery that was founded in 1551 and has passed through 17 generations of the same family. The winery, called Codorniu, has been declared a National Monument. We learned how the wine was made, toured the cellar, and even got to taste their famous Cava (the spanish version of champagne). I believe that at full capacity the winery cellar holds 100 million bottles of wine.

We spent the afternoon at Montserrat, a monastery atop the mountains of Barcelona. The views from atop the mountain was breathtaking. The church at Montserrat houses one of the few black virgin statues in the world, which we waited in line for about an hour to see. Many people who are blind, crippled or otherwise disabled wait in line to see the virgin and pray for a miracle.