The Matthews Family

a new low

2012-01-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

I did something on Saturday night that I would've never thought I'd ever do. I have no pride left in my 34 week pregnant self. (I guess by saying "I have no pride" I've totally negated that, but you get what I mean).

Let me explain.

Brad and I had just pulled into Morgan from our date night (dinner at Javiers in Ogden - celebratory birthday dinner) and decided to run into the grocery store to get a few things for Sunday dinner and the necessities: bread, milk, and eggs. The kids were still doing fine at home after a quick phone call to confirm that the house hadn't burnt down and no one was bleeding profusely. We hustled (technically, I do not hustle, mostly waddle these days.......there was even a Front Row Joe parking spot but Brad wouldn't take it, he wanted to get more "steps" on his pedometer....another story, another day). Anyway, we went into the store. We didn't get a cart because, after all, we were only there for a few things. We gathered our "few things" and found other "necessities" along the way that we piled into our arms. Brad wanted to quickly grab some salad for Sunday dinner and I told him I'd meet him at the checkout....after all, my arms were full. So as I'm walking towards the checkstands I see that frozen grape juice is on sale. I couldn't pass it up. I open the freezer door, pile 3 cans of juice on top of my things, smile to myself because of the good deal I got, and shut the freezer door. That's when one of the grape juice cans falls out of my arms and to the floor. Hmmm, shoot. What will I do? I can't bend over to retrieve it for 2 obvious reasons:

#1. my arms are full

and

#2. I'm 34 weeks pregnant with my arms full of groceries - can we all say "ridiculous" together?

So I did what any "no-pride-left-in-herself" woman would do.....

I kicked the grape juice can down the aisle.

Oh yes. I am so cool.

I just about got to the checkout stand when I saw a girl from my daughter's soccer team. I kindly asked her if she'd pick up my grape juice can and deposit it back into my arms. Thanks so much. Not many 11 year old girls would blink an eye at the fact that you've asked them to do something like that.....and this particular girl didn't either. Tender mercies?!

So there you have it folks - I am officially awesome.

I thought I'd throw in a picture so you can visualize along with the story. I don't think I've taken any pictures of this pregnancy....so its always good to document at least one, right?!

And just in case you're wondering.....I carry all my babies low.....but pregnancy #5 takes the cake. There is absolutely no muscle tone left in those regions after 4 previous babies. He might just fall out any day. Not really, but it looks that way! :)

34 1/2 weeks pregnant....and my little sidekick Ellie

silly

2012-01-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ellie and Abbie (a friend) today:

Ellie: holding up her right foot..."Is this my right foot?"

Abbie: "Yes it is."

Ellie: holding up her left foot..."and this is my wrong foot."

Christmas Village

2012-01-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

Lindsay had a few dance performances during December and The Christmas Village in Ogden was one of them. She did a fantastic job and it was fun to watch her shine! The night of her performance was a bit chilly, but we bundled up and were able to walk through the village and enjoy the lights and displays. Brad was coaching a basketball game, so he wasn't there, but Aimee, Cami, and my mom met us there. Thanks guys for braving the cold!

Bathroom Remodel

2011-12-22T12:00:00.001-07:00

Hallelujah! We have finished the bathroom remodel! This has been a project that I've been wanting to do for years.....literally. I bought the tile 5 years ago and its been waiting patiently under my bed! I think when I'm pregnant, all my "get-things-accomplished" hormones go into overdrive and I start projects. (In all honesty, the last 2 times I've painted anything in my house have been when I was pregnant). Crazy, but it is what it is. And I got a new bathroom in the process. But it was like pulling teeth to get my husband on board. Let's kindly say that he's not what you'd call a DIYer. He did an amazing job with the tile work - with the help of his brother, Michael. (THANK YOU!) But I made him repeat the phrase, "I can do hard things." He will not be impressed that I just aired that bit of dirty laundry! :) Love you Hon! Anyway, here are the before, during and afters:

BEFORE

The oh-so-fashionable countertop was my pride and joy!! Ha. And need I say more about the maroon and navy blue flower patterened linoleum? And I should have gotten a better picture of the baseboards...on the far wall there are 3, yes, 3 separate pieces of trim. The wall only measures about 5 feet in that spot! Very custom-made.

And the mirror.
Oh the mirror.

And superb outlet placement too!

DURING

Thanks again Michael - you saved us!

Brad wasn't too happy right about now. He wouldn't even look up for a picture. BUT, he was still trying something that was NOT (and still isn't) in his comfort zone. :)

The OH-SO-AWFUL Mistake!

So I had this grand idea for a color scheme. Crisp white, with hints of navy blue and apple green. Cute right. Well, just don't paint your cabinets blue! As you can see, it was horrible!
Right as I started I thought, "Hmm, I don't know about this." But I kept telling myself, "Just get one coat of paint on and let it dry, then decide."
How I wished I would've stopped then. It would have saved me a bunch of time resanding the dang cabinets to get that awful blue off.
I did have a good laugh about it after though. Seriously, what was I thinking here?!

AFTER

I am so pleased with everything! I still need to get some decor on the wall, but that'll come. I love, love, love my wall color. And with so much white, the bathroom is fresh and "springy".

I added new hardware to the cabinets and love the look of them. Simple and clean.

Once we moved the outlets down, we had more space for a bigger mirror. And this mirror rocks my world! It has made the biggest impact in the bathroom. The bathroom feels SO much bigger! And I can even see the back of my head when doing my hair. It's a dream I tell ya!

I'm not usually a tools-type of girl, but I can handle a drill pretty good these days. I added the toilet paper roll holder, hand towel holder, and all the hardware to the cabinets. Yes, my 6 1/2 month pregnant body got down on my back to put in the drawer pulls on the two drawers that are fake (right beneath the sink). ....yes, it was uncomfortable. But I did it....."I can do hard things too!" :)

So there it is. I think during every stage of this remodel, something didn't work or we had to do it another way than we thought, but we persevered. (Sheesh, I make it sound like we climbed Everest or something!) But, for us non-DIYers, I think we did a pretty bang-up job.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-22T11:03:00.001-07:00

This year we had Thanksgiving in Brigham City with my side of the family. Once again, it was a delicious meal - one I look forward to more than any other meal during the year. We have the traditional things like turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy but I absolutely love my mom's stuffing. It is the best! We also have shrimp salad. It is definitely an acquired taste...and there are only a few takers, but it's tradition and I love it! And you can't have a thanksgiving feast without sweet potatoes with butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows. Yummy!

Suzanne brought a cute script for "The First Thanksgiving." She has everything including adorable costumes for the kids. They had so much fun acting it out.

Our version of the 1st Thanksgiving

The cutest pilgrims that I ever did see!

Tanner

Dallin (with his amazingly awesome coonskin hat) helping Ellie not be so shy

Narrators: Meag and Josh

Ellie

Thanksgiving Talent Show

Meagan

Josh

Lindsay

Suzanne and boys singing a hymn.....cant remember which one

Sweet, loveable Allie

Kaylee - loving the attention

Rian - looking for her parents approval (they were sitting on the landing)

Ah. Shy Tanner

I'm a little impressed with this pic - go Ellie!

Halloween 2011

2011-12-22T10:24:00.002-07:00

Lindsay: 80's vampire *** Tanner: pirate *** Meagan: mummy *** Ellie: Snow White

Meagan's 11th Birthday

2011-12-22T10:21:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday Meagan: September 28th

My dad got a bunch of signatures of former USU bball players that have gone on to play in the NBA. When my dad was in college he was the team manager for the men's bball team - the team was really, really good that year. The team was honored this fall at Utah State's Homecoming. It was pretty cool.

She FINALLY got her wish: a ripstick :)

I can't believe you're already 11 years old!!! We love you Meagan!

Family Day #4: TOADS

2011-11-18T10:00:00.001-07:00

Remember way back when I blogged about our family days we would have when the kids accomplished their chore charts? Well, this was the last installment of those......TOADS!

August 16, 2011

The kids loved it. We found an insanely awesome coupon in the Hometown Values magazine that allowed us:

$20 in arcade games

8 activities (mini golf, laser tag, batting cages, go-carts)

2 large pizzas

4 large drinks

4 ice cream cones

All for $40! (regularly a $120 value) SCORE!

We hit the arcade games first. And earned quite a few tickets to boot. Then we played a round of mini golf and then Brad and the older girls played Laser Tag.....next time we'll have to let Tanner try. We weren't sure if he'd be able to do it....or if he'd get scared while he was in the dark. Oh well, next time.

Riding the virtual roller coaster

These pictures above and below are so funny. I guess the sun was a little bright! Lol. It makes my heart smile to see their facial expressions.

This picture perfectly describes the individuals in it.
Meagan: scoping out the best possible route to get her ball where it needs to go. Serious contemplation. A competitor through and through.
Lindsay: patiently waiting in line, but unconcerned about winning. Just along for the ride. I mean look at how she's holding her club :)
Brad: just like Meagan...a competitor. Doesn't matter that he's playing against the kids, he still wants to win!

Ellie proudly showing off the results of her hard-earned tickets from the arcade games.

TOADS was definitely fun and we'll have to do it again sometime.

On an unrelated-to-this-post side note. We were heading to Brigham the other day and Tanner was a little car sick. We passed TOADS and Tanner said if we stopped to play that it would make his tummy feel better. :)

Coming March 2012

2011-09-28T19:50:00.000-06:00

We have some exciting news......we are having another baby! And today's ultrasound confirmed what I was pretty sure I already knew....it's a boy! I'm due in the middle of March and I'm 16 weeks today. We are really happy, and the kids are beyond excited for another brother. I cannot complain about how I've been feeling. A little tired, but nothing too overwhelming. And morning sickness.....not a bit. Okay, I've been a bit "gaggy" but I know I've been blessed in that department. I've still been able to keep up my running and I think that's really helping me too.

I just reread what I've written and it's really not all glitter and rainbows here, we struggle like all families, but I'm definitely counting my blessings with this pregnancy. :) And it's kinda weird sharing this kind of information on my blog. Well, just telling people for the first time is weird I guess. Almost like you're having a regular conversation and then - BAM - a totally random statement enters the conversation. Then there is that awkward pause. ............anyway, let's get past that awkward pause gracefully, shall we?! :)

School Days

2011-09-12T21:39:00.001-06:00

I love the first day of school! The kids were so excited....as always.

Meagan - 5th grade

Lindsay - 4th grade

Ellie 3 yrs and Tanner 5 1/2 years. Ellie and Tanner really really wanted their picture taken too. So adorable.
Kindergarten starts one week later than the rest of the elementary.....Tanner was so disappointed not to be going to school with the girls. A week is a VERY long time!

Tanner - Kindergarten
One thing I cannot forget to mention: He sets his clothes out the night before. So cute! He puts his shirt down, then his pants, and he even puts his socks down. (He actually separates the socks and puts them right under the hem of his pants....where his feet would be). He still does this.....a week and a half after school has started. Every night. Without fail. I love this boy!

He was lucky enough to be in the all-day kindergarten class. He gets to eat lunch and have 3 recesses at school (he was so excited for this!). It was hard to let him go all-day, but it is so nice at the same time. Ellie and I have a lot of time just with each other. .....we've gotten bored a few times :)

finding his name and chair-bag

so excited to be in Kindergarten!!!

getting off the bus on Tanner's first day

I took this picture on Tanner's 2nd day of school - Riding the bus for the first time! The 1st day I drove him him and he didn't get to ride the bus in the morning with all the big kids.

Matthews Reunion...part 4

2011-09-07T19:05:00.001-06:00

This shall be the final reunion post.....phew! We had a really fantastic time - super relaxing and so enjoyable to be with everyone. :)

On our last day there we were able to use the owner's pontoon boat. It wasn't equipped to pull a water-skier, but it could pull a tube. It was a BLAST! The faces of the kids were priceless!

Notice where Lindsay is sitting

just pulling away from the dock

Linds, still sitting in the back.....in calm, unmoving waters

Linds.....a little frightened and now sitting up front :)

Linds is still not super excited about the tube

Linds, cracking a smirk, and everyone else L-O-V-I-N-G it!!!!

I have video on my camera of this part.....they had just hit a bump and Meagan went about 2 feet in the air. Awesome! :)

Oh, the facial expressions!

We heart you McCall!!! Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome house and fun times with the family!!!

Matthews Reunion...part 3

2011-09-07T19:05:00.000-06:00

McCall had some really fun bike trails...and we took advantage one morning. There was quite a few of us, but we had a lot of fun. Ellie refused to ride in the seat connected to Brad's bike, so she rode her own. I stayed back with her for our own bike ride because we obviously wouldn't be keeping pace with the others. It was nice and relaxing just the two of us.

Just some random pictures from during the week:

Oh Ellie and her beloved gummy bears!!!

Love Tan's expression. He and Kayden played frisbee over and over and over!

Matthews was so cute with the girls. He played with them for a long time building sandcastles.

Just one of the games that the kids played off the deck......running and catching 2 frisbees that were being thrown to you.

Taylor getting his hands on the frisbees!

Matthews Reunion...part 2

2011-09-06T12:28:00.003-06:00

Just when you thought I'd forgotten about the reunion.....I give to you, Part 2!!!!

A pretty good lookin crew, if I do say so myself! :)
All 32 of us.....minus Austin who is in Mexico serving a mission - that is his orange shirt being held up by Troy)

Mom and Dad

Troy, Brandon, Melissa, Matthew, Jessica

Kyle, Brooklyn, Cody, Steph, Rick
Kayden, Abbey, Taylor

Meagan, Brad, Jamie, Lindsay, Tanner, Ellie

Holden, Cydnee, Michael, Avery, Heidi, Madilyn

Andee, Adam, Krista, Brock

The TALENT SHOW

Lindsay, dancing and singing to "Tonight, Tonight" by Hot Chelle Ray

Ellie, couldn't be outdone by Lindsay and joined in at the last....Tonight, Tonight is her FAVORITE song

Taylor, Meagan, Holden, and Jessie doing skits

Abbey and Lindsay singing and dancing to High School Musical

These boys are so much fun! They did an awesome job with "Play That Funky Music White Boy"

The Lindleys sang "Over The Rainbow" with Cody on the guitar!

Yes folks, we had him......JUSTIN BEIBER!!!!!

......And the crowd went WILD!!!!!!

Troy also came out......as Justin Beiber in 30 years! :) awesome!!!

And Dad told us amazing stories about his childhood and growing up. It is seriously amazing that he is still alive today.....lots of close calls!

Meagan holding Brock

Matthews Reunion...part 1

2011-08-17T11:56:00.000-06:00

I wish we were still there. The reunion was so much fun....and so easy and relaxing. I present to you:

Matthews Family Reunion

July 16-23, 2011

Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho

Beautiful cabin! 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Every family had their own room and adjoining bathroom. It was heaven!

Just a minute walk down the hill and you're at the lake. This is the picnic table area that connects right to the boat dock.

Our family had the top floor all to ourselves. This was the view from our room.

Day 1, Saturday July 16

We left early that morning and met up with Steph and Michael's families on the road about Tremonton. From there we caravanned a few hours to Mountain Home, Idaho where we stopped for lunch and potty breaks. After a few more hours (will we EVER get there?) and some really beautiful scenery up the mountain, we finally arrived in McCall. What a cute town! It only took us another couple minutes to get to our cabin. It was gorgeous and everyone was so excited to be there and be together! The kids basically jumped out of the car and wanted to go swimming. So we did just that.

Ellie's face says it all. The water was freezing...but so much fun.

Day 2, Sunday July 17th

We got up early and attended the McCall LDS ward. Their usual congregation doesn't even fill up the chapel, but they see lots of visitors during the summer and we filled up the chapel and gym. It was a great ward and very friendly too. I even met someone who had a friend from Morgan...small world!

The rest of the day was spent playing games and spending time together. I think this is the day we had FHE and we each got to say what we loved about our family. Some were funny and others were sweet and touching. We ALL love our family!!!!

Day 3, Monday July 18th

Lake day! We woke up, ate breakfast, then headed down to the lake. It was a great day. Nice and warm...hot in the sunshine but perfect in the shade. The families rented a wave runner for the day too. Steph's family brought a water trampoline that we tied up to the dock. We spent hours on that thing! The kids were literally in the water all day long. We played on the dock too. Jumping off and climbing back up to do it again.

4th of July...Bear Lake style

2011-08-17T10:26:00.000-06:00

Bear Lake (Paris, Idaho to be exact) knows how to celebrate America's Birthday! We start our day off with a beautiful tribute to America and its' heroes at the Patriotic Program. It consists of musical numbers, choir numbers, stories, and my favorite: the salute to all branches of the military. Each branches song is played and sung by the choir while each flag is brought down the aisle. Members of the congregation that have served in their specific branches stand up during their song. It is so touching and my heart swells with pride and gratitude for their sacrifices and service that they've given (and are giving) for our country. My mother-in-law directs the choir and she does an amazing job. My sister-in-law Stephanie also had a solo and she did a great job too. After the program, we all head to the street for the parade. The kids love all the candy that is thrown their way. Once the parade has walked by us (not once but twice----up the street---then back down :)) we go back home and enjoy a delicious bbq with family. This year we packed the house and yard with many Arnell family members. It was fun to catch-up with cousins and relatives that we don't see often.

Holden, his baby sister Avery, and Meagan

Tanner...a bit enthusiastic for the parade?

Lindsay...one year older (bday the day before) and so grown up!

Ellie.....not sure what she's looking at

Oh Tanner....you make the strangest faces :)

Peek-a-boo right back at you little man!

I'm guessing Abbey and Lindsay were dancing....its what they do these days.

Ellie and Cydnee

Taylor, Holden, and Meagan

Ellie, Brooklyn, Cydnee, Tanner, and Kayden

Go Ellie Go!

Cute cousins!

Happy Birthday America!

Lindsay's 9th Bday

2011-08-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

July 3, 2011

Lindsay is 9 today!!!!

Opening up a letter from Meagan....it was a really sweet card and message.

I think she was happy with her stash! She got some really cute and fun things.

Because Lindsay's birthday is so close to the 4th of July, we are usually on the go. This year, we headed up to Bear Lake and she got to enjoy cake with the Matthews!

Giving Grandma hugs.

And we can't forget Grandpa too!

Happy Birthday Lindsay! You are such a beautiful girl with a heart of gold. You love to dance, sing, and be with your friends. You bring so much sunshine to our family! We love you!

Christensen Reunion 2011, part 2

2011-08-02T08:48:00.002-06:00

The DOOZIE game

The second night of our reunion we played the Doozie Game. Callie put together this game that had 7 categories and was similar to trivial pursuit. The categories included: Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Family Tree, Scripture Power, Game Show, Anything Goes, School Days, and I Like To Move It Move It.

Team 3 (my team - I'm taking the picture).

Team 2....plus my dad who didn't make it into the picture

Team 1

One of the challenges: the wall sit.....ouch! Go Linds go! She eventually beat out Brad. :)

We just couldn't muster this one. Our challenge was to eat an entire jar of baby food. Bleh! So totally disgusting! But Josh and Brennen put forth an A++ effort!

* * *
Saturday of our reunion was spent at the Roy Aquatic Center. Super fun....and no pictures. ;)
That evening for our devotional we sat and listened to my parents talk about their childoods, family vacations, high school, college, dating, dance moves (go Dad, GO!!), and just fun information about them. It was really fun and we had some good laughs!!

The night ended with the kids having a spur-of-the-moment dance party!

We have some awesome dancing genes!

And the last photo of the reunion: the awesome heart-shaped tub!

Christensen Reunion 2011

2011-08-02T08:48:00.001-06:00

Christensen Family Reunion

Mountain Green, Ut

June 23-26, 2011

My sister Callie found this amazing house in Mountain Green with 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 2 kitchens, 3 family rooms, jacuzzi....uh yeah, awesome!

Callie and Brian were in charge this year and they did such a great job. Each night we had a family devotional, song, and game. The first night we watched a home video that Callie had recorded of my grandparents (my mom's Mom and Dad, Colleen and Lowell Sherratt) talking about their childhoods and early family life together. It was really fun to see and so grateful that we've got it recorded forever!

* * *

Park Day

Ellie, 3 years old

Rian, 3 years old

Tyler, oh so gently, rolling kids down the hill in the "ball"!

Tanner, loving it!

Allie, 5 1/2 months

Meagan 10 years, Lindsay almost 9 years, Spencer 4 1/2 years, and Suzanne

Meagan playing Ladder Golf while Grandma (my mom) watches

Tanner 5 years and Dallin 8 years

Brian and Cami playing Kuub or Kubb.....however you spell it, its a fun game!

Aimee with some really awesome form and concentration :)

Brian and Olivia 2 yrs

Rian and Ellie

Josh 10 years

Callie and Liv

Kaylee 2 1/2 years

So much fun!!!!

Love this pic of my mom and Lindsay swinging!

Family Day #2

2011-08-02T08:48:00.000-06:00

Cars 2

June 30, 2011

The kids chose to go to the drive-in for the second reward for doing their summer chores. A good choice all around. It was a great night, not too hot, but cold enough for blankets. Lots of treats (probably too many!) and lots of fun!!!!

Meagan taking a few moments away from Harry Potter to smile for the camera with the other kids

Playing UNO to pass the time until the movie started.....Meagan reading.

Meagan still reading Harry Potter.....a bookworm after my own heart!

We all loved the movie, especially Tanner. I loved hearing him gut laugh several times! Poor Ellie couldn't stay awake. I think she fell asleep about 15 minutes after the movie started.

Father's Day Dance

2011-08-02T08:47:00.000-06:00

Not to be outdone by the Mother's Day Dance the girls put on a Father's Day Dance. A little singing this time but lots more dancing and costume changes! Love it.

Emma, Abbie, Lindsay, and Ellie

This dance was so cute!

Meagan workin it out!

Fat Cats * * * June 15, 2011

2011-08-01T14:57:00.000-06:00

We started our summer 2011 off with a bang! We made chore charts again because they worked so well last year, and kept them motivated to do their chores and other jobs. Each day that they completed their jobs, they got to put a sticker on a chart that ultimately led them to getting a reward. For the first reward (or Family Day as Tanner named them) the kids chose to visit Fat Cats. Bowling, arcade games, and Pizza Factory! A recipe for success.

Yeah Ellie! She was so excited!!!

I think she'd just missed getting a strike.

But turned it around to get a spare!

Yes, she finally got her strike....she was getting mopey that she hadn't got one yet.

Such intense concentration!

Great job on your chores guys! Next "Family Day" reward: drive-in movie!

Tanner 2011 AYSO Spring Soccer

2011-08-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

Fall 2010 and Spring 2011 was Tanner's first time playing soccer. Oh boy was it hilarious to watch. First of all, the kids just swarm around the ball, and its a miracle that the ball even moves anywhere. Secondly, Tanner had a huge perma grin every time he was on the field. And thirdly, I think he spent more time on the ground than he did upright. So funny!

Exhibit A: on the ground

(maybe a little football with his soccer?)

He had great defending skills....but it looks a little more defense for basketball than soccer ;)

Just about to kick a goal!

See, I told you.....on the ground.

His teammate and new best buddy: Derrick

They were friends from the moment they met. So cute.

again!

Nice work this season Bud! I'm glad you had so much fun!

Meagan 2011 AYSO Spring Soccer

2011-08-01T13:10:00.000-06:00

She is really improving and learning so much. Her coaches are amazing and do so much for the girls!

Coach Ryan Turner

Coach Aaron Turner

(yes, the coaches are brothers)

Some pretty awesome spectators! :)

Meagan's bread and butter: her throw-in. She's really got a knack for it and is usually the one that throws it in. Her team did really well during the fall and spring, only losing 1 game.

Graduation and History Fair

2011-08-01T10:22:00.000-06:00

Tanner's Preschool Graduation

May 18, 2011

I know I'm a bit biased, but Tanner is the cutest little boy I've ever seen! :)

He absolutely LOVED preschool. Teacher Nancy is amazing and did so much for Tanner this year. He learned his letters, numbers 1-25, colors, and so much more. His favorite thing about school was his friends. He is such a social boy! He is very excited for Kindergarten to start...and that makes me just a little sad. Sad for me, but I'm so excited for him!

I wish I could've downloaded all the videos of him singing. It is hilarious! He knew the words to all the songs and sang it out! You could totally hear him above the other kids. Way to go buddy!

* * * * *

Meagan's 4th Grade Utah History Fair Program

May 18, 2011

The 4th graders learned all about Utah this year and put on a great program for us. They sang songs about Utah ("Utah Train" - a song of all the counties in Utah, "The Wedding of the Rails", and "Utah, This Is The Place!"). I was lucky enough to play the piano for them during the year as they practiced their songs. I had a lot of fun helping them out.

Every student did a History Fair project and Meagan chose to do hers on Fossils. She made 3 different kinds of fossils to display with an explanation about each one. She did a fabulous job! Way to go Meagan!

Lindsay's Dance Recital

2011-05-13T14:18:00.000-06:00

Lindsay has been so excited for this day. She did an amazing job and we are so proud of her! Way to go Linds! We love you!

May 11, 2011

The Dance Shack Recital

Morgan High School 6pm

Brad's mom came down the day before the recital to give Lindsay a gorgeous bouquet of gerbera daisies and a "Star" necklace. She felt so bad that she wouldn't be able to attend the recital, but she wanted Lindsay to know that she loved her and that she was a "Star"! Thanks, that was super sweet of you.

Ellie turns 3

2011-05-13T14:13:00.001-06:00

May 8, 2011

Poor thing. Sick on her birthday. There's like a law against that....right? No fun at all. I think she actually enjoyed herself, it was a fun birthday after all, but still, would've been better sans fever.

She had been waiting all day to FINALLY open her presents. They'd been sitting on the cedar chest....calling her name....all day long. We had to wait until church was over and Brad was back from his BBall clinic in Vegas (boy, were we ever glad to see him!.....notice the death grip Tanner has around his Daddy. It was a long weekend for him too with no other male around.)

She loves Tangled. We were pretty sure she'd be excited to get Rapunzel.

Happy Birthday dear Ellllliiiiiieeeee! Happy Birthday to you!

After having a fever for 3 1/2 days, she didn't have enough "umph" left in her to blow out the candles.

Thanks everyone for making Ellie's day so special. I wish I would've taken a picture of all her fun things, but I didn't. oops. She really enjoyed each and every gift!! Thanks Mom for coming up to sit with Ellie while the rest of us went to church.

Fun things at Age 3:

**S-A-S-S-Y: This word pretty much sums her up. She's not a mean sassy, though she can be, but it's more of a 16 year old mentality trapped in a 3 year old body. She can be a bit dramatic at times.

**Full of life: This girl can't sit still for 2 seconds. She's always bouncing around or dancing.

**Loves to see the letter E and will excitedly point it out when she does.

**Loves playing with her family and friends.

**Loves putting together puzzles....and doesn't like to have help.

**Enjoys nursery at church. The teachers get a kick out of her. A couple of Sundays ago, I picked her up from nursery and they told me that Ellie had been talking to me on the pretend phone, "Mom, I TOLD you I was going to call you." complete with eye rolls and exasperated voice.

**Loves to be outside swinging or riding her bike.

**Very determined and knows what she wants. Don't even think about telling her what outfit to wear for the day.

**Very sweet. She still likes to cuddle with me and gives kisses.

We love you Ellie!

I took this picture a couple days later.....feeling much better, thank you. And loving her new jammies. Do you think they come in my size? I want to look that cute when I go to bed. :)

It almost didn't happen

2011-05-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

The Mother's Day Dance Recital that almost wasn't.....let me explain.

Saturday, May 7th, we were supposed to be at my mom's house for a Mother's Day BBQ with my family and grandparents. The kids had been excited to go....playing with cousins and being at Grandma's house. And I had been looking forward to it too. For those same reasons and because I was going to get a "break". Brad was going to be out of town at a basketball clinic and the bbq was going to be my "break" from being the only disciplinarian and person-in-charge. You get that, right? It's tough being the only parent available for days on end. Exhausting. So anyway, back to the story.

Brad left Thursday morning and that same day Ellie woke up with a fever. great. By Friday night, her fever was super high and she had a cough to go along with it. Darn. I had to make the highly unpopular decision of not going to the bbq (ooooo, the kids were so annoyed with me). We had to stay at home instead. BUT, it turned out to be a wonderful present for me.....and my neighbor Natalie. Our kids spent all day planning, practicing, getting costumes ready, setting up chairs, making a band stage, and coloring invitations to the "Mother's Day Dance Recital." The kids were so adorable....and so excited too!

The Band: Tanner, Emma, Lindsay, Meagan, and Abbie

Lindsay

Meagan

Tanner

Abbie

Emma

Each performance had:

1. band members

2. singer/lip sync-er (?)

3. dancer

4. awesomeness!!! :)

Meagan performing to Jonas Bros. "Heart and Soul"

Linds and Emma jammin it out!

The last song, Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are" was dedicated to the moms: Natalie and I. It was so incredibly sweet. We both ended up in tears. It doesn't take much, but when your kids do something like that, with so much love involved....it's bound to cause the tears to come. :)

Best Mother's Day gift ever!

I was lucky enough to be allowed (yes, I had to get permission from the kids) to record part of the dress rehearsal. In one part of this video, I tell Lindsay to "Look Alive!" I wasn't trying to be mean (visions of Toddlers and Tiaras are running through my brain) I just wanted her to smile while I was videoing. I wasn't criticizing, I promise!

Lindsay chose to dance for her performance. She has a dance recital this Wednesday, so it was good practice for her.

The Finale and our dedication

Oh so sweet. Afterwards we were presented with flowers (dandelions) and hairbows. I told ya......so cute! And to think, if Ellie hadn't gotten sick, we wouldn't have even been in town. There is a silver lining to everything!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

happenings

2011-04-27T09:45:00.002-06:00

In between General Conference sessions on Saturday, April 2nd, my sister Aimee's little girl Allie was blessed. (Phew, what a sentence!) Brennen gave a beautiful blessing and Allie was perfect. She's such a good baby, and adorable to boot.

Aimee, Brennen, and Allie

4 Generations: my Mom, Aimee, Grandma Sherratt, and Allie

* * * * * *

Spring Break 2011

April 21-24 was Spring Break for us. We stayed at home, but tried to do something fun every day together. Thursday we painted Easter eggs. In the first few minutes we had managed to dump 3 cups of dye. Lovely. Who needs green and blue anyway?! Friday we took the kids to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Yum!

Saturday we hiked to the M. This is getting to be a fun tradition for this. For the 10 years we've lived here, I think we've hiked to the M as a family about 7 or 8 times. We always seem to do it in the spring. It was a bit cold, but great for hiking.

The kids on the M.

The Easter Bunny found our house again this year and gave the kids a scavenger hunt to find their baskets. They had a lot of fun running around the house finding the next clue.

Despite this picture, Tanner was enjoying himself. :)

That silly Bunny, hiding baskets in Ellie's closet. The kids thought it was so cool.

You'd think I could get at least one picture with Tanner and a normal smile.

After church, we went to my sister Callie's house in Woods Cross for dinner. She cooked a yummy ham and there was lots of great salads and rolls. And a yummy cheesecake dessert. I love a good meal! The kids had fun playing together and the adults had fun sitting around talking and laughing. Thanks for having us Callie and Brain...and baby Liv!

And we couldn't leave these pics out.......haircut time! After Meagan saw the movie Tangled, she wanted to get a haircut like Rapunzel. I think it turned out adorable! And she was so excited to go to school this morning. Linds kept her hair long, but still cut about 3 inches off the bottom. I love these chicks!

Hope you had a great spring break/Easter!

a little more

2011-04-06T09:49:00.001-06:00

Meagan started piano lessons this year and is doing awesome! I'm so proud of her and what she has accomplished in the last 7 months. She had her first piano recital last week and did great. Before we left to go to the recital, I asked her if she was nervous. She said, "No."...and had a look on her face like, "what would I be nervous for." Crazy.

Meagan and her teacher, Amy

We had a big support group there. Thanks guys for coming!

Brad is taking the picture.

* * * * * * * *

L to R: Shaelee Pentz, Chelsey Stegelmeier, AJ Bateman, Rachel Johnson, Ashley (Spud) Garfield, Becca Rees, and Brad.

I still can't look at this picture without getting all choked up. We love these girls and will miss them immensely! These girls are Brad's seniors this year. He became the varsity coach 4 years ago when they were freshman.....and now they're graduating this year. They are an amazing group of girls. They are just the kind of girls I want my girls to be like...not just in athletic ability, but all around awesome girls.

Becca got hurt in December with a complete ACL tear. She miraculously (and when I say "miraculously" I mean through a lot of prayer and heavenly help) recovered in 4 weeks and was able to finish the season. She is NOT a quitter and amazes us with her dedication to herself and her team.

Spud is going on to BYU with a full-ride scholarship to play basketball. Truly an amazing young woman. I can't tell you how much my family loves her and will miss her! We wish her all the best.....and we'll be there cheering her on! Go Cougs!

Jr Jazz

2011-04-06T09:15:00.001-06:00

Once again, Meagan participated in Jr Jazz. This is absolutely her favorite sport. (Her Dad is only a little happy about that. lol) She is amazing. She really practices a lot, and not just during the season. She's only 10 years old but can dribble the ball without looking at it while she runs down the court....and she can dribble left-handed or right-handed. Not an easy thing to do.

One day Meagan was watching a bball video with Brad (most of you know this but Brad is the varsity girls bball coach at the high school...so he tends to watch bball videos from time to time :)). Anyway, I walked over to where they were watching and Brad said, "Go ahead Meagan, tell her." She then proceeded to tell me what offensive play they were running, which player was supposed to get the ball, and what the other players were supposed to do. My jaw nearly hit the floor! I couldn't believe she knew all that! Brad was pretty impressed too. I love that she is really understanding the game, not just the skills. (I know I'm bragging, but this is my blog and can do what I want....I'm a proud mama!)

Brad was the coach again this year.

She played 'defense' really well.

And she's a scrapper. That's my girl!

Another year over and done with. Great job girls, you really improved!!!

Happy Birthday Tanner

2011-04-06T09:01:00.000-06:00

Clear back in December, the 27th to be exact, Tanner had his 5th Birthday. ....And I'm just getting around to blogging about it. Pathetic. I know.

BUT we love this little boy to pieces and can't imagine our family without him. He is all boy.

Happy Birthday little man. We LOVE you!

2011-02-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. I don't have very many pictures to document Christmas Day....or Christmas vacation for that matter. Hopefully that means that I was too busy having fun and enjoying the moment to be bothered with my camera. And really, I think that was just the case.

I did, however, manage to take the annual "what-did-you-get-for-Christmas" picture of the kids next to their stash.

Meagan, 10 years

Not sure what her 'favorite' was, but she really did love everything.

Lindsay, 8 years

The Justin Beiber doll was her favorite...and the Justin Beiber CD. Heaven. She was so excited when she opened the gift. At first, she could tell it was a doll, but didn't realize 'who' it was, but when she did.....squeals of delight and a super huge smile! The perfect reaction!

Ellie, 2 1/2 years

Tanner, 2 days shy of being 5 years old

I thought for sure the Nintendo DS would be his favorite, but he really liked everything.

I have to say Christmas was so much fun and super relaxing. We (Brad and I) decided to stay at home Christmas Day this year. We could visit family another day, but we were staying put. We welcomed anyone who wanted to come our way with open arms. We stayed in our jammies all day, watched 3 movies (Toy Story 3, Shrek 4, and Despicable Me), ate too much candy and chocolate, napped, played Wii, and spent quality time together. Awesome. Brad's parents made their annual trek of visiting their kids' and stayed for a couple hours. It was nice to visit and spend time with them. I think we even got Grandpa to play Wii. My parents were planning on coming up, but my mom got sick. Like she stayed in bed all day sick. Not characteristic of my mom, so I knew she was sick. :( So we opted for visiting on the phone several times. The day (and morning) was just as magical as I hoped it would be!

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-02-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

What a fun day! It started out with a surprise too! As we were getting ready for the day I heard a knock at the door and the kids answered it. The next thing I hear is "HO HO HO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I hurried downstairs to see Santa standing in our front room! How fun! Lindsay was just getting out of the shower, but still made it down in time to get a picture with him. Santa stayed for a few minutes, told my kids that they'd been good this year, and then he gave them a candy cane from his bag. What a great surprise! Thanks Santa for taking the time to visit us on Christmas Eve!

Ellie still tells everyone when asked what Santa gave her for Christmas this year....."a candycane." Because he did!

After our visit with Santa, we headed to my parents house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. Oh so yummy. Ham, rolls, baked beans, a bazillion yummy salads, shrimp, oh delicious! It's always fun to get together with family. And this year, there were lots of them. My parents, Callie and Brian and Olivia, Aimee and Brennen and Kaylee, my Grandma and Grandpa, Sherri and Bruce, Justin, Grandma Merrell, Jennifer and Johnny and kids, and Angie and Nate and kids...and us. Phew! But we still wished a happy Hawaiian family and a few California residents could have been there too. Next year Cami, Brian, Tyler, Suzanne....and kiddos!

It's a tradition to get new jammies on Christmas Eve...and then of course you have to get a picture. Baby Liv was eating at the moment, and missed this photo op, and then we forgot to get another one later. This picture cracks me up....get a load of Ellie's face! lol.

Lindsay, Ellie, Meagan, and Tanner.....love these kids!

After dinner, we put together an impromptu Nativity. Jennifer supplied the amazing costumes. Thanks! Johnny was the Narrator and I played the piano for a couple songs. I'm not exactly sure who ended up with what parts, but everyone got to dress up.

Cute Liv...the free range cow! :) A "must" in every respectable Nativity.

The night eventually had to end.....and off we went, back to Morgan, to get ready for Santa!...

Temple Square Lights

2011-01-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

I think I've put this off long enough. I just need to get it done. So here it goes.

During the month of December, we went to Temple Square to see the lights for FHE. We met the Fuller Family and my parents in Ogden and rode Front Runner down to SLC. The kids were really excited that they got to ride a train. Tanner was so cute when we pulled up to the station and saw the train. He got a huge smile on his face and Ellie started clapping her hands and squealing.

Lindsay, Tanner, Ellie, Grandpa

Brennen, Aimee, Kaylee, Meagan, Grandma

We packed snacks and drinks for the ride down. I'm hoping this is a tradition that we do every year. We did it last year too, but this year the weather was soooooo much warmer!

Brad and Ellie

This picture is one of my favorite memories of the night. My Dad playing Go Fish with Lindsay and Tanner......without cards. Tanner absolutely loved it!

Grandma and Ellie

Brad and Tanner

A highlight for Ellie: riding the escalator

Getting a little restless waiting for TRAX to take us back to the FrontRunner station.

LOL! I just had to put this pic in. My fam is awesome!

Deep Thoughts by Ellie aka Jack Handey

2011-01-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

Oh my 2 year old and her imagination. ha ha.

A little background: Ellie is really into Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty and watches these movies often. Her conversations (this one included) usually end up with a mixture of all 3 stories.

This afternoon while eating her yogurt at the table:

Ellie: "Mom, the bad guy comes up and gets in the door, and she locks it."

Me: feigning surprise and great interest, "OH NO!" "REALLY!"

Ellie: "Yes! And the bad guy has a sword (sounds like the word 'so' with a 'd' on the end) and he fights the dragon. Seriously Mom!" (yes, she actually said the word 'seriously'...and has a look of total sincerity and seriousness on her face)

Me: "Oh my goodness!"

Ellie: "Jesus doesn't like it when he (the bad guy, I'm guessing) kills in the face."

Me: "Probably not. Does the bad guy kill in the face?" trying to get some clarity on the story now.

Ellie: "Yes he does. He kills in the face. Jesus says that's not nice."

Me: "You're right. We need to be nice."

Ellie: "Yes, Jesus wants us to be nice."

So there you have it guys. Jesus says be nice! And no killing in the face.

figured out

2011-01-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ellie's had a "quirk" of late that has left me a bit frustrated and exhausted.

She changes her clothes on average.....5 times a day!

Not a big deal?

Not at first.

But after a few weeks of cleaning up a million pairs of pants, shirts, and panties, I was getting annoyed with the whole thing.

Today I found out why she does this.

Our conversation went like this:

Ellie: Mom, can I change my clothes?

Me: No.

Ellie: Mom, can I change my clothes?

Me: No Ellie. You are already dressed.

Ellie: But they're dying.

Me: What?

Ellie: My clothes are dying and I need to get them out.

What do you say to that?

Have a happy 1-11-11!

holiday tips to live by...

2010-12-14T14:26:00.002-07:00

I got this in an email today and haven't stopped laughing since. I thought I'd share and brighten your day too. Enjoy!!! Seriously, you're gonna love it.

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

#1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving chocolate.

#2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

#3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

#4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

#5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

#6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog..

#7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

#8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

#9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

#10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and cake in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Merry Christmas and Happy Eating!!!

(Thanks for the email Uncle Brent)

change

2010-12-11T21:31:00.001-07:00

Big changes at our house. We FINALLY got bunk beds for the girls. They have been waiting for almost 2 months but it was worth the wait. They were sooooo excited as we set them up.

We took the crib down this afternoon and Ellie will get the double bed the girls were sleeping in. She looks so tiny in that big bed! When I told her we were going to get her a big girl bed, her whole face lit up. Big eyes, big smile and she started jumping up and down. I guess she was ready?!

Good change for Ellie, but a little harder for the girls. Let me explain. About 20 minutes after they'd gone to bed, Lindsay and Meagan came up to our room. Lindsay spoke up and said, "Mom, Meagan is crying because she misses having me in the bed with her." Ahhhh. They really do love one another. I gave Meagan a big hug and told her that I knew how she felt......change is hard for me too.

And to think we were going to give Ellie and Lindsay the bunk beds and Meagan her own room?!

festive

2010-12-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

I like seeing what other people's homes look like all decorated. Whether it's all fancied up for Christmas or just the regular everyday stuff, I like to sneek a peek.

This is the first year I've had my own tree. At least I feel like it's all mine. :) I wish I had about triple the amount of ornaments and a ton more ribbon, but oh well, that's what the day-after-Christmas sales are for, right?

I sewed the Nativity pillows a couple of years ago at a Super Saturday, and they're still one of my favorite decorations to put out.

I love my stockings too. I love how the sequins twinkle in the light of the Christmas tree when its nighttime and the tree lights are the only lights on.

And I couldn't forget my growing collection of Christmas books and adorable snowmen.

My rod iron decoration makes a perfect Christmas card holder. By the end of the month it looks so fun with cards and pictures from our loved ones and friends. And the cute snowmen dishes that I bought a couple of years ago.

And I couldn't leave out the family tree. This tree has no theme to it, just random decorations that we've collected as the years have passed. I couldn't get my camera to focus on it, and not the mess behind it. This tree is freshly cut down from up in Bear Lake. This year Brad had to hike through hip deep...and sometimes waist deep snow, and FREEZING cold temps, to bring us back this beauty. We thought at first it was going to be a bit on the "charlie brown" side, but it turned out really pretty and full. Not to mention it makes the basement smell so delicious!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Cherry Pie

2010-11-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

Not the Cherry Pie you were thinking....am I right?

This morning I was taking Tanner to preschool and turned on the radio. Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" was on so we listened to it and I sang along. I like a little Bon Jovi now and again, but it certainly isn't our usual listening repertoire (and yes, I had to look that word up in the dictionary). By the time we arrived at school, the song was still playing but I got out to walk Tanner in. When I came back to the car Bon Jovi was over and Poison's "She's My Cherry Pie" was on. A bit too much "rock" for my taste, so I turned the station. Next thing I know Ellie is telling me from the back, "other song Mom, turn it back!" So I turned it back and we listened until the song was over. Ellie then said, "That's a good song Mom."

Oh dear. Should I worry?

She's my Cherry Pie

Halloween weekend

2010-11-02T14:38:00.004-06:00

It's no big secret at our house that Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday. The costume dilema alone is enough to call it quits for me. Call me Scrooge (or the halloween equivalent) but it's never been my favorite. Even when I was younger, I didn't really like dressing up and walking around outside in the dark. Sure, I loved getting candy, but it was usually freezing, and I don't like having people jump out of nowhere just to scare me and see my reaction.

I make weird faces when someone jumps out and scares me.......have I mentioned I'm a bit vain?

In the neighborhood that I grew up in our neighbor would dress up as the Headless Horseman every year. We're talking real, authentic looking costume here. Every Halloween night, he would ride his horse around the neighborhood streets. IT WAS TERRIFYING! Seriously so so soooooo scary!!!! I always wanted to be done trick-or-treating, home, safe and sound by the time he started doing that.

So anyway, I'm a bit of a debbie-downer when it comes to Halloween.

BUT, my dear, sweet mom has saved just about all the dance costumes from me and my 3 sisters years of dance! That's like 15 years worth of costumes! It is "dress-up heaven" at her house! The kids inevitably find something amazing to dress up in, and wwwhala! ...instant costumes! Easy for me and the kids are happy. 2 birds. 1 stone. This year we have:

Meagan: Joker

Lindsay: Pocahontas

Tanner: Pirate

Ellie: Cheerleader

Kaylee, my niece: Ladybug

It was rough getting everyone to look and smile at the same time!

My sister Aimee and her family have come up to Morgan the last couple of years to do the Business Trick-or-Treat with my kids. Its kinda tradition now. We love having them up! That was Friday afternoon. The weather was perfect! Not even a jacket needed.

Saturday was the 3A State Volleyball Tournament in Orem. We love our Lady Trojans! So we went to cheer and support and came home the State Champions!! Yahoo! The game got over about 7ish, so we took the kids trick-or-treating to a random neighborhood in Orem. What nice people we met! I kind of felt silly going to people's houses that we didn't know, but we promised the kids that if they'd come to the volleyball game, we'd take them trick-or-treating. So that's what we did.

Later that night, we met the Volleyball team as they were coming in to town. Firetrucks, police cars, and a HUGE line of cars paraded into town with horns honking and lights flashing! It was so much fun! I love our small town spirit and commraderie!!!

Sunday morning came a bit early, but we did make it to church on time. :) And after church......yum, our traditional Halloween dinner! Pizza dip in a Pumpkin with breadsticks and Orange Halloween drink! I started doing this about 6 or 7 years ago, and we love it! The picture isn't the greatest, but trust me, its delicious!

Just in case you want the recipes:
Pizza Dip in a Pumpkin
1 small pumpkin (about 2 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1 TBSP butter
2 1/2 cups pizza sauce (or marinara sauce)
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup ham or pepperoni (chopped)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
*Breadsticks

Scoop out pumpkin; put lid on; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

In saucepan saute onion and green pepper in butter. Stir in pizza sauce, mozarella cheese, ham or pepperoni, parmesan cheese, and Italian Seasoning. Heat through until cheese is melted. Pour into hot pumpkin. (The pumpkin doesn't change the flavor of the sauce, it just keeps it warm and looks really cute).

Orange Halloween Drink
1 can (46 oz) pineapple juice, chilled
3 cups Sprite
3 cups orange drink (I usually use Koolaid)
2 Liters GingerAle, chilled
1/2 gallon Orange Sherbet
*Mix the liquids together and serve with Orange Sherbet.....rootbeer float style!

Hope your Halloween was fun.

More fun than scary! :)

Things I've learned...in the last week or two

2010-10-27T10:24:00.004-06:00

Throw up STINKS! At all hours of the night and day.

Technically I didn't just learn this....my knowledge of it was greatly reinforced.
Ran into the grocery story to grab 7-Up and a DVD rental for my sick boy....and didn't realize that I'd left the car running in the parking lot.
Nice going. I should have left a note saying....Free Car for the taking!
I love soup. All kinds. It's comfort food.

Yesterday Brad reached into the trunk of the car to get something and the lid came down and bumped his head. ouch. Then he slammed the trunk in retalliation....but shut his finger in it. double ouch, but kinda funny.

Carving pumpkins is NOT an appropriate child's activity.

Who thought that giving a kid a knife and telling them to cut away on something where they could slit their wrists was ever a good idea.

No injuries at our house, just a basket-case mom and dad.

The jack-o-lanterns turned out cute.....and scary. Tanner definitely wanted scary.
It's time to vacuum out the couch in the basement again.
A couple days ago Ellie came up from the basement saying, "Marshmallows. Yummy."
.....I haven't given her marshmallows for about a week.
Gross.
We've been listening to Christmas music for over 2 weeks now.

Super excited for the holidays.

The snow can stay until Christmas, but come January, I'M DONE!

I usually don't like surprises, but I make a BIG exception when that surprise includes my sister and neice visiting from Hawaii.

The Witches at Gardner Village are adorable.

Speaking of "adorable", Tanner randomly said the other day, "Mom, when I was a baby I was 'dorable.'" That made me smile.

I haven't been very good at using my camera lately. I don't have one picture of my sister when she was visiting.

Fall soccer is over, and I'm kinda bummed.

Glad to have my Saturday mornings back, but sad because I really enjoyed watching the kids.
Tanner and Ellie have control issues with one another.
Everything is a competition for them....who gets up the stairs first, who finishes lunch first, etc.
They are always nagging at one another.
Today, in settling an argument, Tanner tells Ellie, "No you can't, because you're not the bus."
He meant "the boss"

Lindsay (8 years old) is gaga over Justin Beiber.

Like really really gaga!

My kids have good friends.

That's a relief.

I have awesome neighbors.

I love my husband.

And he loves me back.

High school basketball season is just around the corner, and I can't wait!

I'm not reading anything good right now. I need to go to the library.
Apparently sandwiches have genders.
Tanner asked for "girl (grilled) cheese" today for lunch.
Ellie promptly responded, "I want boy cheese."

I'm rambling. A lot.

Have a great Halloween!

Kaylee, Rian, Ellie, Tanner

Time flies by

2010-09-26T14:54:00.002-06:00

I'm having a "moment" this afternoon. We all have them from time to time....when you just can't believe how your kids grew up right before your eyes. I don't recall giving them permission to do that. Why can't they stay my babies forever?

I got these pictures developed on Saturday and was so excited and pleased to see that they turned out so well. After church today I went downstairs to do the annual "changing of the pictures" routine. I usually just stick the new picture in and leave the older pictures in as well.

So I sat and looked through them.

From tiny newborn babies, to toddlers with pudgy cheeks, to grade schoolers who've left all their baby fat behind and blossomed into beautiful individuals.

What?!

Oh my.

I can't take it.

My throat formed a big lump and tears gathered in my eyes as I sat and looked at my beautiful children. I think of who they've become and how proud I am of each of them. They are all so different and unique. What a blessing it is to be their mother!

Meagan, 4th grade, 10 years old (in 2 days)

Lindsay, 3rd grade, 8 years old

Tanner, preschool, 4 1/2 years old

Ellie, 2 years old

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon.....and give your babies a kiss!

preschool, soccer, and a kitty

2010-09-15T10:50:00.001-06:00

My handsome boy is going to school! Tanner loves his Teacher Nancy!

It's not very often that we get a rainbow in the morning before school starts. It was only there for a few minutes, and we were lucky to capture it.

* * *

My sister Aimee and her husband Brennen stayed over in SLC last weekend and we got to watch Kaylee! The kids had so much fun and Kaylee was sooo good! She'd get so excited with each new toy the kids brought her. When she walked into Tanner's room, she started walking in one direction towards a toy, then stop and look somewhere else, and then walk in that direction.....too many things to choose from! It was funny. I think her favorite was the kitchen.

Funny little Kaylee and her sweet attatchment to her toys.......bath toys are no exception. She held onto those the entire time we were in the bath!

Bath buddies....kinda. Two very different personalities. Ellie: very noisy and a splash king! Kaylee: dainty and content to sit and hold her toys. After a few minutes Ellie said (in a very grown up way), "I not sit by Kay-yee." oh dear. :)

* * *

Tanner's first soccer game!

He has been anxiously awaiting this day. He had his uniform, shin guards, and shoes set out the night before. In the morning he was a little upset when I put his socks OVER his shin guards.....until the girls told him that's the way they were supposed to be. (Am I already old enough to have my opinion not matter?!)

He had a huge perma-grin plastered across his face the entire game. And he giggled up and down the field with pure happiness!

And apparently at this age, it's every man for himself.....there is no teamwork.....just boys wanting to kick the ball. Brad and I laughed so hard!

Kaylee was with us and between the early morning soccer game and bright sunshine; she just couldn't last. At first she used the baby doll to shade her face......then she just gave in:

* * *

This morning I came outside to check on the kids and this is what I found:

Tanner grinning, and Ellie trying to hide...

then deciding it's not worth it to hide.....just be honest about the fact that they're playing in Daddy's car.....with the neighbors kitty!

oh, those two!!!!

Go Cougs!

2010-09-05T17:17:00.000-06:00

We have been anticipating this day for a month! BYU vs. Washington, September 4, 2010, 5pm, opening day of the 2010 football season at LaVell Edwards Stadium!

Let me back up a few years. WE LOVE BYU! Always have, always will. I grew up going to BYU games every Saturday with my parents, my brother, and our neighbors, the Davis', and two of their kids, usually Nate and Spencer. We had some pretty great times! I remember our car rides on the way to the ball game: writing notes and holding them up to the window for the car next to us, getting other BYU game-goers to honk their horns for us, typical kid stuff. Our parents seats were on the east side, and our seats (the "kids") were on the west side...no parental supervision for 3 hours.....we may or may not have gotten into trouble a time or two. Like the time our neighbor may or may not have accidentally dropped a full bottle of Coke over the top, just to see where it landed. I still remember (hypothetically of course) watching the oranged-shirt Event Staff running around and looking for "those obviously naughty, and ill-mannered kids". Ah, those were the good ol' days. But I digress. Back to the here and now.

Here we are......in all our Cougar Blue glory!

My cousin Tristan lives in Provo and comes to all the games with her friends. She sat and visited with us during the 3rd quarter. Thanks for stopping by Tristan! We love you!

Lindsay and Meagan before the game looking out over the top.

Brad's parents.....and loyal BYU fans too. (C'mon, did you really think I'd marry anyone who didn't bleed cougar blue too?)

My awesome dad and gorgeous sister Aimee

Aimee, Kaylee, and Brennen

Becoming one with the nacho cheese.....

Fun halftime show: Previous All-American quarterbacks from BYU were there to present the new Quarterback Scholarship Program along with LaVell Edwards himself. We saw (but didn't get a picture of....what was I thinking?!!!!) Gifford Nielsen, Virgil Carter, Marc Wilson, Steve Sarkisian (currently Washington's head coach), Robbie Bosco, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, and Ty Detmer. It was very cool. I guess the only thing that would've totally topped it off for me was to have The Ty Detmer Rap performed. Now that was a cool song. Yeah, I know, I'm a nerd.

Brad with his game-face on!

How have I never known about the "Cougar Tails?" Oh my, delicious! Basically a 2 foot long maple bar. Heaven! Thanks Aim for sharing!

Kaylee was inseparable with her new friends: pig and horse. :)

My little man (and major Daddy's boy) Tanner! Before the game started, we walked over to the bookstore for a looksie and found this football for Tanner. The best $9 we've ever spent! He was in heaven the entire walk back to the stadium. He wouldn't put his football down for anything...not during the football game, and not even when we got back home and went to bed....

What a fun day!

And it sure didn't hurt that BYU won!

And so it goes

2010-08-26T09:16:00.003-06:00

Back to school. Again. The girls were so excited and could hardly wait to leave the house. Meagan had a hard time getting to sleep the night before; I think it was 11:00 before she finally fell asleep! Meagan wanted to ride the bus with her friends the first day, but Lindsay wanted me to take her (thanks Linds).

The traditional "sit on the front step, first day of school" picture

Meagan, 4th grade

See how antsy she's getting with my picture taking....she's actually looking over at her friends at the bus stop.

....Lindsay, not as antsy, had time to pose :)

* * *

While walking Lindsay to her first day of 3rd grade, I let Tanner and Ellie wear their new shoes too. Tanner LOVES his new shoes. He even stopped random people in the hall to show them his new shoes.....true story.

* * *

Today, Day 2 of school for the girls, and Tanner is having a tough time with waiting 2 more weeks until his preschool starts. We made a paper chain this morning to hopefully help with the 20 times a day, "Is preschool today Mom?" I'm glad he's so excited.

The kids watched Minute to Win It last night.....this is Tanner's made up version. I found him and Ellie playing it this morning. He even does the countdown. Funny.

Happy Back to School to ya'll!

yummmmmm

2010-08-15T17:43:00.003-06:00

I love Sunday afternoons. Church is over (not that I don't love church, I do; but just that my weekly responsibility is over and I can relax), I can take a nap if I want, the kids are somewhat occupied, and if I'm really lucky, my hubby makes dinner. That's what happened today. He really outdid himself today. Steak and shrimp! Yummmmm! AND he made dessert: Huckleberry Crisp. This recipe is one of my favorites for summer (or anytime of year for that matter) - it came from my SIL Steph. Trust me, you'll love it too!

Oatmeal Crisp

3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 can pie filling (any flavor)

Spread pie filling on the bottom of a small casserole dish (8x8 size (I actually have an 11x7 that I use and it works good)). Mix oats, sugar, flour and butter together and spread on top of pie filling. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. And of course, serve it HOT with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Easy and yummy.

If you've never tried huckleberries before, they're delicious. Kind of a like a blueberry, but smaller and more ...tart. I guess. We made our own pie filling (you can use any fruit for this).
1 cup fruit (if you're doing something other than berries, like peaches, I'd probably mash some of them up and keep some of them sliced)
1 cup water
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
Put fruit, water, and sugar in a saucepan. Add a little bit of cold water to the cornstarch in a separate cup then add to the saucepan. Heat to bubbling and a thicker consistency, then remove from heat.

I know I just gave you a recipe for the pie filling, but I think we've tried the oatmeal crisp using canned fruit or even fresh fruit (like peaches) and it works good too. ......Peach Days is coming soon!

Fashion statements and Friends

2010-08-12T20:06:00.006-06:00

Don't you always scooter in your princess heels?

Ellie does!

I totally had the cutest video of her too, but I can't figure out how to get it on here. Oh well, the pictures are hilarious as it is! Love her!!!

Our super cute and super fun neighbors came over to ride with the kids!

~Meagan, Emma, Lindsay, Hyrum, Ellie, Abbie, and Tanner~

Happy Thursday Evening to ya'll!!!

A Weekend with Jessica

2010-08-12T08:12:00.004-06:00

Clear back in July we had our niece, Jessica, stay with us for a few days. She was such a joy to have and I could've kept her for a month! Thanks Melissa and Troy for letting us have her! For FHE we hiked to the M:

Lindsay and Jessie on the "M"

Cheese face!

Maybe cheese face runs in the family?!

They both look like they've done something naughty ;)
And just so my mom doesn't have a heart attack looking at this picture: NO, Tanner is not going to tumble right down the mountain, you just can't see the GENTLE, LONG slope behind him. No worries, okay?

On a different day, we stopped and got us a sno cone......delicious!

So goofy!

Thanks for staying with us Jess!!!!

Buckle up....it's a long one

2010-08-04T19:47:00.011-06:00

So I haven't posted in quite awhile....as evidenced by this ginormous post. I guess that's what summer will do to ya!

First off, the Drive-In Movie: Toy Story 3
As soon as summer started, we made chore charts for the kids. If they completed their chores for the day they could put a sticker on their chart. Once the chart was filled up our family would go and do something fun. It took about 2 weeks for them to fill up their first chart. They decided to go to the drive-in movie...just in time for Toy Story 3!

We've got a good system all figured out. Turn the back seat around, add lots of pillows and blankets, add a few camp chairs, and of course.....the treats!!!!

Passing the time while we waited for the movie to start. It took FOREVER!!!

....but everyone had fun!

* * *

A couple weeks later, the kids filled their second chore chart and decided to go to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. We picked the worst day to go I think. In my opinion, the Dinosaur Park is cool, but all you're really doing is walking around and then playing on the playground. Fun, but not super awesome. The day we went just so happened to be the day they had a big fundraiser. They had those big blow-up carnival type rides there (bounce house, slide, etc) and of course, that's much cooler than just walking around. But you had to buy a ticket for each thing. I know I'm just being cheap, but c'mon, these family outings are supposed to be realitively inexpensive. And when you've got 4 kids things add up quick; so we avoided the rides as much as possible. Meag and Linds were super good about not going on the rides, but Tanner didn't get it. Thankfully, we got there at the end of the day and they started taking things down after about 45 minutes. We ended up having a really fun time and they played forever at the playground.

Just to let you know, I edited quite a few pictures.......Meagan wanted her picture taken by just about every dinosaur in the park. :)

Lindsay

I think the slide was a little hot!

Ohhhhh Tanner. He lives with 3 sisters, what can we say.

Meagan had a great idea.....stand under this dinosaur and pretend he's going to eat you! Cute.

These pictures make me laugh every time I look at them.

Meag's face kills me....."Uh Mom, did you get the picture yet, I can't stand here much longer."

If only I could figure out how to get that prison home......only kidding! (ok, half kidding)

* * *

Doesn't Ellie look so sweet sleeping...

Oh yeah. Major tantrum. Threw every last thing out of her crib...I guess she showed me (or we'll just let her think she did) ;)

* * *

Summer Tennis Lessons

Despite what it looks like in these pictures, Lindsay really enjoyed herself.

Both girls improved quite a bit. Poor Tanner was so sad that he couldn't go too.

* * *

Bear Lake

What's a summer without going to the lake?!

The lake has gone down a bit and left behind lots of "puddles" (huge puddles I guess) separated from the lake by sand bars......a little murky, but lots lots warmer!

We always have to come back with more shells.

Eating some delicious strawberries...they were so yummy! You can kind of see the "puddle" on the far left.

This girl is cute! And full of spunk! Ellie absolutely LOVED the beach! She referred to the lake as the "big water"....in comparison to the "puddle".

Eight is GREAT!

2010-07-06T15:56:00.004-06:00

This first picture sums up Lindsay's awesome day! She smiled and glowed all day long! It was extra special because she was baptized on her birthday! July 3, 2010. She'll always remember that.

What an amazing experience her baptism was! I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. The Spirit was so incredibly strong. Because Linds was the only child getting baptized in our ward, she got to plan the entire program:

Prayers: Callie (Aunt) and Grandpa Christensen (my Dad)

Pianist: Grandma Matthews

Chorister: Stephanie (Aunt)

Musical Number: Lindsay and Meagan "I Know That Jesus Lives"

Baptism talk: Brennen (Uncle)

Holy Ghost talk: Austin (cousin)

Each and every part of the program was amazing. Brennen gave the most incredible talk and he spoke right to Lindsay. It really touched my heart. Meagan and Lindsay's musical number was so sweet and pure. A testimony for sure. And Austin's talk on the Holy Ghost was so heartfelt.....he's going to be an awesome missionary (in just a few months)! Brad did such a great job with the baptism and confirmation. He is my spiritual rock! I'm so lucky to have him! Lindsay was so cute when she came out of the water. Her smile was huge! The bishop even commented on the strong spirit that was felt there. I know it was because of the awesome families that we're a part of. We have such great examples to look up to! I'm so blessed to have come from such an amazing family and so lucky to have married into an equally amazing family. I love you all!

I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of everyone at the baptism, but at least I had my sister snap one of our family.

After a delicious lunch we had a birthday party for Linds!

Her reaction to seeing her new bike!

I tried to make a red, white, and blue cake, but the huckleberries were more purple than blue. Oh well, it was delicious anyway.

Before it was time to say goodbye, I grabbed a snapshot of my family members who were able to be at the baptism....minus my Grandma and Grandpa Sherratt who had already left.

We got to keep Michael and Heidi's family with us a little longer that evening. They stayed and watched the Morgan fireworks with us!

Meagan, Lindsay, Holden, and Jessica (she got to stay with us for a couple more days:) )

Brad, Michael, and Heidi

What an awesome day for a truly awesome girl! We love you Lindsay and we're so proud of you!!!

Logan Fireworks

2010-07-06T15:11:00.004-06:00

After a 7 year absence we finally made it back to the Logan Fireworks. I LOVE the 4th of July fireworks; always have! We made it a family get-together and celebrated with the Matthews and Arnells. My sister-in-law Steph set out blankets to save our spot earlier in the day, so we had prime viewing and a great escape route. For those of you who have been to the fireworks before you know the advantages of getting out before the crowd. ;) We brought dinner and snacks to eat while we waited. The kids spent their time running around with cousins and picking up a gazillion pinecones. I'm sure the USU grounds crew appreciated them! Everyone enjoyed watching the fireworks and Ellie screamed with pleasure! She was a hoot.

Mom, Dad, and Brad smiling for the camera; and Ellie....going back for another cookie!

Tanner was in heaven with so many boys to play with!

Lindsay and Ellie

Just a few of my adorable nephews :) Austin, Cody, and Matt (holding Tanner)

Ellie, usually so shy (let's be honest...grumpy), with her cousins, had a few rare moments and decided to hand out a few...actually, a LOT, of kisses to Matt!

Jessica and Meagan being silly

You can just barely see the beginnings of the black eye he got while running around in the dark....and ran into another cousin...go figure.

My camera has a "Fireworks" setting, so I tried it out:

During the finale we just sat there with big smiles on our faces! Who doesn't love fireworks?! They're so cool. Happy Birthday America!

Hawaii Part III

2010-06-25T13:38:00.008-06:00

My sister Cami lives on the Big Island and had everything mapped out for our vacation. She made all the arrangements and knew all the places to go and things we'd want to do while we were there. Thanks to her we didn't miss out on anything and we have no regrets for things we didn't get to do. Mwah! For example.....she knew we'd want to hit this beach:

Mauna Kea

It is ranked as one of the top 10 beaches in the world and it did not disappoint! It's a public beach, but the parking is limited, so if you don't get a space, you don't get to go. We were extremely lucky and got the last 2 spaces! Because of its limited parking space, there aren't a million people there either. The sand is powder soft and the water is almost bathwater warm. It's in a little cove that protects it so the waves are relatively calm and its great for snorkeling too. Isn't it gorgeous? :)

There was even lots of shady spots which made it all the better!

There is a reef right by those rocks and there are so many colorful fishes.....just like Finding Nemo! :) This is where I tried snorkeling for the first time in my life! At first the breathing tube made me gag, but then I got used to it and absolutely loved it!

I snorkeled right next to this little guy (or maybe it was a brother). Actually he was pretty big. It was incredible!

* * *

LuauAll the "wahines" got these flower leis as we arrived. The food was delicious and the entertainment was fabulous too! Right when you get to your seat, they have taro chips out for you to snack on.....best things ever! I wish I could find them over here. I also wish I'd taken more pictures of my family. I should've just stolen their pics from their blogs, but that takes too much effort.....ya, I know, I'm lazy.

I got alot of video at the luau (which I can never get loaded onto blogger correctly, so sorry for all you who wanted to see the action) but not many pictures.

* * *

Kona Temple and Fairwind II Snorkel Tour On our way to our snorkel tour, we stopped and took pictures at the temple. It was beautiful. And like most LDS places, we met someone who knew someone and chatted for a bit. Kinda cool.

Kealakekua Bay

We rode out (or ferried out) about 45 minutes to Kealakekua Bay. It is a perfect spot for snorkeling. The water was a bit cold (actually it was surprisingly freezing, but just like Bear Lake, once you get in, you eventually get used to it). The boat we were on is the only boat licensed to anchor is this bay.

Aboard the Fairwind II. It is a catamaran and when it's anchored, there are 2 slides and a diving board. We had so much fun going down the slides (me, Callie, Aimee, and Tyler). Who says slides are for kids.....we're just a little bigger.

Don't ask what I'm doing.....I'm not even sure myself. :o

Suzanne and Tyler

Captain Cook's monument. He was the first European to arrive in Hawaii in the late 1700s (or they called it the Sandwich Islands).

Hawaii Part II

2010-06-24T22:11:00.006-06:00

I may or may not have mentioned that we went to the Big Island of Hawaii......Hawaii. It was a Christmas present from my parents to all their kids.....THANK YOU! We flew into Kona on the west side of the island. Everything is very dry and not at all what you'd picture Hawaii to be like. But its beautiful in its own way. There are old lava flows everywhere, the mountains are gorgeous, and the beaches are amazing. This post I'm going to focus on the resort we stayed at....the Hilton Waikoloa. Awesome!

The resort had a man-made beach area that connected to the ocean so we tried our hand at snorkeling. It was a little murky, but we still had fun.

My husband the jokester.......nice pose! Brian Daniels and Brennen are behind us.

Me and Cami trying it out with Rian in the middle.....we quickly went back to shore. :)

Beautiful Hawaiian sunrise. With the 4 hour time change we were easily awake by 5:30 or so in the morning.....but dead on our feet by 9:30 at night!

The view from our room

I took this picture from the inside of our rental van.......ha ha ha, the jokes on you guys that said I couldn't get a decent picture while driving! So there. :)

These are old lava flows that cover both sides of the roadways and go on for miles. So cool!!

Rian, my niece, being super funny in the car. She'd do crazy things so I'd take a picture, and then she'd want to see what she looked like in the camera. I miss her!

Our roomies: Brennen and Aimee

We had so much fun with them in our room. Believe it or not, we were so tired at the end of the day, we never once stayed up to talk or play games. Whodathunk?

More of the view from our room. Also the place were we snorkeled and rode the bike things (no idea what they were really called). If you look closely at the top of the picture is where the ocean feeds into the resort.

Our first morning there....and on our way to the BEST breakfast bar you'll ever eat at! Seriously, so delicious! The flower I've so stylishly added to my ensamble....plumeria. The scent that reminds you of Hawaii......mmmmm, yum!!!!

The black stuff is lava rock and the white stuff is coral. The two yayhoos in the pic....don't know about them ;)

Can you believe this resort......gorgeous! I never got a picture of the pool, but it was enormous. It had a couple waterfalls in it and a waterslide too....it was fun:) You're never too old right?

"Under" the waterfall

* * *

Can't wait to show you the beach and our snorkel tour!...

Hawaii Part I

2010-06-24T20:09:00.008-06:00

We're back. We had a FANTASTIC time and wish we were still there, but reality hits and life sets in. We missed the kids (surprised?) and we were glad to kiss and hug them. The phone calls home everyday made us really appreciate the sweet kids that they are. There will be a few Hawaii posts (after all, I took almost 200 pictures in 5 days!) and in no particular order, here we go.....

Akaka Falls

This post is the "Sunday" of our trip. We started off with church in Waimea, not too far away from our resort in Kona. What an awesome ward! It was fast and testimony meeting and the spirit there was so amazing! This picture is of my Dad and Brad in the parking lot waiting to change clothes and hike to Akaka Falls.

You can kinda see the waterfall behind us and it's more gorgeous up close!

See, I told ya! It's so hard to capture with a camera what you see with your eyes. That is a 420 foot fall! Crazy!

I love this picture! Aimee, me, Tyler, Cami, and Callie
Don't I have the cutest siblings?! :)

Looking east towards the ocean in the parking lot at Akaka Falls

* * *

Kilauea Crater

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Much to our dismay, we saw no eruption. :)

The steam vents and two random girls. Yes, the steam is very hot!

Part of the crew. Some stayed back at Cami's place in Hilo while the rest of us went to the volcano and lava tube.

Coming back out of the lava tube. FYI: a lava tube is formed when lava flows down the mountain and the top cools and forms a tunnel for the still-flowing lava. When the lava ceases to flow, the tube empties out, and ta-da....a lava tube. Very cool.

On our hike back up the trail at the lava tubes. This place is beautiful. I think this is where my Dad hid behind one tree and scared (or tried to scare) the rest of our group coming up. :) C'mon, our day wouldn't be complete without some Christensen humor!

More still to come....