Discovered Treasures.....

You know how exciting it is when you discover money in a purse that you havent used in a long time...or in the dryer....? Well, I made a discovery not too long ago but it wasnt money, it was better. It was a roll of undeveloped film. I havent used a 'film' camera in a while so I couldnt imagine what I might find when I had it developed. Today I found out and here are the little gems I discovered.....

Addie kept saying....."where me? where me? " ... she couldnt understand why she wasnt in any of the pictures. Evan was only 2 and Ian was 4 in these pics! So much fun....

Exciting News for Vanessa...

Two things that I am so very excited about....

1. I have enrolled to sing with We Also Sing again...this is the choir that I sang with in the Tabernacle last year. We get to sing this year on the night that they light Temple Square with all the Christmas lights, which also means we get to sing Christmas music this year!! I can hardly wait until September to start singing again.

2. I have been officially admitted to the University of Utah for school this Fall. This is scary and exciting at the same time....I have to have an orientation first and then I can register for my classes!

Just wanted to share my news with everyone....have a GREAT day!

Our Fathers Day Weekend.....

OK, I didn't get a tribute in time for Fathers Day so I will just a few things here. First of all Denver is a wonderful father to our children. He loves them so much and does everything he can for them. I am thankful for the love and devotion that he shows to them and for putting them first.

Second, my own dad.....I love him so much and wish that we could live closer to him. He is always there to offer support and advice and he is a wonderful Grandpa to my kids, love you Dad. Last, but certainly not least is my father in law Don who is missed every day. This man loved everything about family and was happiest when everyone was around him. He has left a big hole in our hearts and we look forward to seeing him again one day.

Now, for Fathers Day this year Denver's wish was to go fishing in Idaho. He wanted to go back to a private pond that he had fished at earlier this year. We got permission and that was that. We left Saturday morning and traveled 3 hours to Twin Falls, Idaho. The pond was another 20 minutes or so outside of Twin Falls in a little town called Hagerman. The whole drive up there it rained and rained and I thought for sure we were going to have to wait to fish on Sunday. However, once we got to the pond it had stopped and we didn't get rained on! What we did do was catch a whole lotta fish! I had forgotten how much fun it is to actually catch fish! The boys had so much fun. This was their first experience catching their own fish and they were beside themselves.....All 3 of the boys were a little timid at first with touching the fish or holding them. By the end of the day Alec was unhooking his own fish like a pro. Ian and Evan....still a little timid but did agree to at least touch the fish! We fished for about 3 hours and probably caught about 50 fish between us all.

We finally left and headed back to Twin Falls to check into our hotel and grab lunch. I have to say that my experience with Idaho up until this weekend had been limited to Preston, Idaho and the quick drive thru we made in college on our way to Jackson Hole. I must say I have gained a new appreciation for this state. It is absolutely beautiful. We stopped at the Snake River Gorge visitor center and took some great pictures. We even were able to witness 3 men "base jump" off of the Perrine bridge that crosses the gorge. Scary stuff but very cool....I got video of it that I posted at the bottom of the post. After the gorge, we made our way to Shoshone Falls.....the "Niagara Falls of the West". Amazingly beautiful...pictures don't do it justice! As we were coming into Twin Falls, I noticed a huge white church in the distance. I told Denver to look at it because it almost looked like an LDS Temple....by accident, on the way back from the falls, we stumbled upon the building and lo and behold, it was indeed an LDS Temple. Who knew!? I didn't realize they had one in Twin Falls. The grounds were closed for maintenance unfortunately so I just took a picture of the outside front. It was really pretty.

We also realized why they call it Twin Falls, everywhere we looked there were waterfalls coming out of the walls of the gorge. It was so beautiful.....

We went back to the hotel so the kids could swim. Actually all of us swam despite the chilly water temperature. It seems to me that Idaho ought to have heated pools....I'm just sayin. After dinner we called it a day and slept, rather uncomfortably in our queen sized hotel bed. I have come to really appreciate my comfy California king sized bed!! Sunday we checked out and were supposed to go on home but decided to head back to the pond for a little more fishing. It was so much fun and this time we kept about 15 fish....we caught another 50 fish and ended up staying a lot longer than planned. If a huge windy storm had not blown in, we might just still be there! It was a really fun weekend and I would love to go back and see more. I think Denver really enjoyed his Fathers Day weekend and the boys have certainly gained a new love for fishing...... Hope you all had a wonderful Fathers Day too! Here is our slideshow of pictures and below that are 2 videos to watch!!

Here is Evan catching his first fish of the day......





Here is video of one of the crazy jumpers!!!

Weekend Update....

Ok, I know Fathers Day has passed with no post but I am working on it. We had a pretty full weekend and I tool A LOT of pictures! I will be working on the post with the slideshow all day today....stay tuned.

Quote to Live By.....

"Today is a new day to recommit to your goals. Think about how you have worked hard to reach your goals and how you deserve to reach them. Don’t be the obstacle in your own way, don’t allow yourself to be. Be the best you can be. Live healthy every day."

- Lora Heyl Erickson

This is going to be my new mantra....something I repeat to myself every day when I look in the mirror. In my daily quest to become a healthier, thinner individual I often browse other websites and blogs for inspiration. Today I read an article on one of my favorite sites, The Blonde Runner, about "self sabotage" and it really hit home. I have always known that for me, it has never been about lack of will power but more about fear, when I eat something that I know I shouldn't. I'm still not sure exactly what it is that I am afraid of when I binge or eat things that I know are harming my body, but I do know that everyday it is getting easier for me to make the right choices. Whatever the fear is that has been keeping me from being the person that I know I am, it is subsiding and I am conquering it one day at a time. Here is the link to this article....maybe it will be inspirational for you too.

http://blonderunner.com/2009/06/17/self-sabotagewhy-do-we-do-it/

Weekend Adventures.....

We have had another busy weekend in spite of the continuing rain. I cant remember a time when we've had this much rain. The storms have been spectacular too....lightening, thunder, and massive downpours. Cool, but starting to get old.
Thurday night was a movie night....at home. We went to Blockbuster and rented some DVD's and stocked up on treats. We popped popcorn in the air popper and watched the movie Bedtime Stories. It was a cute family flick and everyone enjoyed it. We also rented Marley and Me which we are going to watch tomorrow.

Friday night we attended a BBQ put on by our churches Elders Quorum. It was fun to hang out and let the kids play....and it didnt even rain during the event which was a shock! Saturday morning I got up to weigh and go to my daily workout with my trainer. Our scale has been on the fritz lately and we havent been able to get a consistent reading so I had purchased a new one on Thursday. I waited until Saturday to weigh though....happy day, I lost another 5 pounds! This made going to my workout much easier that is for sure. I hope this success continues so that I can make it to my goal weight by April of next year! So far I have lost 9 pounds in 3 weeks..

After I got home we went swimming with the kids....nothing like deflating the recent weight loss excitement by putting on a swimsuit. LOL! The place we went was an indoor pool with a waterslide. The walls are all pexiglass so you can see outside and what a storm we were having while swimming! It was crazy. Both me and Denver got brave and went down the waterslide which in spite of its timid appearance was actually very FAST! It was so much fun.... We were hoping to go to a brand new water park that just opened however, because of all the storms I didnt feel like wasting the $50 it would end up costing and then get rained out. This would have to do for now.....

Once home from the swimming we got all dressed up to attend a tour of the newest LDS Temple which is in West Jordan. Its called the Oquirrh Hills Temple and it was beautiful. It was especially exciting for the kids to go inside an actual temple. Ian thought that we were going to be getting sealed that very night....he was a little disappointed to say the least but understood that we will be doing that in the 'not too far' future.

Evan blurted out at the baptismal font that when he turns 8 he wants to get baptized right there in that temple! And then Addison piped in during the video presentation that she thought the temple looked like Grandpa's house....! All in all it was a fairly entertaining couple of hours.

Afterward we drove up to the Draper Temple which was only dedicated a few months ago. It was dark by this time and another storm was coming in so the sky was looking quite surreal. This is the picture I took and I promise I did not photo shop the sky!! So pretty!

We have made reservations at a hotel in Twin Falls, Idaho for this coming weekend. We are going to go fishing....and then stay the night and explore the Snake River area. Everyone is pretty excited as we rarely ever take any kind of vacation involving hotels. I love using Priceline.com! You can use their "name your own price" feature and basically tell them what you are willing to pay and then they will possibly approve it. If they cant accept your price, they will tell you the cheapest they can offer it and give you the chance to take it. We got our room at a 3 star hotel (The Red Lion) for $55.....not too shabby! We have saved a lot of money on airfare too! Its always worth trying. Here are a couple of extra pictures I took on my phone...not great quality but still fun.

The Payoff.....

This is what you get after 5 days of rain........BeaUtifuL!!

Summertime Blues....

Its only the 3rd day with the kids being home for the Summer and Im already feeling the "crazies" coming on. I went from having 2 kids in the house all day (Soren and Addie) to having 5 kids in the house. And thanks to the constant rain that we have had for the past 5 days, we are all going stir crazy because the boys cant go outside! Help!

Ive been meaning to post this little note that Evan received from his friend at school. I thought it was so cute and it reminded me of a time when Friends were such an important part of my world too. Friends are so important to Evan....something like this will make his whole year and on the other hand, a "not-so-nice" comment from a supposed friend will crush him. He craves positive attention from his friends.....but then who doesnt?

Evan brought home his report card on Tuesday. At this age, grades seem to be pretty general. There isnt much to focus on unless your child is just wild and doesnt do anything. However, the tests that they administer on a national level are a good indicator of how your child is doing in comparison to other children in the same grade around the country. Its always comforting to know that your child is right on track. Evan's Dibels test scores were awesome! This tests their reading abilities. By the end of his 1st grade year the score necessary to be "on track" with his first grade peers should be a 40...Evan scored a 74!~ His teacher marked him as an advanced reader in his class. Im so happy to know that my love of reading has possibly rubbed off onto my 2 boys. They may change their minds later and decide that reading is no fun, but for now they both seem to enjoy it and are quite good at it.

Here are a couple of cute pictures that Evans teacher took during the year. Im so proud of Evan....he is a good student and a good friend and he enjoys school. For now anyway.....

Look at Me Now......

I just cant believe the luck I am having! Maybe I should play the lottery....oh wait, we dont have a lottery in Utah. Bummer. I guess I will just stick to my favorite website Fabulous Fun Finds because I have won Again! This time I won these cute personalized notecards.... they come from the estsy shop The English Pea. Very cute stuff..... The pack that I won was the "transportation" pack and it is more boy oriented so, I chose to put my nephews name on the cards. Soren, you'll have some really cute notecards to send to your friends once you get old enough to write them a note!!

Fat Cats Fun.....

We went to Fat Cats today. This is a bowling alley/arcade.....like Chuck E Cheese but better. They have a great family deal that includes bowling for 6, shoe rental, and pizza-breadsticks-pop for everyone. You cant go wrong with it. The kids had great fun bowling and then playing the games afterward....even mom and dad got in on the action. We wont talk about my sad little bowling score but I did win a lot of tickets on the games and was able to help get the kids some cool little prizes. Here are a few pics from the day including Addisons victory shout after hitting more than one pin on her "roll"....

Congratulations Jason & Amanda.....

Yesterday we received news that our new niece has arrived! Denver's brother Jason and his wife Amanda had their baby girl at approximately 1:00pm Kentucky time. She was 6 pounds 15 ounces and I believe they said 20 inches long..... She has been named Meredith Rae Shannon, the Rae coming from Denver's father "Donald Ray". We hear that she is beautiful and hope to be graced with some pictures eventually...... This is Jason's first child although he is a great "dad" already to Amandas little girl Ashley which she had previous to meeting Jason. Im sure Ashley is excited to have a new little sister! Congrats again everyone.

Not Quite The End....and an Update....

Well, embarassingly I found out that today was not Evan's last day of school. I called his school to find out why no report cards were not sent home and was told that they would be sent home on the last day of school......Tuesday. Oops. Good thing I called the school I guess.....Evan doesnt agree with me on that. Ian is done though. He brought home his report card today and did fantastic, of course. I was thrilled to see his most recent national reading test. He is reading at a level 5.8 which translates to a fifth grader in his eighth month of school....basically he reads at a 6th grade level. Pretty good for a 2nd grader! The test also states that compared to the rest of the country, he scored higher than 98% of all 2nd graders tested. Way to go Ian! Im very very proud of him. I took this picture this morning on our way off to school thinking it would make a great "last day of school" picture... Oh well, close enough

So, what have we done this week? Well, poor Alec hasn't done much. With the boys at school all day and me home with Addison and Soren, he got a glimpse into our boring day to day life. He did finally venture out and walked down to a strip mall for lunch and to look around some stores. We took the kids out for dinner a couple of nights ago...nothing special, just BK and I took this pic of the boys.

Afterward we hung out in the backyard and watched them play basketball.... The nights have been so nice at 77 degrees.....too bad it cant stay that way!

Tonight we went to the movies again. This time though we split up....Denver and Alec went to see "Star Trek" in one theater and me and the little kids saw the movie "Up". A good time was had by all....both movies received great reviews. Although, I have to say that our movie was quite heavy and sad. I was surprised at the subject matter in the movie. The kids really didnt pick up on it as it was dealing with issues that are far off in the future for them. Aging with regret felt like the central theme throughout the entire movie with a splash of absentee parenting, death, and keeping promises. It did end on a happy note though thankfully. I did think it was a good movie....I was just a little surprised at its serious subject matter.

I am happy to report that our little garden is growing nicely. Our beans are doing fabulously as are our Roma Tomatoes.... the Bell Peppers and Yellow Tomatoes are coming up slowly but are definitely growing. The only plant we have yet to see any of are the Green Onions....time will tell I guess!

Addison went in to the doctor today for a follow-up appointment. Her surgeon/doctor was happy to report that the pathology report came back normal, so no cancerous cells.... her eye looks almost 100% better and he gave me some good instructions and some additional ointment that will help keep these chalazions from returning. Now, it's officially the weekend....hope you all enjoy yours as much as we are going to enjoy ours!

The Final Week....

Today is the first day of the last week of school for the boys. I am excited and dreading it at the same time. I really enjoy my "quiet time" during the day...if you can call it that with a 3 year old and an 18 month old running around. However, it will be nice not to have to get them up every morning and listen to the whining. Now if I can just figure out how to keep them entertained and off the TV all day long for 2 months!

We had a nice weekend. Addie has been pretty good considering how gross her eye looks. She has been extra cranky though. Friday afternoon I dropped the boys off at the dollar movie theater with Alec and they watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop....they said it was a good movie. I have my doubts but am glad they enjoyed it. It was a little weird for me leaving them in Alec's care....I can see how it would be nice having a teenager around more often though! Saturday we all went and saw the movie "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". Cute movie. Started out slow but was pretty entertaining after that! We loved the first one so this was fun to see the second. The kids loved it of course.... Sunday after church we went to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. We really enjoy this restaurant as it has so many good choices for the kids to eat.

I feel bad for Alec this week because the boys are gone all day and I of course have my normal day stuff going on....I fear he is going to be really bored. Too bad he cant drive yet!