More 4th....

Before I moved into student housing, we lived in my Grandma's neighborhood just down the street. We also went to her ward (church). I have missed that ward greatly since we moved and think I may go back. Every year this ward has a pancake breakfast on the 4th.

It's a pretty big deal and they encourage former members of the ward (like us) to come back and attend. We did just that. Bright and early we trudged over there for breakfast and a kiddie parade of bikes and scooters. It was a lot of fun seeing the familiar faces. It just felt like being home again... I miss going to that church.

Since we watched our fireworks early on Saturday night, I had no plans to go see any more fireworks on Monday the 4th. We decided on having a BBQ with some neighbors that we go to church with here in our apartment ward (church). Technically,fireworks are not allowed on any campus property, including family housing which I think is so lame (especially since the fire department is across the street). But I did buy some sparklers and thought we might go to the park and light them.

Our neighbor Seth had a different idea. He had bought some "baby" fireworks (smoke bombs, spinning flowers, etc) at Costco for his little kids and invited us to watch out on the basketball court.

Pretty brave considering the rules...of course someone did call campus police on him but they didn't show up until after he had finished. We walked out to the edge of the property and finished up our sparklers...

Sadly, the wind picked up and blew a chunk of sparkler onto Addison's foot.

I didn't realize just how badly she had been burned until we went inside. Kinda put a bummer on the night. But it was a nice relaxing 4th and I have to say one of my favorite holidays!

Stadium of Fire.....

For the 4th of July this year I decided to break down and buy tickets to the Stadium of Fire in Provo, Utah. It is a large production held every year at the football stadium on BYU's campus. This year the entertainment included David Archuletta and Brad Paisley. The tickets didn't come cheap but it sounded like fun and something different than our usual holiday fare. I have to say it did not disappoint! The singers were great and the fireworks were fabulous but I was the most impressed with the attention to patriotism that was paid not only to our country but to the soldiers fighting for our freedom. I can hardly hear the national anthem without crying anymore and forget trying to say the Pledge of Allegiance! We even got to see 4 F-16 fighter jets fly over the stadium. It was so awesome! Here are a few pictures of some of the fun we got to experience...

We checked into a hotel even though Provo is a short 45 minute drive because the traffic is HORRENDOUS during any special event at the stadium. I knew I wouldn't want to fight the traffic at midnight so we just got a hotel across the street from the stadium. It was super convenient and money well spent...even if the hotel left a lot to be desired.... We got there early on Saturday and the kids hit the swimming pool for a couple hours.

Here are some pictures at the stadium... David Archuletta is such a cute kid. Seriously...what a great voice and so nice. I loved him~ Brad Paisley impressed as well.

Even the kids had their toes tapping to some of his songs. Very entertaining!

The firework show was amazing. It was big and fiery and really really cool. There is a reason they call it the Stadium of Fire...I sure wouldn't have wanted to be very close to the fire explosions. We could feel them from our seats and trust me...we weren't that close!

We checked out of the hotel the next morning and just drove around Provo for a bit. It is always weird for me to go back to that town. It has a lot of great memories of college and friends...before I had to be a grown up completely....Before the bills and worries of adulthood had set in. Seems like a lifetime ago. The kids laughed at how many apartments I had actually lived in. I think I moved every 6 months....haha. Around noon we went to my friend Linda's house and had lunch and visited with her and her family for a few hours. Here are some pictures I took at the park before we hit the Tanners.

It was a great little trip and we had a lot of fun. I think we will do it again next year!~

Memorial Day...part 2

I was searching every where for the picture of Denver's dad's headstone to no avail. I only had the picture of the cemetary which I posted in the first Memorial Day post. But, the family (Stacy) took new pictures today of his headstone all decked out in UK blue....(University of Kentucky if you couldnt figure it out). He was definitely a fan! It looks great guys! Wish we could have been there to remember Don in person.....

Memorial Day....

The other day, Ian announced that he had some homework in which I was expected to participate. He was supposed to write a short paragraph on Memorial Day and it's history, meaning, etc. My part was to then "discuss" the day with him interview style. Ian asks me a question, I answer, he writes its down. I'm not sure if it's because I am getting old and sappy or if it is because I served in the military but it seems that I cant speak about anything military related without getting a big lump in my throat. It means something...serving the country that you live in. Even if you are fortunate enough, as I was, to avoid actually going to war it still means something. It certainly left an impression on me. Even though the tradition of Memorial Day has grown to incorporate remembering all of our friends and family who have passed on, honoring those that passed during service to our country is the reason this holiday exists. My Grandpa served in WWII, in the Air Force (Army Air Corp) and just recently passed away. He is buried in Arizona so I can't take him any flowers but I am sure thinking about him today....

(thanks Aunt Chrissy for sending pictures)

I have been fortunate not to have lost very many loved ones in my life. I only recently lost 3 of my Grandparents, both of my mom's parents and my dad's father. Also, my father-in-law Don passed 2 years ago. All of them are buried in other states so I can't visit their grave sites but they are definitely in my thoughts today.

The Rest of the Holiday's....

Im going to combine the rest of our Holiday into this one post...to save time and catch up quick. I was fortunate enough to watch my nephew Jude one day while Nate and Alisa went skiing. This baby is the sweetest natured child I have ever met. I had good babies...dont get me wrong...but this one is special. He seriously only cries when he is hungry and I wouldnt even call it a cry. His big blue eyes are constantly staring at me and then he breaks into this big grin and I seriously just want to eat his face.... LOVE him so much!!

While I babysat Jude, Denver took the kids sledding since we had received 6 inches of snow that previous night. They were anxious to use their new tubes. Here was Addison a few days before when we were supposed to get snow but didnt. She was highly disappointed as you can see. On a side note, here is Addison with her new Barbie Dream House all set up. She is so happy with this present....hours of playtime :)

For our family Christmas gift, Nathan and Alisa gave us a one night stay at the downtown Hilton. They wrapped the paperwork for it and the kids looked a little perplexed by the gift at the time of opening but boy did they enjoy the gift when we actually took advantage of it!

We checked in on Saturday and headed straight for the indoor pool.

Nothing like swimming in the Winter to make you really excited for Summer! After we swam we showered up and headed across the street for dinner at Macaroni Grill

and then went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights.

It was beautiful as usual but I think it is always more effective to see these during the season....once Christmas is over it's a little anti-climatic...at least for me it is. Still, despite the balmy 10 degrees outside and the frozen thumbs, we enjoyed it.

Addison was on a mission to see Jesus. She didnt want to see the lights at all...she just kept screaming that she wanted to go see Jesus. So here she is.....with Jesus!

Afterward we stopped at Starbucks for some peppermint hot cocoa and then went back to the hotel and played board games. It was a lot of fun to just get away from the house for a night. I highly recommend it :)

So now, the kids are back in school and I have to say as much as I loved the Winter break this year it is nice to get back into routines. There is something to be said about having some "quiet" time! I start back to school next week and I am nervous but excited now that I am getting into my Major classes. I will be taking a Grammar class, a Theory class, a Writing class, and a Childrens Literature class. Should be fun and busy!

As for the New Year, Im not big on making resolutions because I nearly always fail at them however, there is something to be said about setting goals and trying to move forward through life rather than sitting still. With that being said, I think this year my goal is to stop limiting myself. There is no reason I cannot accomplish all of the things that I dream about and so that is what I am going to focus on. That, and Im going to try really hard to be nicer to myself....I tend to be very self critical and I see this manifesting itself in my son Ian. As far as the other New Years resolutions, like losing weight....well, I believe that will be a lifelong battle for me and so Im just going to do my best to keep a handle on it. That's about all I can do at this point.

I hope you all have a Fabulous 2011 and that all of your dreams come true ;)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning....

My intentions were to have all of these posts done before the new year but alas, my tendency to procrastinate has prevented me from reaching that goal. Better late than never though!

Christmas Eve was awesome for 2 reasons this year:

1. I had completed all my shopping by the 2nd week of December and if
you know me, then you know what a miracle that feat alone is! It allowed for a lot more relaxation :)

2. Anticipation! I love Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day
because everything is so magical still. After Christmas morning is over,
it feels like the holidays end....I think this is why Christmas Eve is my
favorite day of the year!

Christmas Eve afternoon we gathered at Nathan's house for what has become our traditional pizza lunch/gift exchange with my brothers. It is always a great time and we love spending time with everyone. The little ones of course make it even more enjoyable. Soren wouldnt pose for my camera but he didnt mind spinning in circles for me! He is in his own world and is so much fun to watch....

Here is Jude, the youngest of the bunch getting excited over the stuffed Frog we got him. He is so cute!

We were happy that Jeff and Nicola were able to come by for a bit even though Nicola was not feeling well. It wouldnt have been the same if they hadn't come! Jeff was pretty happy about his Snowbird ski pass that he recieved!

We all LOVED the gifts we received and I am grateful to have my brothers living close by. I love this picture of them cracking up. One thing our family knows how to do well is laugh.

Later that evening, Denver flew into town for his Christmas break. He is still here as I am typing this so he was able to enjoy a nice extended break from 70 hour work weeks! He will be returning to South Carolina tomorrow and I know the kids are sure going to miss him until his next visit. We made cookies for Santa that night also, although this year I let go of my usual necessity for perfect cookies and bought pre-made dough (gasp) and pre-made frosting (double gasp) and I had the kids use sprinkles that we already had in the cupboard. Im not sure what it was but I just decided that perfect Santa cookies werent necessary and very time consuming....time was something we didnt have a lot of this year. Sadly, the pre-made dough is not intended for rolling and cutting out shapes...as you can see these blobs of sugar cookies were originally christmas trees, haha...they turned into crispy disc's instead.

Oh well. I just love the colors that the kids chose to use....pretty much every color I had in the cupboard! Im sure Santa didnt mind ;)

Of course we can't forget to mention the Christmas Eve PJ's....thanks to Momaw (Denvers mom) for providing them along with the cute accessories seen in the picture.

Addison is also wearing her Hello Kitty slippers that Grandma and Grandpa Ries (my parents) gave her. She got to open them early because she was having a PJ party on her last day of school and had been begging me for slippers to wear. Knowing that my mom had gotten some for her, I had to let her open them. Evan is obssessed with the How to Train Your Dragon movie and has watched it everyday since Thanksgiving when my parents gave him the movie as an early Christmas present. Then of course Momaw sent him a stuffed dragon from the movie and he was over the top excited.

We watched a couple of movies before bed and then proceeded to finish up Christmas Eve. I always love the tree after the presents have been laid out...its one of my favorite pictures to take.

Everything turned out perfect and I was so excited for the kids to open their gifts the next day. The biggest gift under the tree was Addison's and as you can see she was more than thrilled to see that Santa brought her the Barbie Dream House that she has begged us for week after week for the past 6 months!! I remember when I got my Barbie Dream House although I was a little older :)

And here is Ian with one of his favorite gifts... LEGO Harry Potter. I think he may have been just a titch disappointed that he didnt get more Lego sets than this one but he was overjoyed to finally get his own Nintendo Dsi so hopefully he got over it!

And last but not least is Evan with one of his favorite gifts....One thing that I love about Evan is his simplicity and the fact that if I gave him a rock, he would cherish it for life. So sweet. This is his Discovery Channel Shark Week set of DVD's. Evan loves sharks and plans on becoming a Marine Biologist when he grows up....after watching some of the DVD's with him, this mom hopes he changes his mind and picks a nice desk job!! Yikes!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

What a year this has been! Wouldn't even begin to know where to start, but the word "Change" could certainly sum it up for our family. Or maybe "School" would be more appropriate. Both words dominated our familial landscape in 2010 for sure. Two moves would certainly fit in there as well with all of us leaving our comfy house to start an adventure in Family Housing at the University (read: major downsizing). I think this move affected the parents more than the children though! Then a few months later, Denver moved to South Carolina to work for a while with Boeing. This has been difficult of course for everyone, but probably the most for him. Thankfully lots of work has helped to pass the time for him...and of course the kids and I have kept PLENTY busy. Almost to the point of exhaustion and craziness! Now the year is coming to a close with Denver being 3 classes away from his degree at the University of Phoenix and me...well....lets just say I am closer and starting to see that shimmer of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. As for the kids, well they take everything in stride of course and have been kept busy as well with Taekwondo, Soccer, Dance, Spanish Lessons, Chinese Lessons, and Scouts....oh and let's not forget school... and that was all crammed into the months of August-December! Whew. I am definitely looking forward to less of that now Winter is in full swing.

We lost some loved ones this year too... My Grandma Lloyd and our friend Jeremy as well as 3 year old Anarae Lefau a cousin from Denver's side of the family. Very sad losses all around and they will be missed dearly. I am so grateful to have knowledge of life beyond this one. To know that we will see these people again. I am also grateful for the full life that I have been given and for the many friends and family that love and surround me. My Resolution this year (well, one of them anyway) is to pay attention to the things that matter and put aside the stuff that just isn't important; the clutter that takes away my focus. I've learned that you need to keep the people you love close to you even when it's seems difficult because you never know when they might leave this life and you are left wishing you could tell them how you feel.

I think 2011 will be a great year full of even more change and I say, bring it on! I hope all of you have a Fabulous Christmas and a very Happy New Year too!!!

Thanksgiving....

I hit a breaking point in my stress level a couple of weeks ago when my car broke down. Normally I maintain my stress level pretty well and manage to wiggle through it unscathed but I think this time it got the best of me. If there is one thing I cannot do without, it is a car. We thought it was the transmission and were making plans to try and buy a new vehicle which was going to be very difficult at best. Thank heavens for miracles...it turned out to be a minor issue and it is now fixed.

Due to the car issues, I chose to rent a car to drive to Reno, Nevada for Thanksgiving. Me and the kids went to my parents' home to celebrate along with Jeff and Nicola. I am ashamed to admit it but I didn't take a solitary picture the whole weekend except this one:

I'm not sure why but I just didn't have the energy to take any. Oh well...we had a wonderful time and the dinner was awesome, as usual. My mom, Jeff, Nicola, and myself all went to see Harry Potter one night while Grandpa watched the kids. Another night just my mom and I went to see the late night showing of Inception, which I LOVED. Never mind that it took me about 20 minutes after the movie ended to be able to actually say that. Its a mind blowing kind of movie. It was just a nice escape from school and life and none of us really wanted to go home, but alas... reality was waiting for us and we had to leave. I'm so Thankful for my family....I never get enough of them when we visit and feel so fortunate that we have such a great relationship with each other.

We drove home on Sunday and arrived in Salt Lake City to a Foot of snow; I kid you not. It was crazy! I cannot believe that we didn't hit one drop of snow for the majority of the trip. As soon as we got to the Tooele exit (which is on the outskirts of SLC) it was like crossing over into another world. Weirdest thing ever. Dry roads and then suddenly snow packed roads...almost immediately. It was beautiful until we had to lug 4 rolling suitcases through the un-plowed parking lot to our apartment. Gotta love Winter!

Happy Veterans Day!

It's weird but I never really thought at some point in my life I would ever reflect on Veterans Day with as much pride as I do now. I wasn't in the Air Force for any real length of time...6 years is all. But, they still call me a Veteran and I almost feel guilty claiming that title. I joined the Air Force for selfish reasons really. Not with the idea that I would be proudly serving my country, but as a means to end. I wanted to get my student loans paid off and then finish school while I was serving. Perhaps even get a job with the FBI when I got out. I never realized that I would ever get to the point where I could truly feel pride when I told someone I had been in the Air Force. I didn't understand that concept at all. Now here I am, some 15 years later and I'm lucky if I can get through the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem without bawling. I learned a lot while I was selfishly serving, but I think the most important lessons that I took from the experience were these:

1. I came to know exactly what Patriotism means and why it is so important to pass on to my children.
2. I became associated with true Patriots and Veterans who chose to selflessly serve our country for the right reasons and loved/love doing it. I think of these people often, especially during this time of war and wonder where they are; but I know exactly what they are doing and I feel much love and gratitude for these soldiers/airmen/seamen/marines.
3. I learned a lot of lessons in patience, strength; both emotional and physical, perseverance, and even more lessons in self awareness.
4. I learned that despite its flaws, we live in a pretty great country.... and I understand fully what it means to be "Proud to be an American".

So, on this Veterans Day I guess I not only want to send out a cyber 'Thank You' to those who have served and continue to serve but I wanted to also express thanks for my experience in those 6 short years and say that even though I didn't physically fight or even sacrifice much, I am very proud of what I did give and even more proud to tell those stories to my children. I love that they are proud to tell their friends that their Mom was in the Air Force (even though they are really just excited to tell them that I shot guns...Hoo-Rah!)

Halloween....

Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I hate to admit that...It seems so stuffy and lame of me. Im not sure where my dislike came from...especially considering my own Mom was so obsessed with the holiday. She made it so much fun.... (this is her in costume circa 1981)


but... I just cant get into it. Cant figure out why. This year, however...I seemed to have found a small bit of enjoyment out of it at the last minute. I dont know if it was the fact that my children all chose relatively simple and inexpensive costumes...

(Addison in the costume she wore last year)

(Evan chose to be a skeleton, wearing the cloak he wore for his last years costume..and I had already bought the face paint last year when Halloween items were on clearance!)

(Ian chose to be Indiana Jones..in his own clothing with uncle Nates fly fishing hat and a leather jacket we found at the D.I. for $20...the whip was from scout camp...)

Maybe it was the fact that I was just too dang busy to stress over everything like I normally do, but whatever happened, I really had a good time tonight! It did start out kinda miserable though with the rain...

but thankfully, by the time we actually went out to trick or treat, it had mostly stopped. We went to Nate and Alisa's first to show costumes and ended up trick or treating with Soren. That was fun...I love that age (2-4) when holiday's really start to become THE MOST EXCITING THING IN THE WORLD to the kids. Soren was having a ball! We left there after hitting a few streets and went back to our old neighborhood to finish up. It was fun seeing all the people from our old ward/neighborhood. The kids made a haul of candy that ought to last them 6 months but will actually only last about 6 hours....ugh. I, of course felt obliged to eat all of Ian's "peanut" items. Darn that peanut allergy!
(Here is Ian "re-creating the cover of the Indiana Jones DVD cover...can you tell he was really into this costume? )

After being home for about 20 minutes, I noticed that I hadnt seen or heard from Addison...this is how I found her. Completely Sacked out!