Flashback Friday...Halloween

This is my preschool class picture at Halloween. I cropped me out so you can see a close-up of my very cool Wonder Woman costume. Don't you just miss those cheesy plastic costumes!!! Ahhhhhh, the memories!!!!

Salt Lake City conference

Monavie Fall Leadership, Salt Lake City

We went to Salt Lake City for a Monavie conference this weekend. As always, we can find an adventure anywhere we go. This is us at Olive Garden. As always, our bear Sugar Daddy came along for the ride.

We had time on our hands Friday so we went out exploring the city. Here we are out at the Great Salt Lake. We were looking for the "perfect" copper rocks. Of course, the men had to pose for a studly pose!

Here is me showing off my strength!

Next we were off to see some sights. We found this park on the navigation system so we thought we would check it out. We thought it was going to be some cool place we could check out the copper mine. Come to find out it was just some neighborhood park. We posed for a picture anyway for giggles. We didn't like this first pose and we had the camera on the van across the street. Just as we were posing for the next one, a gardener in his truck drives by JUST as the timer goes off and takes the picture!! We were all laughing so hard we just gave up!

Hey, at least you can see Ash in this picture!



Next up on the navigation system was a "haunted house". We thought that it would be some great tourist attraction so we went to find it. Turns out we drove down a dead end road in the middle of the neighborhood and sure enough, no haunted house. We asked some locals who just stared at us like we were some crazy Californian's looking for our next fix! We decided to again pose for a great group shot next to the address that was supposed to be haunted. We look kinda "ghostly" don't we? Maybe it is haunted!



We spent all afternoon driving around looking for something to do but as always, we make our own adventures and had fun anyway. Always good memories!

My Birthday

Birthday time!!! I turned 33 on Sept. 24th

Laura and Ash were in Florida for my birthday and I was watching their kids so I got to spend my birthday with all 5 kids. The night before my birthday I was out and when I got home the kids had decorated the whole house with streamers, a banner that said "Rock Band Mama", and home-made birthday cards. I was so surprised when I walked back in the door. They put streamers on the kitchen cabinets, bedposts, above my door, fireplace, and all around the walls. It was a great birthday surprise :-)

On my birthday we had dinner over at my house with the kids, mom, dad, Kerry, Trevor, Dawn, Terry, and Zack. Mom thought since we are having Thanksgiving over at our house this year that she would buy me all of the plates, decorating items, platters, and a new crock pot to cook it with. It is so nice to have all of the shopping for that done already!

We celebrated my birthday again on October 2nd when Laura and Ash came back into town. Laura took the kids to the store to pick out presents for me. It is always so fun to see what they pick out! Shad picked out dolphin figures and Jordy some flowers with a vase to match. She actually remembered what color vase and flowers that she had gotten me last year that had gotten lost in my move. Tanner must think I need to spend time relaxing in the tub because he got me bath fizzies and a back wash sponge

Dalton got me a Halloween sign that said "ghouls just want to have fun" and a dog. Dalton reminds me so much of how I was as a kid. He just LOVES his dogs! He even said on his student of the week paper that his dogs were his favorite members of the family. Every morning he can be found inside his dogs cage laying in there petting Blue, his pit bull. Ashley got me a cute happy birthday bear and a great smelling candle. Best of all, her bag said "Rock Star" which I thought was really cool with how awesome I am playing drums on Rock Band (I will post a video one of these days so you can laugh along). It is always so fun to see the kids picking out presents and how it represents their personality.

Last, but definately not least, was my Rock Throne!!!! It is a drum seat so that I have a cool place to sit while playing the drums on Rock Band. Now all I need is the cool drum pads and I will be set!

No birthday is complete without the birthday song and the birthday cha cha dance!

Flashback Friday...Matt and Me

Since August is Matt's birthday month I decided to put up some pictures of me and my partner in crime...Matt. We always found some trouble to get into. For some reason we liked to push out the beds and climb behind them and play. I remember when we would get in trouble and sent to our rooms (ironically, we were sent there for fighting and then all we would do is play) we would push open the cable socket in the wall behind our beds and talk through the hole since our bedrooms were next to each other. We would play hangman and pass notes through the wall. Who knows how many pencils and pieces of paper we lost in those walls!

Ahhh, didn't you just love Atari games!!! My favorite was Frogger and Pitfall.




I found this funny one of Matt sleeping in the back of the car. Wonder how long mom left him there to sleep?? Guess grocery shopping with mom was exhausting! :-)

cc4nurse

Flashback Friday...Grandpa Thomas

Flashback Friday...Remembering Grandpa Thomas
I just thought I would put a great family picture with us kids and Grandpa Thomas on the flashback this Friday. I was watching my old home movies of when Shad was little and I saw some video of him since he lived with mom and dad at the time. It made me think of him and how Shad and Jordyn called him "candy Grandpa". They still talk about him and remember visiting him at the Retirement Manor. Don't you just remember those dresses Kerry and Christine!!

1st Day of School

August 11th, 2008

The kids returned to school on Monday. It's always a mixed blessing because they are just starting to drive me absolutely crazy with their fighting, but it means back to homework and getting up early! Yuck!! Shad starts 6th grade this year which is so weird. I can't believe I have a child old enough to be in 6th grade, especially when I remember 6th grade so much. Jordyn starts 4th grade and Tanner starts 2nd. Shad has grown several inches over the summer and now is inches taller than Laura, which thrills him to no end. He reminds her of it often of course. The kids surprised me because they all were so excited to get back to school. I guess they missed their friends more than their sleep.

Jordyn is just the fashion queen. She fits in well with Trevor and his "cool" glasses!

Tanner the big 2nd grader!



My big 6th grader



We met in the morning in a parking lot on Ave M so that we could walk to the school with the kids and avoid all of the messy traffic.





Tanner is in a combo class with 3rd graders. I think this will be good for him because what he lacks for in maturity he makes up for because he is a bright boy when he wants to be so maybe he will overhear some of what they are doing with the 3rd graders. Jordyn was in a combo class for 1st and 2nd grade and I thought it worked well for her too.



Jordyn and Dalton are in class together again this year. Jordyn passed the GATE test in the summer so she gets to join Shad in the photography classes and extra activities this year.



Probably not too many 6th graders would pose for their parents with a funny looking bear in their hands but Shad and Ashley are good sports about it. Might as well get them while we can, probably the last year they will put up with this. I think it helps that their moms help at the school and do the yearbook so the kids know what "cool" moms we are and if they want their picture in the yearbook they better be nice! :-)




Of course, the first day of school would not be complete without the parents celebrating their new independence by going out for breakfast. Our SD twin bears went with us to celebrate.