Michael in the Razor Crusade

My baby brother Michael and a group of his friends just traveled 65 miles from Provo to Kaysville on Razor scooters. They did this to raise awareness about Type 1 Diabetes. They raised $600 for a charity. We are all so proud of you for doing this. Way to go Michael and friends.
If you would like to see more about the Razor Crusaders you can click on it.

Tag Alphabet

Tagged by my sissy... Maren!

ABC Tag:
A: Addiction ~ Diet Coke with LOTS of ice and SUGAR
B: Breakfast (what you eat) ~ usually a instant breakfast or nothing
C: Chocolate or Chips ~ Chocolate are you kidding me
D: Dessert or Appetizers ~ toss up, depends on the restaurant
E: Essential Items ~ LOTION or my hair band around my wrist. Would not have thought of that if Maren hadn't said it. But I panic if I forget it.
F: Favorite Color ~ Pink or green
G: Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms ~ Neither
H: Hometown ~ I don't think I have one.
I: Indulgence ~ Sweets...
J: January or July ~ July It is my birthday month
K: Kids ~ JJ, Emma, Ellie, and Elsie. We are thinking of changing JJ to Emmett. So he fits in. JK
L: Life isn’t complete without ~ My Family and the gospel
M: Most exciting memory ~ I don't have just one! Or first kiss is a good one though
N: Number of brothers & sisters ~ 1 sister, 3 sisters-in-law, 3 brothers, 4 brothers-in-law.
O: Oranges or Apples ~ Both
P: Phobias or Fears ~ My kids on stairs freaks me out. I worry about them getting hurt.
Q: Quote ~ "I am going to freak a biscuit"
R: Reading currently ~ Not allowed to read I neglect my fam
S: Summer or Spring ~ spring, hands down
T: Tag 6 People ~ Jana, Calee, Melanie, Brittany, Laura, and Molly
U: Unknown fact about me ~ I am an open book you probably know to much. I have a birth mark
V: Vacation I want to go on ~ Greece.
W: Walking or Running ~ Walking
X: X-Ray or Ultrasound ~ Ultrasound
Y: Your favorite Food ~ Shake Shack in Newport. Dream about it.
Z: Zoo or Bowling ~ Bowling

sPeciAl moMent

Today the girls and I were all laying on the bed in the playroom. Elsie hardly ever goes in there and certainly is never on the bed. We were talking when I noticed that she looked at the picture of Jesus. She turned her head and then quickly turned her head back. She looked at the picture got a huge smile on her face and said clear as day "Jesus". I turned to Emma and said "Did you just hear what she said?" Emma said "Yes, she said Jesus!' Elsie then continued to say it a few more times. Emma and I both smiled at each other and marveled at what we were seeing. She knew who He was without being taught it by me. I sing her songs and such but I don't recall ever showing her a picture of Christ. She just knew! This is my daughter that I have slacked more than any of my kids in teaching her about Jesus so I was elated when she said His name while looking at one of my favorite pictures of Him. I will have to say this is one of my sweetest moments.

Of course Ellie saw how excited I was so then she started doing it as well.

Side note: I think this is a fairly common picture but if you haven't seen it before Christ is holding a little girls face in his hands. When I was little I always thought that little girl was me. Even now I think that is what I looked like as a child. That is why it is one of my favorite pictures of Christ.

Mom won't play with me...

Today I am trying to finish up some of our newspaper job. I played with the girls and tried to get them worn out so that maybe Ellie would sit and watch a show while I worked. Once we went down Ellie picked Enchanted and started watching her show. Elsie was playing with her toys and doing okay. That is when we made eye contact. This is the part when she can't take it anymore and begs me to hold her. So I do. Then I put her on the floor and she grabs one of the books I am using and starts looking at it. I will have to say it is pretty boring stuff. I guess she must have agreed. With in ten minutes this is how I found her.


It breaks my heart that she fell asleep with out getting any smooches or love. Poor little one. It was the cutest thing to watch though. She just started blinking her eyes and then she was out. Sweet Dreams Boo!

hOpPy eAsTer

The SnowPack Easter 09

Mama and Papa and all the Grandkids

Ms Elsie

Determination

Mr. Man

Looking for the eggs with Ellie

Papa and his fav Grandson

Mama and Boo

Meg and Jer

Grandma Helping Ellie

Emma showing off her findings

We had a wonderful Easter. We went to church and had wonderful speakers speak of the Atonement and Resurrection. After all that is what Easter is all about. The Savior conquered everything for US! I love him and want my children to know that He lives. He loves us. He lived His life so that we can someday return to the Father.

After church we headed to Mama and Papa's for Easter dinner. We started by having a little photo shoot with Papa. He got some fun picks and then everyone got in on the action. It was the BEST dinner we have ever had. I loved the ham. Props to Mama. Thank you for the sweet books and the love our kids always feel from you. They had fun helping Uncle Michael find his eggs. They were determined to beat him.

Then it was time to head to Draper for Grandma and Grandpa's Easter Egg Hunt. When we drove up it looked like they had strung lights on the bushes and grass. There were so many eggs. The kids had so much fun doing that. After we ate another dinner and hung out.

Happy Easter Everyone

cOloRiNg thE eaSteR eGgs

All the kids working hard.

Daddy is working so hard.

Mommy

JJ usually gets some pretty cool designs going.

Emma is always so clever

Ellie is working very hard.

No Boo, you are suppose to color them not eat them.

Our traditional Easter picture.

hOmeWoRd boUnd :(

We were sad to be leaving the sun, the ocean, the beach, the freedom, the fun just to head back to life. But all good things must come to an end. The last stop we made in Newport was a Shake Shack Graydon found just off PCH. I think I will miss that the most. Then we said good bye to our hotel, and yes it really was this beautiful. In fact the first day we arrived we rounded the corner and this is what we saw. This was the first time our kids had seen the ocean. Emma gasped and said "oh, it is beautiful!" It was the sweetest moment.

With the suburban pack full we had to show you the view Jeron and I had

Can you even imagine if we had tried to take our van. I am so glad my parents let us use there burb.

I was exteremly worried about the drive home. Elsie was so sick of the stroller that I knew the car seat was going to be worse. When we put her in the seat she threw a fit. I was nervous. Then she gave up almost immediately and went to sleep. It was like that almost the whole way. Except just outside of St. George.

Boo being a good helper

Daddy had to make one last stop at In and Out on our road trip home. This one is in Barstow CA The Johns and us parted ways here. I had to nurse and they headed on. Goodbye and thank you for such a fun time. We had a blast!

Yes Boo is extremely happy to be there.

We stopped in Vegas at the tracks just to go potty. The kids loved the boom the cars would make as they went around the track. They wanted to stay but we all looked like orphans. Actually we probably would have fit in. We stopped in St. George and ate at one of our fav. Mexican restaurants in town. The trip with our friends a while back we were introed to this place.

After the kids all got some food in their bellies we headed out. We stopped just a ways out to feed Elsie. Jeron and I had thought about not stopping and me just feeding her but then we decided we better stop. I am so glad we made this choice. Jeron can't see well at night and little did we know just up ahead there was a horrible storm, ice all over the road, and cars going off the road. There was even a Jeep that had rolled off. If we hadn't stopped Elsie would have been out of her car seat and Jeron would have been driving. I am so glad that good sense won out.

At one point a van pulled out in front of me going slower than I was. I had to slam on my breaks. I fishtailed all over the place. I was so scared. And MAD! I wanted so bad to give that van driver a piece of my mind. I would of if given the chance. I think this really scared JJ and Emma. JJ told Emma to put all the pillows by the windows in case we crashed. Also to hold her sweatshirt so she would have it. We had told them to be quite so he whispered all this to Emma. We were told this story the next day. Cute boy.

After that freaky experience then it was just trying to stay awake. I had to keep the music low to not wake Elsie who at this point was done. You can imagine me slapping my face and dancing to barley audible NSYNC. I had James Taylor on but he was lulling me to sleep. I will have to say I was thrilled to see Farmington and be home. Interesting fact. We left for California at 2:30 am. We got home at exactly the same time. Interesting.

I just want to say thanks to the Johns for going on this wonderful trip with us. We had a blast and love that we spent it with you all. Heres to Vancover 2010

cAlifOrNia dAy siX: neWpOrt piEr

We decided to take the morning a little easy. Good thing was the kids got rested, bad thing was our cell phones didn't get reception so we missed Carl telling us that he was waiting for us, and then sadly we missed him.

When we were getting dressed I took off Ellie's shirt and found what looked like a spider bite. Yikes! It was already swollen to the size of a silver dollar so I called our doctor and he told me to watch for streaking and a white head forming. Sure enough when I went back to check it there was a white head. We got some medication in her and drew lines around it to keep track of the swelling. It grew about a 1/2 inch all the way around, and then the meds started to work. This means that Ellie slept most of our last day there. I have only one picture of her and she is asleep.

If you look close on her arm you can see the swelling and pen.

This beach had the best sand and seashells. I wish we had come here sooner. We ate at a little sandwich shop just on the boardwalk. Then we took the kids down to the ocean for one last time. It was a bit cold but this didn't stop any of them. They loved it but were freezing afterwords.

One of my most favorite people in the world

Me and my hubby

Oh see they really do love each other

The Fellas

Mommy and Happy Pants

Dude! It is cold out here. What you wearin'?

Emma and Daddy

Beautiful Beach Babe

"If we have to stay here much longer I am going to throw a really big fit!"
If you look close you can see the bruise on her face she got the first day when she hit the Aroma

The kids had a blast running around this ball. That is why JJ is sick of pictures. One of the shops there is a yummy donut shop. Thanks to Jeron we had a treat while we sat there.

We went down the pier and it was at that point that I stopped feeling bad that Ellie was asleep. Holy cow the rails are so far apart any kids could fall through them and then what? Jeron and I were both stressed out. Emma wouldn't stay off of the rails so we would look over and see her swinging on them, and get sick to our stomachs. She would say "I am fine." I would think I don't think you will be saying that when you fall in the ocean and get eaten by a shark. Once we reached the end of the pier there was a ton of Fishermen and women I suppose. This kept the kids from climbing on the rails because there was fish guts all over. YUCKO!

JJ did his dolphin laugh and a group of dolphins started jumping. So we said "JJ, your dolphin laugh really works." This grumpy old man that probably fishes for a living turned and said "He sounds more like a seal to me." There you have it folks all these years we were wrong. He really sounds like a seal. Makes you wonder why the dolphins came then? Huh! Food for thought!

We also saw a sea lion. One of the men on the pier asked if he was a big one. I said "Well with my knowledge of sea lions I would have to say how the heck do I know." So he then went on to tell us the story. Story is there is a sea lion that hangs around the pier with only one eye. He is a larger sea lion though. So stupid me said "oh how did that happen?" He said "I don't know probably got in a fight with a shark." DUH! I don't know if that is the sea lion we saw, but he was cute as can be. I think he liked us because he kept coming back to say hello. The kids loved it. I wish we could have taken them on a boat ride to see more but so much to do, so little time.

After the pier we headed back to the hotel and the guys finally had there turn at fun. They all headed off to a Dodger game. The only proof we have of this evening is the tickets and JJ's popcorn helmet. Both Jeron and Graydon forgot the camera.
They said that they had a fun time.

The ladies stayed at the hotel and went swimming. Don't kill me Jana but look at the sun burn on those feet. Poor girl walked around Disneyland for three days with those feet. I was cropping the picture and couldn't crop them out. That burn is crazy!


Then we went to dinner at Ruby's Diner. You have to hit Ruby's diner if you have the chance. JK! I loved it though, the waiter asked us where we were from. We all said UTAH and some of the customers by us yelled "GO UTES!" This actually happened a lot in Disneyland because Emma would wear her Utes sweatshirt at night. The football team put our school on the map! Ok, back to the va-ca. After the diner we headed back to the hotel and watched HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3. Actually the ladies watched while Jana and I packed. :( Yes I said packed. It is over!