June Visitors

One of the reasons we LOVE summer time so much is because we can always count on visits from family & friends.  This summer did not disappoint.  The end of June we had the Zieler's come stay for a week while the teenage boys went to BYU football camp.  We really really love having them come and are glad that the boys have a few years of football camp left to go so we can plan on them for at least a few more summers.  

Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn

Miss JJ is so great!  I loved having her around to help with Hayden & Clara. 

Poor Jake had surgery on his knee about a week before coming up here, so he wasn't able to attend football camp.  I think he liked playing with Clara & Hayden and sitting on my couch more than football camp and BYU dances with cute girls anyway....!!

Fishing is always on the list of things to do when the Zieler's come to town.

I hope Kristi & Jim don't mind that I put this picture on here.  I think it's great & only wish their whole family was in it, then it would be perfect!

I think Dylan wants to move to Utah now.  Where else can you ride in a wagon when your 16 years old!! 

Colt didn't get to stay with us for an extra week this summer.  He is 17 now and has to many manly responsibilities I guess.  We just can't wait until he comes to college @ BYU then we can see him all the time.  **hint hint Colt.  You need to come to BYU.  Dylan you too.

A little of this a little of that

In the Summer time @ our house structure goes out the window.
I am not the type of person who likes to have a plan for every minute of the day.   I LOVE the summer days when we really have nothing on our schedule.  Sure there are days when we plan an activity but for the most part we just like to let the day play out as it may.  That's what Summer is for anyway.....
We do spend lots of time outside which we all love.  My kids and I all have a really good farmer tan to prove it!  HAHA!

Clara will follow her brothers around all day long and copy everything they do.  They are pretty good about letting her tag along.  She is also pretty fond of the camera and is not shy to say "cheese" and give me a big smile! 

For some reason my kids love to build a dam for the water that runs down the street to the storm drain, keeps them busy for quite awhile. 

I do make sure that my kids get in their daily chores in the summer and even Clara is old enough to help out this year!! 

Hayden finds a need for a bandaid at least once a day......usually more than once.  In this picture he needed a bandaid after he looked in the mirror and saw how dirty his face was.  He said he needed to cover it up cause he didn't want to wash it!  Oh man, having a 3 year old around is the best.

Wasatch Mtn. State Park is one of the most gorgeous places in our little valley.  We always make sure to get in a few evening fishing trips. 

When I get another minute I'll have to blog all about the 2.5 weeks of family that we had staying at our house.  It was GREAT & we miss them all now that they are gone.  It's just to bad that I seem to only blog about once a month now.  Sorry family who came to visit....you may never get your face on my blog.  I know you'll all be devastated.  Still love you though:) 

Clara

CLARA
This girl is SOOOOO BUSY!! 
She keeps me & the boys dang busy following her around.  The other day I caught her putting Mark's car keys in the trash in the bathroom.  Some of my nice pampered chef spatulas are missing, I'll bet they ended up in the trash too!

She is so happy and talks and sings all the day long.

Still bald as can be!

Since the weather has FINALLY improved, we spend 80% of our days outside.  It has taken her a while to learn NOT to eat the dirt! 

These two darling kids are best buddies. 
I hope they always stay that way!

Whatever is going on, baby sister wants to be right in the middle of it & she doesn't take no for an answer!

I love this picture! 
Annie & Clara are the best of friends and get so excited to see each other.  The older they get the cuter and more trouble they get too.  I love watching them learn and grow and hear all the new words they are learning.  I'm so grateful that my kids all have cousins so close to their own ages.  Thanks Julie, Kacy, & Lisa for having kids at the right times!!

I'm almost a month behind on this post...
On May 22nd Cameron turned 8!

He is such a great kid and to me it seems much longer than 8 years that he has been around.  Maybe it's because he is pretty mature for his age and is my right hand man (don't know what I would do w/o him).

He will be getting baptized the first weekend in July and is so excited! 

I guess it's a rite of passage for every boy (at least all boys I know) to get a BB gun. 
Best birthday present EVER!

GOLF

Hayden LOVES golf.
Like eats, sleeps & breathes golf.
He has the skills to back up his obsession.
He is crazy good at only 3 years old!

To his luck, his dad is a golfer and loves to take the boys to the driving range.

Much to our luck there are quite a few golf courses in town and they don't mind if Hayden wears his rain boots on the range! 

LOVE THIS KID!

Are you scared of Heights?

We went to Las Vegas over the weekend and made a quick trip to see the Hoover Dam.
I was nervous about my kids being there....it's a really long way down and I'm scared of heights.  After laying down the law about how to act and what NOT to do while we were there we set out across the dam.  Pretty soon into our walk my older boys were saying that they were kinda nervous too.  I was thankful that they were nervous I knew that they would stay away from the edge. 
We were all in AWE of the new bridge they built to by pass the dam.  How was it even possible to build such a structure?  If you are in the area I would suggest going to see it.  The history behind the Hoover Dam itself is fascinating.

Watch my family on 20/20 TONIGHT!

Somehow the post I did yesterday about tonight's episode of 20/20 on ABC has disappeared.

WEIRD.  And BUG.

How does a post just disappear?  I even had a couple of comments.

Anyway....remember to watch 20/20 tonight on ABC. 

Watch my family on 20/20 this Friday

Remember when THIS happened at my parents house in August 2008?  



Watch 20/20 on ABC this Friday night, the 13th to see where they are now and to also see my very own, very camera shy parents!  To see some clips go HERE and click on the one that says something about "the witnesses to the crash".  

Don't forget to watch then come back here to my blog and let me know what you think. 

Searching in Manti

Manti Temple

A couple of weeks ago during Spring Break we took a 2 hour drive down to Manti.  We hadn't been there in about 12 years since Mark went to school at Snow College.  I also had been reading and studying some family history and had a few things I wanted to find in Manti.  My 3rd great grandmother on my mom's side is said to be buried in the cemetery in the picture but we could not find her anywhere.  After getting back home and doing a little more research I read that she is buried there but there is no head stone or marker.  I was pretty disappointed and kind of sad that there is nothing to mark her grave.  It's really sad actually, she emigrated from Sweden, and was a pioneer who crossed the plains from Nauvoo.  She helped settle Midway, where we live now, and then was called to settle Arizona.  After being in Arizona a few years she and her husband came back to Utah.  I don't really know much more about her but I wish I did.  And it's a travesty not to have a marker for her grave.  

We hiked up the hill on the back side of the temple to where these stairs are.  The kids had a lot of fun and I am still in awe of the massive size and beauty of this temple that was built in 1888.

Another thing I wanted to see in Manti was this dug-out house.  I have read in my family history and Mark's about our ancestors living in these dug-outs during their first winter in Manti.  They sit just at the base of the hill of the temple.  The stories are heart wrenching and faith promoting and I'm so glad that they have preserved this dug-out.  It was a good lesson for my kids.

If you have never been to Manti I highly recommend it.  Especially if you live with in a couple hours drive from it.  The drive is easy and the country is so pretty.  I had forgotten how pretty it is down there and just how awe inspiring the temple is.  I don't think I will be waiting another 12 years to go back!

15 Months

Can anyone tell me what Temple this is?? 

Since I'm a BIG girl now, I'm gonna start down here at the bottom
and climb my way up to the very top!

I Made It!
Now LET ME IN!

This baby sister is 15 months old today!  Where has the time gone?
Yesterday was a semi-nice day here in our part of Utah and we were outside enjoying the sunshine when one of my biggest fears came true. 
Clara was stung by a wasp!

We were just minding our own business watching the chickens peck the ground & each other and all of a sudden Clara just started screaming.  I looked down and there was a BIG HUGE wasp on her wrist.  It started swelling right away and I was worried that she might be allergic.  I got her inside and put some ice and clay on her wrist and hoped she didn't have a big reaction. 
Thankfully there was no allergic reaction. 
Poor baby cried for a while though and was pretty fussy the rest of the day.  My hatred of wasps and every other stinging insect/arachnid borders on obsessive.  If I could kill them all I would, I don't give a darn about how they help the earth. I HATE THEM!    Her brothers were so sweet and geared up for war against every wasp in the neighborhood!

This girl hasn't decided to walk yet ! AHHH...  hopefully soon, it's driving me crazy!

She is talking more everyday and knows quite a few animal sounds.  Chickens are her favorite, probably cause she can see ours out the window.  She says "Bop bop" all day and we love it. 
She loves to get into everything she shouldn't and can be quite sneaky about it.  Especially when she is in her brothers room destroying their latest Lego creation!  

This girl is the light of all of our lives and we love watching her grow.