Amazing Gracie

Brian says I need help. I am totally addicted to this blog of a sweet little girl named Gracie. I am blaming it on Heather and Brenda who got me addicted in the first place.I don't know her family, but somehow I feel connected. Gracie is 2 weeks old and fighting a congenital heart defect. Maybe thats where the connection is for me? Been there, done that. She has almost passed on a few times, but is currently improving. She is here in SLC at Primary Childrens. Her story is one of faith and testimony building. It makes me so grateful for the health that I enjoy and more importantly, the health of my children. Life is fragile, but our Heavenly Father is aware of our struggles, and comforts us when in need. I hope your faith can increase as mine has from this sweet family I have never met, yet feel so close to. I know first hand how faith and prayers can heal. If you feel like a good cry, or a renewal in faith and prayers, check it out. I am so thankful for my healthy family, and am constantly praying for those who need our prayers right now. Their blog is thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com.

Spring in Utah...and Good News!

Thats right! Spring in Utah means 70 deg. one day...snow the next. I swear, I do not have enough room in my closet for capris and sweaters so I wish the weatherman would make up his mind! Besides Tyson is now playing spring soccer and it was absolutely freezing at his game on Saturday. Snow and soccer DO NOT go together! Also....GOOD NEWS!! I get to start working from home!! Still with Discover Card, still doing the same job. HOORAY! I am VERY excited about this and it can't come fast enough! It looks like it is going to be June before they get me up and going...but I am so excited just knowing that is is for sure now! No more driving in blizzards at 5:30 a.m. ...like this morning! My kids have been praying for this for months, so I am very glad they were not disapointed! OH HAPPY DAYS!!!

Camping at Clear Creek with the 5th Graders

Wow! What a weekend! I went on a "fieldtrip" with Kylie....this was an overnight camping trip with the 5th grade girls (80 of them!) in the mountains! I was able to go with Kylie's class to Clear Creek and we had a great time! There was four feet of snow, and it was cold, but absolutely beautiful! We made robots, bracelets, frames, warm fuzzy's, tie died shirts, snowshoed, made and shot rockets, performed skits, watched movies, and stayed up late. No wonder I am exhausted!! We had so much fun, and it was a great bonding experience between all the girls, and they became even closer as a class. They had a wonderful time together. I love the girls at this age..it is so fun to watch them interact with their friends and teachers. It made me so proud of Kylie. She is a great helper, and a friend to everyone. Only one complaint...these girls like to giggle all night long...mom's like to sleep. Doesn't work well together in the same cabin! Oh well...sooo worth it! I tried to do another slide show..but it kept shutting down my windows. So here is a few pictures of our adventure! Also Kylie got her hair highlighted this weekend for the first time. Heather and I decided we are tired of paying $50-$100 to stay blonde...so we wanted to start highlighting each others hair, and just do it ourselves. Lucky Kylie got to be the guiney pig and we practiced on her. Thank heavens all 3 of us are finished with no major accidents. Looks pretty good for a first timer...if you ask me! Here is also a picture of during and after Kylies highlight. Hope you you all had a great Easter!

Back to reality!

We just returned from our family vacation to Atlanta, then on to Orlando. We had a fabulous vacation. We first flew to Atlanta to visit Brians sister Jenise and his brother Kevin. It was great to see their beautiful homes, and visit with them. Atlanta is very pretty, and rich in history too. We went the the Underground where the slaves were sold and it was humbling to be there. Kind of a culture shock to my kids as we were about the only white people there. A little different that Utah! We also went and saw the house where Martin Luther King grew up. We then made the 6 hour drive to Orlando and I was excited to see the south. Little did I know that all we saw for 7 hours was the road straight ahead of us and trees on both sides. Literally, that was the scenery for 7 hours! Pretty trees though! We stayed in Orlando for a week. We went to Sea World, Busch Gardens, did some shopping, and went to a beach off the Atlantic coast (Cocoa beach), and one off the Gulf of Mexico(Clearwater beach). We also drove to Kennedy Space center to see the shuttle Endeavor out on the launch pad, but security woudn't let us get even a glimpse. It's a $40 a person fee to get within 2 miles. Never mind, but it was a fun drive anyway, we saw tons of aligators along the way. I think our favorite stop was Busch Gardens. The place is absolutley beautiful, and there is soo much to see. It had some neat shows, and also had some stinkin' awesome roller coasters. I am a little bit of a wimp when it comes to heights, but I rode every single ride there, and they were soo much fun! A few of their roller coasters have some kind of record: longest, fastest, something like that. There is animals everywhere, and it is good for every age group. Lots to do for everyone! I would go back to that place any day...it was really cool. We are so glad we could get away from the cold for a little while and spend time with Brians family. Thanks for a great vacation everyone! Now its back to reality!

Do I really have to??

Ok I've been tagged, by my sister Becky. Do I really have to? I didn't even really know what this meant for sure, but apparently I just have to answer some questions that everybody already knows the answers to about me. Seriously, I am a very open person, so I couldn't think of anything exciting to bring out of the closet. So, do I really have to? I guess if I want to be included in Becky's extravagant family vacation I better stay on her good side. Here goes...

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? 10 years ago I was taking care of 4 week old Sydney, and 18 month old Kylie. This was NOT Kylie's easy stage, so I am pretty sure I was having a bad day. Sydney was an angel and I was probably thanking the heavens for that, and loving the sweet little newborn she was, stinking adorable too! Living in Kanab as a stay at home Mom, Brian was going to school and working with his Dad. We had a mortgage off $435!!


2. 5 things on my to do list: 1. Today I need to do some laundry, as always 2. Take my kids on a bike ride, the sun is out and it might not last long 3. Prepare lesson for YW on Sunday 4. Finish this freaking blog is on my list. Not a very busy day today. I Love Saturdays!

3. Snacks I enjoy: I LOVE brownies. I mean I REALLY LOVE brownies. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and NEVER get sick of them. I'm pretty sure I got this addiction from my mom. Anything chocolate is for me. YUMMM! Snickers, m&m's, twix, you get the idea.

4. 3 bad habits I have: 1. refer to #3...I crave chocolate constantly...pretty much all day long. I'm getting a little better at controlling my cravings since I am getting older and my metabolism sucks! 2. I am a freak about being late and make my whole family upset when we are running behind. It drives them all crazy. Grumpy mom = grumpy family. 3. Popping my knuckles. I know...really disgusting, but I can't break the habit, no matter how hard I've tried. Oh wait, I haven't tried yet. But I think it will be hard if I ever decide to stop.

5. If I suddenly became a millionaire what would I do? I would buy a nice home for my whole family, get everyone out of debt, and go on a awesome vacation with any friends/ family who want to go. Then I guess I would try to save a little for college, weddings, missions, retirement. I would quit working, and Brian would build more houses, what he loves to do. I would find a good charity to donate to, and find families in need in my area to help. Oh ! First things first...I would hire a housekeeper, so me and my kids can play all day and not worry about cleaning!

6. Places I've lived: Nampa Idaho, Moses Lake WA, Kittitas WA, Harrington WA, Royal City WA, Provo UT, Kanab UT, St. George UT, Pleasant Grove UT, Saratoga Springs UT. I might of missed a town or two. Is my dad or husband secretly in the military? Why do I move so much?

7. Jobs I've had: lots of babysitting, waitress at MarDon Cafe, secretary at UVSC, briefly Sears catalog order taker, Vintage a la Vogue, and Discover Card for the last 5 1/2 years. I might of missed a job or two. Can't say I ever HATED any of my jobs. None have been too bad. Other than my very first babysitting job for Slag Callahan. Chased me with a knife, and the next day at church kept crawling and looking under my skirt.

8. Things people might not know about me: A few original things are: I say a silent prayer every time I see an ambulance for whoever is in it, I feel guilty about the way I live everytime I see a homeless person, spaghetti is my favorite food, unless brownies is considered a food, I love biggest loser, it is so inspiring to me, I really enjoy exercising , (didn't say I actually do it, just enjoy it when I can), I love reading but ...the only thing I read these days are magazines, and my scriptures..sadly I can't remember the last time I read a "real" book...think it was when I was on bed rest with Tyson...sad I know. I also love American Idol. I'ts our family show we watch together. I think Ellen Degeneres is absolutely hillarious. Almost as funny as Becky!
Well, thats me in a nutshell. Anyone still awake...anyone?

Kylie's science fair project

So this was our first experience at the science fair...and I have to say it could be my last for all I care! Kylie did a project on whether exercise affects memory and brain function. It was fun, but kind of a lot of work. After some research and some experiments we did discover that exercise helps boost memory and brain function. No wonder I am always losing stuff and locking my keys in my car! Way to go Kylie...I'm sure she'll get a good grade! (Kylies best friend Brylee in the picture)

Winter Wonderland...blah blah blah

So I am really getting sick of all this snow! It seems like every other day we get a storm. Yesterday the sun came out and melted almost all the snow. That hasn't happened in months. But don't worry...it didn't last long...this is what we woke up to this morning. 5-6" of new snow, or more! At least it is very consistant...snow one day...not the next..snow the next day..you get my drift. It was so funny, I don't know if you can see in the picture...but we had 8 neighbors all shoveling at the same time. I better not hear the word drought one time this summer! And I am watering my grass as much as I dang well please!

Ok...so Tyson had his first swim meet ever yesterday. He was sooo excited! He was like a kid on Christmas Eve! He could hardly wait until it was his turn to swim. He was bouncing all over the place counting the events until it was time for his butterfly, his first event. So he gets up on the block all smiles...so ready to go, and as soon as he jumped in the water his goggles came off. Oh man, my heart just sank. He had to hang on to the rope to get them back on, which disqualified him. His goggles have NEVER fallen off before...what perfect timing for that to happen! He was only sad for a minute...then was back to bouncing up and down waiting for his freestyle. He had such a great attitude! He swam great and even won a 5th place ribbon! Great job Tyson! He had a blast...and thats what it's all about! Sydney did great too..winning 4 ribbons out of 4 events! She got a 2nd place in her butterfly, 3rd in backstroke and freestyle, and 5th in her breast stroke. Great job Sydney! She had about 30 girls swimming in each event...so she did awesome with such tough competition! She didn't even cry before her meet, which is monumental! In my pictures, you can always tell which swimmer is Sydney because she refuses to wear a cap. She says it gives her a headache! Then we topped off the night with the girls and I going to the Hannah Montana 3-D movie concert movie. It was great. The girls loved every minute of it...and I actually enjoyed it too! I guess we'll finish off a great weekend with the superbowl. The great thing about the superbowl is that there is good food, it makes for the END of football season. Hooray!