Time to Catch up!

Ok...so I've been a bit of a slacker lately. Time just seems to get away from me...and before I know it, 3 weeks have passed since my last post. Sorry about that! So a few things that have happened over the last little bit....

1. Kylie had a Hope of America performance the end of April. 5,000 students in the Alpine School Disctrict get together and sing patriotic songs, and there are a few other performances too. It was really cool, we totally loved it! Brians Mom came and enjoyed the show with us. They sat in colored shirts that created a flag. Very creative! There was some cool slide shows, that of course made us all cry. 25,000 people were there.

2. Swim meet...I have no pictures of this...only camcorder, which it is NOT letting me share. The girls did great and won 3 ribbons each. It was a 50 meter pool which is twice the length of the pool they practice in. I thought they were going to die when they looked at the pool for the first time, but neither had to be rescued, and they swam their hearts out. Way to go girls!!

3. Wesleys baptism. No pictures of course, but check Becky, Heather, and Brendas blog...they've got me covered. It was so great to have everyone in town. We had so much fun. Especially those boys. We had a hard time separating them when it was time to go. We're so glad everyone made the LONG drive to be here. It makes me sad how far away we all are. It is just WRONG!

4. Trents graduation. (Brians youngest brother) Trent graduated from SUU with a composite Engineering degree. (3 Engineering degrees ..WOW!)We were sad we couldn't be there...but it was the same day as the swim meet, and Wesley's baptism. Since I only get to see my family twice a year...and we get to see Trent lots, we had no choice. Way to go Trent...we are soo proud of him. Now to get him married. Anyone know a single, wonderful girl in her 20's?

5. Sydney and I went on the 4th grade field trip to Camp Floyd, in Fairfield, UT. She got to make candles, adobe mud bricks, play Pony Express, visit an 1800's original school, shoot a musket for pretend, and a lot of other historical activities. We had so much fun together! The picture of Sydney and the blonde girl is her teacher Mrs. Loader. We LOVE her!

6. We went to Murray High School to the David Archuletta party. He is one of the final 3 contestants in American Idol, in case you have been living in a hole the last few months, and they had a huge homecoming party for him yesterday. These are the kinds of things you get to do when you have 2 pre-teen daughters. It was actually really cool, and we even dragged Dad along with us. He is such a good sport...that's why we love him soo much! We had a blast partying with the city of Murry and David. GO DAVID!! He is awesome! Oh by the way, pictures were courtesy of Tyson who was on Brians shoulders for over an hour! Way to go bud. I do think Brian helped with a few though.

7. After the David party we went to Classic Skate with the rest of the kids' school. They had a blast with all their friends and teachers, and Brian and I had a great time sitting down resting with some friends, recouping from all the David partying we did. The picture of the shoe is mine. Cute shoes, don't you think? Well, I wore them to work thinking I will be sitting down most the day, so I would be fine. Next thing I knew it was 9 p.m. and I had those really cute shoes on for 15 hours. This picture does not show how high these shoes really are! My feet were dead...seriously dead! Owch, I can't even think about it!

I will try to do better at updating so it isn't so overwhelming next time. Life is good at our house, NOT a thing to complain about. Of course, unless you count the blisters on my feet!!

Spring Break

So we were really ready to get a little sunshine in for our spring break...so we headed south. First to St. George for a night, then Mesquite, NV for a night. Then back to St. George to go to Red Cliffs, then home. We had a great time in Mesquite...swimming, bowling and a movie. We then went to Red Cliffs which is one of our favorite places to go. It is absolutely beautiful. It is just about 10 minutes northwest of St. George. Pictures can not do this place justice. There is all these waterfalls you can slide down into little pools of water. There are also places to do cliff jumping. You can hike forever there too. It is soo pretty! The weather was wonderful, but the water was FREEZING! Seriously hypothermic in a matter of minutes! We braved the cold water and had a blast! Hooray for spring break! Hooray summer break is next!!

FINALLY!!

FINALLY!!!! Tyson has lost tooth #2. He has not been very patient waiting for this, and I do not blame him. Tooth #1 came out a year ago December. Thats right....15 months ago!! If every tooth he loses is a year and a half apart...he might drive me crazy through this process! All his friends have lost at least 5 teeth...so he was getting pretty anxious. Finally tonight after this tooth being loose for 2 mos...it came out. He is thrilled! Here is his goofy grin to show it! I was thinking it is quite considerate of him to let the tooth fairy have a little time to "save" up (15 mos. in between visits!!) Never mind..here is the note he insisted I write for the toothfairy. So much for giving the tooth fairy a $ break! Hope he's not disapointed in the morning. YIKES!

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!