Lake Powell

We decided to have one last summer fling at Lake Powell before we all had to go back to school. We had grandma come with us, and we gathered up Chris' kids Kylie and Justice for an afternoon of fun in the sun. The breeze was nice and we had a great time in the water. This is the life!

Canning has officially begun!

I wanted to let you know what I have been up to the last week or so. I canned green beans from my garden for the first time last Friday, I pulled the bell peppers and the corn from my garden this morning. When Dad comes next week he gets to help me harvest the corn. I love eating from my garden, nothing tastes better (except eating it in the winter!).

Look who is blogging!

Mom came by the house on her way to education week in Idaho (she drove for the first time without stopping overnight...that's why she looks so bad) and decided to learn how to blog. She came to the master (well, Marsh was busy, so I had to fill in for him). I spent the better part of the day teaching her the ins and outs of blogging. Then, Mike came in and organized all her pictures on the computer in about 5 minutes flat. She has now doubled our inheritance in her will...SWEET!!

Move along little doggie...

While we were traveling home from vacation, we ran into a little bit of a snag. Some cowboys were herding the cattle over the mountain, and WE were in the way. As you can see, the cows expected us to move out of the way. You can see Mike's arm out the window and see that the cattle is right next to us. The boys were asleep and Devin woke up just in time to see the cows. Carter, however, woke up as we started moving again.

5K racing!

These are some of the greatest friends EVER!! We have been training after school daily for this race, so they came down to my area to do the 5K with me. It was a COLD day, but a great to race because we weren't hot. My friend Mary Kay is on the left and Amy is on the right.

It was a small race, about 300 people.

About 1/2 way through the race, Carter comes running up to us! It was really fun to have him there. It was his b-day (as well as Mary Kay's). He walked with us the rest of the way. He kept up with us and was happy to be there. He wants to do the next one with us.

Here is us at the finish line. There were 2 girls in front of us that we wanted to pass. I think they heard us because everytime we sped up to pass, they sped up. We were never able to pass them, but we ran into the finish line. Mike got our time. It was 3.26 miles in 45 minutes. Great baseline! We have another 5K coming up in April. We had sooooo much fun.

Here is us getting our ticket that says what place we came in and how fast we did the race.

Game ON!!

Luke, Carter and Jared play ball! We didn't get on the same team like last time, so Jared is actually playing against Luke and Carter. It is so fun watching these boys play. They are actually getting good!

This is the gang hanging out while the boys play. Sam's got Josh (now 5 months old!!!). Cutest kids ever!!

Future Cheer Leader

We signed Sam up for the mini cheer camp at my school. They practiced 2 nights then got to do a little dance for the half-time show. She of course LOVED hanging out with the real cheerleaders. Here is her at one of the practices.

Here is the actual night. As you can see, I didn't have my camera on the right mode, so ALL the pictures of the performance turned out like this. Oh well. At least you can see her in this one.

This is one of my students that Sam loves. My student is so cute with my kids. This was a great night for them.

Flash

The kids got free tickets to go see the minor league basketball team called the Flash. We took the kids and had a great time. We saw several people from the ward there, as we are all taking advantage of FREE!!

To get the game started, Flash the mascot came out on a Harley. The boys were sooooo excited. Boys!!

Future Harley Riders

This is our little neighbor Cooper who is 3. He is a fearless rider and has been racing a 4 wheeler for at least a year. He has moved onto a motorcycle (with training wheels). He is a maniac on wheels.

Carter, not to be outdone, has to have his turn. Cameron and Cooper had to show him the ropes. As you can see, he got it, except for the turning around. Hospital...here we come!

Here is Carter is action!

Cooper's dad was trying to get him to stop. Just like a 3 year old, he laughed and blew past his dad. Coop then lost the bike for the night.

This is Christian, one of my cute little nursery kids. He lives across the street and was helping his dad shovel the latest batch of snow as Carter and Cooper were flying past.

Home Depot

On Saturdays Home Depot has a project you can do with your kids. Mike took Carter and they built a jewlery box for me and football book ends. Carter and Sammy finished the staining project and here are the final projects!!

Aren't they cute?

My cute kids!!

Mickey Mouse

Is he such a character or what? He has been after me to take a picture of him as Mickey Mouse. So here is Dev's version of Mickey Mouse.

Boys in the Hood

Luke, Trey and Carter on their way to school. I love the fact that it is like 20 degrees outside. Trey and Luke dress warmly and good ole Carter thinks it is 60 degrees with his jogging jacket. Kids, you gotta love them.

Birthday Party!

Devin went to a birthday party the other day that was so fun! It was inside with the bouncing toys, but it also has a jungle area that the kids crawl around in, a skating rink and in the summer, a swimming area. Of course, Dev had to have a picture every other minute. I have created a monster!!

The Tooth Fairy's Broke

The tooth fairy had to come 2 times this week. First Sammy lost her tooth and then Carter did. I think the tooth fairy may have to take out a loan soon. Carter talks a little funny now! Sammy's is hard to see, but it is the tooth on the left side, in the front.

Sausage Broccoli Chowder

Mike made this for dinner tonight and it was soooo yummy! The kids even thought it was great!
2 cans corn

1/2 to 1 # Italian sausage

1/2 cup celery chopped

1 large onion chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

3 large potatoes, chopped

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 cans condensed cream of broccoli soup

1 cup half and half

Drain corn, reserving liquid. Brown sausage, pour off all but 2 TBSP drippings. Saute celery, onion and pepper for 3 minutes. Add reserved corn liquid, potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; simmer for 5 minutes. Add broccoli, corn and sausage. Simmer 5 minutes or until veggies are cooked. In a bowl, mix soup and half and half. Whisk into soup. Simmer 5 minutes, but do not boil. Makes a large pan full.

While Mom trains...

On Saturday we went to the Rec Center so I could do my training and Mike took the kids swimming. I finished my workout and they still wanted to swim. I think they were so excited to be in the pool in January, since that only happens in AZ!! The big splash you see is Carter's cannonball. I just caught the end of it!

This was me while I was waiting for the kids to grow tired of the pool! Nice red face, you can see I was working hard!

Baby Steps...'Til I'm full grown

My friend Kathy has inspired me for one of my New Year's goals. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight, I am setting a fitness goal. I am going to do a 5K every other month, starting in March. In September I am going to do a 10K. My goal is to walk the first 2 (March and May) and run the July, Sept and the November. I looked up on the internet how to train for a 5K, so I am one week into my training, so far so good. I guess this is my "before" picture (nice, huh!).

This was the first injury of the training season. I was downstairs on the treadmill and Sammy was talking to me. I was distracted and fell, while the treadmill was still going. Ouch!! Sam and Carter were so cute because they were really worried. I survived, then they had to jump on the treadmill so they could train!!

Birthday Weekend

I just found out that my SIL Krissy has the same b-day as me, so I want to give her a late shout out and hope it was great!!

This is the start of my b-day celebration at work. We had brownies, watched The Office and opened my present, which was a "The Office Trivia Game". I have already played it (I must admit I am pretty good), and all I have to say is "GAME ON"!!

These people are the lunch crew. They are sometimes the only reason I get out of bed. Besides, they actually laugh at my jokes (sometimes).

After school, my friends took me out for a "girl's night" to PF Chang's. Can we say YUUUMMMMMMMMMMMM!! My friend Kathy ran a 5K the next morning (crazy girl).

The next day Kelly and I took the kids out to Paradise Cafe for lunch and saw Bedtime Stories. We always have fun together (with or without the kids!!)

This is the official b-day and when I looked outside, this was the sight. It was so pretty with all the frost on the trees. And yes, it is really that cold!

Later that night we made the annual trek to...where else? Outback!!

I know that you think that I am done with the b-day, but nope! Mike invited our friends Tiff and Cam over for cake and ice cream. Sammy made the cake, Mike made the frosting and I got to enjoy it!

Sam's hair

Sammy has finally gotten to the point where she will let me do her hair. She complains, but she looks so dang cute when she lets me do it. Today she even let me do it (not on Sunday) and take pictures of it! What a cutie!!