What a week!!!

We had a busy week with a lot of activities....so many I thought I would share some highlights with you all!!





This past week was red-ribbon week at Emily's school. The kids pledge to stay drug/alcohol and violence free. On Monday morning a hot air balloon was launched from her school. The kids watched it inflate and take off. This picture was taken from my front yard. The balloon floated right over me and I was even talking to the pilot of the balloon....he was that low!!



Day 2 of red-ribbon week was crazy hair day. This is Em (on the right) and her best friend Jolene. The whole week was filled with fun themed days for the kids!

I wish I had a picture of Audrey and Zach's show choir concert, but I only took a video of it. They did great......
They performed at the beginning and at the end.... It is fun to watch the kids do something they work so hard for.





On Thursday night I had to be at a dinner with Kevin up on campus. He was in charge of the alumni dinner and program......Ssoooooo Kassidy accompanied Emily to the "walk the red carpet" mom and daughter activity. They had a great time as their pictures were taken by the paparazzi, they had hand prints together, the food was yummy and on and on...... I am so glad Emily has a sister to make such great memories with (before she heads to college next year!)




There was no school on Friday so Em's Halloween party was in the day. She is the southern belle in the back!



The party was a great success..... as the kids would get a bingo I would pass out frankenstein clappers. Whenever anyone got a bingo everyone would rattle their clappers....


This game is one of the kids favorites. We put candy on a plastic tablecloth and have the kids throw rings onto the tablecloth. Any candy that is in the ring or touching the ring the kids get....They have 3 rings per turn, and if it doesn't land on the tablecloth they get to throw it again until it does. The kids all took 4 different turns.....lots of candy they got!



After getting her hair wet, Emily tried for the apple again!!! She got 2!
Isn't it great to have friends to invite to parties!!!



Audrey had her party on Friday night. Grandma Nelson made her Belle dress and mailed it to Audrey. She loves her dress!!!! She bought pretty shoes to go with it and she just looked so beautiful for her party. I have no pictures of the party....I guess they were having such a good time they just forgot to take them. Audrey had 19 kids (including herself) over. They had a lot of food, played games and laughed. The party ended at 9:30, oh wait, it was suppose to end at 9:30, the last guests left at 11:40!!!! Yes, they had a great time.....boys and girls!!!




Zach came home from school with an uncompleted pillowcase......He brought home the pieces and a bobbin, hoping mom had a sewing machine!!!! I had to take a picture of my son sewing! Kevin told Zach that he has never used a sewing machine before.
When Zach stood up I turned to Kevin and told him Zach couldn't be taller then me....so we both took our shoes off and stood as Kevin said "butt to butt"......Kevin announced that Zach was 1/4-1/2 inch taller then I. Zach then said, "Look what puberty has done to me!" I can't believe my little boy is taller then me!!!!!



On Saturday we had to do a family project for one of Zach's merit badges....He voted for picking up trash along the trail behind our house. We spent just over an hour cleaning up!



Zach and Damaris......they are good friends........

Saturday night we had our ward fall festival or Halloween party that I was in charge of. It was a great success with a fabulous turn out and a lot of yummy food and fun treats for the kids.....

So you see, once again a fun filled week....gotta love it!!

Coming up this week would be Zach and Kassidy's Halloween parties....stay tuned!

Zion's Park

We started our trip on Thursday, the kids had a couple of days off so we headed down south to some place we had never been....
We took along with us the kids' "adopted Grandma", Jan.



We took a short hike up to weeping rock. It was cool how the water comes right out of the sandstone!



Our next hike was up to the lower emerald pool.....except we never made it there. We went the the middle pool then up to the upper pool. The kids were troopers!!



On Friday we hiked an easy trail, with side trips to the river and also to the picnic tables for lunch.



I love playing with the cameras settings. Love how it accents the green!



Friday night we went to Tuacahn. We watched "Big River". It was about Huck Finn. We all loved it. Can't wait for next summer.....Annie and Footloose!!



On Saturday we checked out of the hotel and headed back to Zion's.



We did a river walk trail, but it led to where we were really going....



To hike in the water......
Now Jan warned us that it would be cold, and she wasn't lying!!!! Shoes and all, we walked back and forth through the water. We were headed for the narrows......




Can you believe Zach was always in the front of the pack???




And Audrey, the adventurous one!!!



It was cold and so we just didn't make it as far as we were going to. Kass and Em had enough of the cold, and I was right with them.
It was an adventure I am glad we tried. Jan wanted to keep going and so did Zach and Audrey......we will go again next time.......I promised them!!! Plus we need to try Angel's landing....maybe!!




The scenery is beautiful. I am so glad we went and we will go again. So much to see, so little time. We were never rushed, we just had a great time!

Luxury or Necessity?!?

For those who have known me for quite a while, I have dealt with chronic headaches. I can not remember when I did not have headaches, I know that time existed, but when was it. After trying a couple of different chiropractors, Kevin decided I needed to go and see my friend Heather. So couple of years ago I started going in for massages on my neck, back and shoulders. Heather did a great job on working my knots out. There would come a time when they would taper off, only to return a few days later. The conclusion of my headaches was from stress and tension. The reason this is the conclusion is because I had a MRI, got glasses for reading, and my neck and shoulders are constantly tight. Okay, so fast forward to now.....I do not go to school, I do not babysit, I am a stay at home mom and I love it!!! Headaches?? Yes, they are still there, but only occasionally.... No longer everyday, maybe once a week. I can only go about 3 weeks until I need to get my neck, shoulders, back and head worked on or they come back full force. I do as I please during the days, although I must say for over a month now I have been canning and I finished yesterday. The list is long on what I canned and I am so proud of myself. Okay enough babbling. This topic has just been on my mind lately. I would say my massages are definitely a necessity, after all, I am a much nicer person when my head is not pounding constantly!!!!

Go Audrey!!

Today was Audrey's tennis tournament. Okay so you all know we are not an athletic family, meaning our children have never been in sports before. Well, Audrey was talked into playing tennis (then her best friend quit!) Still, she persevered and she actually had a great time! Audrey use to play singles, but the last 2 games she was moved to doubles with a little spanish girl, Camilla. The two of them totally meshed in their game of tennis. The coaches wish they would have paired these two up in the beginning. So the matches they played together previous to the tournament they won!!!!
Now, on the the tournament. It was an all day adventure. Audrey called mid morning to update me, they had won their first 2 matches!!! They played again and lost (double elimination). So, after the 4th game she called and they had won!! They played their 5th game and won!! However, on the sixth game they were defeated and finished for the year! These two girls were the only ones left from their school! The coach was so proud of them and so were we!!! Way to go!! Not too bad for two girls who never played tennis before!!!!!!! Go Audrey!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

I had a great birthday!! Turning 39 just isn't so bad!!
After getting up and getting ready for the day, I got the older kids out the door, but not before they broke out in song (of coarse I told them to sing to me!)
Kevin called and sang to me with Emily following along. It sounded so good I had him sing to me again!!
I went on my walk, dropping Emily off at school and continuing on. I always have great conversation with my friend who walks with me.
When I got home my mom called and sang to me!
My friend came over and gave me a present, and another lady in our ward who has adopted our family gave me one as well. Wow, two unexpected gifts!!!
I then headed to Provo to do a little shopping. I scored big time on some razors at Smith's, then went to Honk's to check out their Halloween stuff. I could not believe it, they were celebrating my birthday also!! Everything was 88 cents!!!!
I then went to Kevin's work to go to lunch with him. He was taking the rest of the day off to be with me!! We went to Cafe Rio, yummy!!! NO LINES!! Another celebration moment!! While I was ordering, Kevin was talking to a guy in front of us he knew. He actually went to school with Kevin and was there recruiting. He had been in Kevin's office that morning. He told the cashier we was buying our lunch and I told him thank you, it was my birthday!! So the cashier guy hears me say this and asks me my name, I told him......then the whole kitchen broke out in song!!!! During this my dad calls, I opened the phone so he could hear them singing to me, then my dad sang to me!!!! Oh it was great. I know there are some people who think their birthday is just another day, but why??? It is a celebration of living another year!! After I ate my salad, with lime cilantro dressing poured all over it, we headed to American Fork to get a part for the lawn mower. Kevin kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday. He has asked me for weeks now!!
In fact, that morning Emily asked me what dad was getting me and I told her I told him not to get me anything. She then said to me that when I tell dad that it means he is suppose to get me something. Oh she is wise!!!
Anyhow, we went back to Kevin's work to get his truck, but we stopped at RC Willey's to look at night stands, they didn't have anything that appealed to me!!
We then went to some other store looking at them, but finally found a couple at Sam's club! Kevin bought them and while he was waiting for them to go and get them from the rafters, I headed back home to be at Audrey's tennis game.
Kevin soon followed and we spent the next 2 hours waiting and watching her play! Once again, Way to go Audrey!!!
When we got home Kevin barbecued some yummy steaks for dinner!! The kids cleaned the kitchen!!!
Another friend stopped over with a gift, man I was feeling spoiled!!
After this we got the night stands in place! Kassidy and Audrey headed to the High School for a pep rally for homecoming week.
We had a couple of friends over for brownies and ice cream...more presents!! Yummy chocolate!!
After they left, Jan came over with a gift, then our highway patrol friend came over with a gift from his wife (she was out of town visiting relatives but had given him strict instructions on bringing me my present on my birthday!)
The girls arrived home and we visited for a bit. They wished my a happy birthday, asking me how the party went and telling me once again they would have stayed home. I told them they were fine going and having a fun night with their friends. I know they love me!!!
Everytime I talked to the kids through the day, they wished me a happy birthday!!
Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Way to go kids!!!!

I have failed to post about Audrey and her tennis, and Zach and his Dr appointment with his endocrinologist!
Last week Audrey won her match!! She played doubles with another girl and they made a great team!! They won 6 games to two. Yesterday she played again against Spanish Fork and she won again, 6 games to 3!! I was so proud of her. You know are kids just don't come from sports oriented parents. Great job, sis!!
Zach had a great hba1c last week. Are you ready for this??? He was 6.1!! He is normally 7.0-7.3. I could not believe it. The doctor asked us how his lows were. The reason is because in order to get a good number, you have to be going low daily. I doubt we will be seeing a number like this again, but for now, Way to go!!!