Meier Mania

Fall Festivities

2009-10-26T11:54:00.001-07:00

As usual, time is flying by faster than I want it to. Here are just a few of the happenings going on at our home:

First, more quality entertainment from Jordan. He came home from school wearing this one day. I ask him what the heck he's wearing and he says "Oh man, I've had the best day!" He proceeds to tell me that he and Jared (best bud-if you read my blog often you probably already know who that is) found these Hunter Administration vests at the DI. So of course they bought them and wore the Hunter Administration "uniform" to school, complete with walky talkies and a clip badge- don't ask me how they got that. They had a hayday taking students to the office (like they were in trouble) and getting people out of class all day. I told him he was probably going to get in trouble and he said, "Are you kidding me? The administration loved us!" I hope he's right. So far I haven't gotten a phone call and he hasn't been suspended...that I know of:)

Next, congratulations to Jace who was elected 7th grade Senator at his Jr. High. He campaigned for a week. When voting was over they announced the winners and gave them a banner and a crown. I still can't believe he's in Jr. High:(

Then, this past weekend was Sadie Hawkins at school. I guess you can either wear a costume or wear matching shirts. Jordan went with Janessa and they went as nerds. Since Jordan frequently shops at the DI he had no problem coming up with a costume.

Marquie's date was Jared. Yes, the same Jared that is usually partners in crime with Jordan. He's adorable. They started with a day activity carving pumpkins in the canyon. Why is he wearing a hat you ask? No, it really wasn't that cold outside. See if you can find him in the next picture and you'll know why.

Thats him with the bald head. He shaved it in preparation for the costumes they planned.

And here they are. Isn't that a hoot? I'm telling you, these guys know how to have fun and they are not afraid to be crazy. Their group had dinner at our house before the dance and we laughed and laughed.

Then they went out on the deck to show us how they were going to bust a move at the dance.

We had to get a good close up of Marquie's padded booty. So funny!

A Quick Catch Up

2009-09-25T21:32:00.001-07:00

It seems like whenever a new school year starts, so does a billion other things. Our family is involved in way too many things, but we never can seem to cut anything out. Anyways, whenever I get overwhelmed, blogging is one of the first things to go. So here's just a little glimpse of a few things that have happened over the last month.

First, Marquie finally turned 16 and got asked out on her first date. She went with Dallin Sweet and his last name describes him well. And they humored me with a picture (a few actually but this will do).

Then a few days later, Marquie got asked to Homecoming (her first school dance) by Mike Peters- a great friend and neighbor.

It was funny because we happen to be having the team dinner (HHS girls soccer-yeah!) at our house at that particular moment so they were all in on it.

Then, because it was Marquie's sweet 16 we had a surprise party for her the weekend after her bday. She was very surprised. I can't even tell you how many people came, I lost track. But it was fun!

Then Wade (the little sneak) knew I would never suspect another surprise so soon, so he threw a surprise party for me the following weekend for my big 40. My poor family. They helped me a ton with Marquie's party and I know they helped Wade even more. You can tell I really was surprised because I look like a scrounge. Do people still say scrounge?

Yes, I blew out all 40 candles on my first try, thank you very much!

Marquie & Mike leaving for their day activity at 9:30 in the morning. They really go all out nowadays. It's like an all day thing.

Marquie & Shenay were in the same group so they got ready together at our house. They are so cute!!

Marquie & Jord just before Jordan left to go pick up his date.

Mike putting Marquie's corsage on. It was much more successful than her (and me) trying to put his boutinere on.

Marquie's whole group

Dang, I just deleted Jordans group photo and I'm too tired to figure out how to get it back where I want it. It's too bad because these girls had on the cutest modest dresses.

Jordans group had dinner at our house out on the deck. Makenna was their waitress and she was adorable. And they all gave her tips. Right here she is asking them what kind of salad dressing they want.

Such a great group! While we were getting their food ready we could hear them saying a prayer.

And I had to add this little tidbit. Jordans buddy Jared was voted Homecoming King. This is him after they announced it at the Homecoming assembly. He's adorable and hilarious!

Sorry about the long post. Hopefully I'll get a handle on "busy season". It seems like it's busy season for about 9 months out of the year. Oh well, let the good times roll=)

Sweet 16

2009-08-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened. My sweet little Marquie is 16 years old today. I can't believe it. We had her family birthday party on Sunday. Here's grandpa Dennis giving her her cake.

This is Marquie opening her present from mom & dad. I knew she wasn't expecting anything, so I wondered what her reaction would be. She just looked at the key and smiled and said "Nuh-uh, really?" kind of jokingly. Then when we all sat there, she started running to the front door.

I think she thought it was a joke at first. She didn't say anything, just kept smiling & laughing.

I felt kinda bad for Wade. Bless his heart, he had put a big white bow on it, and as soon as he did it started raining. So by the time Marquie came out, it just looked like a toilet-papered car. Maybe that's why she was acting so unsure.

Okay, maybe this is real.

She was being so.... I don't know, just not freakin out. I mean she was smiling and stuff, but she was pretty calm.

Then finally it sunk in, and then I got the "freak out" I was expecting.

And of course the whole family was there, just they way we like it.

Shayla led them all in "For she's a jolly good fellow". I still don't know why. What happened to the Happy Birthday song? I was so distracted by Marquie's calmness that I forgot to ask.

Happy Birthday Marquie!

Sweet Success!

2009-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

When Jace was born he was a husky little thing. He weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz and to this day we tease him that 9 lbs of him was his cheeks.

Well, he's pretty much kept those adorable chubby cheeks for most of his childhood.... until about 6 months ago. In the last 6 months Jace has had a major growth spurt. He's grown about 6 inches and his cute little chubby cheeks (and body) started to disappear. I've been watching my little boy grow into a young man in front of my very eyes.
Jace has played football for the past several years. In football, there is a weight limit. If you weigh more than the limit, you can only play the line because they don't want bigger kids crushing tiny kids. So Jace has played the line for the past few years. This year, Jace decided that he really wanted to play a different position- one that he has to be under the weight limit for.
So he came to us before football started and told us that he wanted to make weight and felt like he could. It would mean he would have to lose about 12 lbs in about 5 weeks. I didn't like the idea too much, but he was soooooo determined. So we told him we would help him but only if he did it healthy. No crazy crash diets. So we came up with a plan

THE KID IS A MACHINE!!!!

I am so totally amazed by his motivation and will power. He ran at least 2 miles a day, and ate 6 times a day. No sugar, no pop, and very low fat. He has eaten more fish in the last month than most people eat in a lifetime.

Well weigh ins were on Monday, and I'm proud to announce that he made it! While he and Wade were at the weigh in, I ran to Sams Club and bought him one of those yummy chocolate bundt cakes. It was # 1 on his list of things he wanted to eat after he made weight. We were planning on taking him to dinner and then coming home to the cake. But when he got home and saw it, he asked if he could have a little piece of it before we went to dinner.

I couldn't resist- it was a priceless moment!

SWEET SUCCES!!

As Good As It Gets!!

2009-07-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Our family LOVES traditions. One of our favorites is our yearly trip to Palisade Park. For me, the main thing that makes this trip so much fun is that my family, most of Wade's family, and a lot of Stef's (my sis-in-law) family comes. Each year it seems there is a few more of us. I love it!! We have an absolute riot. I have come to realize how incredibly blessed and lucky we are to have such great, supportive, fun families. I love being with every single one of them!
I took so many pics, I couldn't decide which ones to post, so Shay came over and showed me how to do collages. I learn slowly but surely.

As soon as we get there the kids are in the water. Moms are running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get life jackets on everyone. As soon as we do, we are in the water too! Between the canoe, the party barge, and all of our floaties we pretty much own that lake!

Wade got a wind surfer for the trip this year. It was a new challenge and many took it on, even though it only gets windy for about a half hour in the afternoon. Still fun!

Chad & Stef set up a volleyball net in the middle of all the trailers. It was a blast!

The teenagers learned a game called "Ninja Strike" while they were at EFY. They taught everyone how to play. I never did catch on but it was fun to watch.

Oh, how the kids love to catch creatures. Pollywogs, frogs, lizards, and yes Jordan is holding a dead muskrat. He claims it was attacking him in the water so he killed it with some kids oar (the poor kid is probably traumatized for life). Jordan called it his ROUS. And it was hideous!

In between all of the above activities, we spent time eating, digging lazy rivers for all the creatures to play in, napping, and visiting.

One of the nights we are there, we usually go to a pizza place in Ephraim called Roys (aka Fat Jacks). Well this year they were closed for the 24th so we had to find another place. We went to the Pizza Gallery. All 40 of us walk in to find out that there are only 2 teenage girls working and they looked a bit panicked. The guys asked them if they wanted help and surprisingly they said yes. They started out just doing smoothies and pop, but before long they were making pizzas, serving salads, and calling out orders. It was hilarious. I think those poor girls were happy when we finally left.

Poor Sara. She has had quite a challenge with her braces. For some reason, she has some kind of allergic reaction when she goes to the orthodontist. She thought it was fixed after they took the nickel braces off and put on porcelain. But.... she went to the ortho the day before our trip and woke up to a mouth full of canker sores the next day when we left. And when I say a mouthful I am not exaggerating. This picture does not do it justice. She was such a trooper. She hung in there and made sure everyone was having fun. I wish you could see her face in the pic of us playing cards. That was her permanent expression on this trip. And we all have a new vocabulary from Sara not being able to pronounce her words without whincing.

BFF's

I love that all the cousins get along, no matter what the age difference. On this trip Marquie, Shenay, and Livvy were the 3 musketeers and they loved every minute of it!

Chris, Chad, Wade, & Shayne are training for a couple of triathlons coming up. They swam the lake every day in preparation. This picture cracks me up with all their garb on. So goofy!

The only bad thing about this trip is that when it's over I feel the same as I do the day after Christmas. So bummed it's over already. But hey, there's always next year- and I can't wait!!!!

It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses a Tooth!

2009-07-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Well, I am always the slowest to update my blog, so most of you have already heard this story from Sara's or Shayla's blog, but I still had to do it. I actually got the event on the camcorder but I don't know how to put it on, and I don't know if Shay would want me to.

Anyway, we were having a water fight on the 4th of July, and we got a little carried away, and some of my sisters teeth got knocked out (that's for you Sara).

Poor Shayla! She got konked with that pot she's holding (which is really the dog's water dish which makes it even worse). In the bag is half of her tooth. She ended up having to have a root canal on it. We're still waiting to see if the other tooth will re-root or if she's gonna lose that one too. She is quite a trooper. She even came back for fireworks after a couple hours at the dentist!

But here are some of the brighter pics of the day:

The traditional neighborhood parade. Chris, me, Austin, my mom, Shay & Pais, & Denise

Sawyer, Trevor, and Makenna

This year there were games at the end of the parade. Woohoo!
Halee & Shandra

Makenna & Sadie

Jace getting an American Flag painted on his face

Back to Bams for the big BBQ. Here are the teenagers filling up water balloons.

Keisha (our next door neighbor), Marquie, Dallas, Shenay, & Jordan (his hair is coming in nicely, don't you think?)

Mid-water fight. Sara, Gracie, Shay, Shayne, & Trev

Getting ready to watch the firework show. Denise, Sadie, Shayla with a numb face, Me, Sara

Sparklers!! Shenay, Dallas, Livvy, Chris, & Mak

A little more eventful than years past, but still, the 4th is the best!

Boys Will Be Boys... Right?

2009-06-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

Lets talk about Jordan. To know him is to love him. If you know him, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, you are truly missing out on some quality entertainment.
Jordan is such a free spirit. He is energetic, adventurous, curious, hilarious, impulsive, fun, independent, and very wild and crazy. He has the ability to make me laugh and want to kill him at the same time. Most of the time I love this about him. Sometimes it stresses me out.

Lets talk about Jordans friends (aka: The Main Men). I LOVE these guys. They are the cutest, funnest, nicest, best group of boys I know. All but 2 of them (Jordan & Jared) graduated from High School this year, so they decided to go on a trip to St. George this past week to celebrate.

Top: Seth, Jordan, Jon, Richard, Jared, Sitting: Cody & Rambo

Well, they thought their trip would be more exciting if they sported some crazy hairdo's for the week, so they each thought up a crazy design...

and out came the clippers.

Whoa! They called Jordan "Father" all week- I wonder why. How do you like his pants pulled up over his bellybutton?

These pictures don't do them justice, but I didn't have time to put all the close-ups on.

Side view- I wonder what people thought when they saw these guys coming their way-haha.

I was so worried Jordan's head would get sunburned and then his hair wouldn't grow back. He said he plastered it with sun screen every day

Cody, Jordan, & Richard

I told Jordan that he definitely picked the "worst" one and he said "You mean the "best" one mom. When he first sent me the picture on my phone I just about wet my pants.

Anyway, I decided it's either laugh or cry. Hair grows back, and when it comes down to it, they could be doing a lot worse, right? (Please tell me I'm right).

We do have a family picture tonight with my whole side of the family. I think in time it will be one of my favorites:) You gotta love the kid!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2009-06-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics from our Disneyland trip. I can't believe it's already over:(

It's funny how things change over the years. Our kids weren't nearly as excited as they were the last time we went (except Makenna). At least they didn't seem to be. Maybe it had to do with having to get up at 5 am the morning we left:)

Wade having the time of his life on the tea cups.

Me, Makenna, Marquie, and good 'ol Mickey

California Adventure seems to have more rides that the teenagers like, so we spent a lot of time there. Last time we came, Makenna went on Tower of Terror and swore she would never do it again. Well we talked her into it- we thought she would like it now that she's a few years older. Big mistake. She hated it! I have never seen anyone so terrified. It was hilarious.

I can't remember where this was taken. Anyone know? Cute though.

Wade & I riding the tram where this humungous creature landed on my hand. I screamed louder than Makenna did in Tower of Terror.

By the time evening came on our first day, we were exhausted (because of the 5 am thing). The teenagers were ready to go to the hotel, but Makenna still wanted to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It was clear over on the other side of the park, but....

she got her way! Someone forgot to tell the teenagers that this is the happiest place on earth!!

On Saturday we took a break from the parks and went to Huntington Beach. It was fabulous. I think the kids may have liked it more than Disneyland.

After playing on the boogie boards in the water, we played volleyball on the beach and then went for a walk on the pier. There's a Ruby's Diner at the end of the pier so we stopped and had onion rings and shakes. Anyone who's ever been to a Ruby's Diner knows how yummy that was.

So I saved the best for last. In my opinion, to have the best Disneyland experience ever, you have to partake of all the yummy (but way too expensive) treats there. So we made a list of all the things we wanted to eat before the trip ended:

Frozen bananas and frozen lemonade

Churros

Carameled apples

Marquie and her warm toasted almonds

And our favorite: tortillas from the Mission tortilla factory. They were closed the first day. The second day they were only serving corn tortillas- they're okay. Finally on the last day we got our scrumptious warm flour tortillas. We could go home happy!

And we did!!

PHEW!

2009-06-04T16:23:00.001-07:00

Well, tomorrow is the last day of school, and I have never been so happy for a school year to end. It seems the older my kids get, the more crazy MY schedule gets. I feel like I have been in a whirlwind and I am ready for a big NAP! This past month has been filled with:
dance concerts, school projects, soccer games, dance tryouts, soccer tryouts, more school projects, all kinds of performances, end of year banquets, end of year assemblies, nursing teenagers with mono, yard work, planting, more school projects, etc., etc., etc. I know many of you can relate and probably have even more on your plate than me. But I for one am burned out and so are my kids and we are so ready for ...

SUMMER!

Yeah baby! Here are some of the things I LOVE most about summer:
Swimming, camping, Snowies:), sister activities (starting Monday, are you guys ready??) parks, gardening, Palisades (oh man, I can't wait!), walking with the morning crew, 4th of July, picnics, playing dodgeball on the tramp, playing hide & seek outside (even though I almost pee my pants doing the last two) BBQ's, neighborhood parties, homemade icecream, Cherry Hill, spending time with the fam!
Summer is the best I say!! And in exactly one week we will be in the happiest place on earth. What a way to start out the summer- things are definitely looking good!

On a completely different note, I have to give a shout out to my studly Jace. Yesterday was the awards assembly at his elementary school and he was awarded the "Future of America" award.

Trying to act like it's no big deal

Nice! And if you're wondering, yes he is taller than me:(

Then today was 6th grade commencement and he was recognized for scoring in the top 10% nationally on his CRT's.

Good job smarty pants Jace!

Mother's Day, Dance Concerts, Lavender?, and 20 years of Bliss!

2009-05-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, May has been a busy month so I have a lot of catching up to do!

First, a confession: I have had many comments on what a nice mom I am to make my family breakfast in bed on their birthdays. It is a tradition and I do have fun with it, but, the truth is... I want a turn! And I always get it (not always with a great attitude, but nonetheless).

So here I am in all my glory getting my breakfast in bed on Mother's Day. You can tell how excited my kids are that their dad made them participate. And now you all know about my selfish motives and can feel much better about yourselves as mothers.

All joking aside, I had a great day and I'm so very thankful to be a mother. I know without a doubt that it is the most important thing I will ever do. I'm also so thankful for a wonderful forgiving family who loves me despite my many shortcomings!

Next, we had another successful dance concert at Shellie's School of Dance. It was especially fun this year because Jordan got to be in it this year. He was asked to be in the couples dance with one of the graduates (Brittany Flandro) and did a great job. And as usual, I was proud as can be of my beautiful talented girls!

Jordan, Marquie, and Makenna

Tessa, Shenay, and Marquie

Our concert was "All you need is Love" and we did a Beatles Anthology. If you are a Beatles fan and didn't come, you truly missed out. It was fabulous. I didn't know I was a Beatles fan until we put on this concert, but now there is no doubt!

Makenna danced to "Octopuses Garden". Marquie danced to "Get Back" and "Something In The Way She Moves". Jordan danced to "Baby You Can Drive My Car"

Makenna just turned 10 and is finally old enough to try out for Jazz Attitude. It's the performing team at our studio. We decided to stop at the studio on our way to Arctic Circle after the concert to see if by chance the list of who made it was up yet.

She made it! The only person more excited than her was her cousin and best friend Sadie who is already in it. They are so excited to be in the same class!

The day after dance concert was Senior Ball at Hunter High. Jordan was pretty much on his own to prepare for this dance with it being concer week and all. He was a little more excited than usual when he came home from renting his tux with his buddies...

Yes, lavender, and yes a cane to boot. If you know the Jordman (and his friends) you are not surprised right now. However, he never ceases to surprise me.

I have to admit, he looked pretty sharp. And he knew it too!

And lastly, this may be a little icky for some of you so you might want to stop reading now.

Wade and I celebrated our 20th anniversary on May 20th. I can hardly believe it, it seems like yesterday. The day of our anniversary was extremely busy so we decided to wait for the weekend to celebrate. But as I backed out of the driveway to take the kids to school, this is what I saw....

Very sweet! I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband. He is so good to me. He is an amazing husband and father and he is so unselfish. And then on our postponed date he surprised me with a trip to Disneyland! Woohoo! That's where we went on our honeymoon, but this time is gonna be even better cuz we're taking the whole fam!!!!! I'm so excited!!! Okay the icky is over:)

Makenna enters double digits!

2009-04-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl! Makenna turned 10 years old yesterday and I'm feeling a little bit sad. Makenna is the baby, and like most babies of the family, we don't want her to grow up. She was such a mommas girl when she was a baby. She didn't like anyone but mom (not even dad who is still a little miffed about it). At the time, I remember thinking she was so hard because I couldn't do anything without her, but now I miss it and I love that she was that way.
Makenna wanted a ham, cheese, and mushroom omelet for her bday breakfast, with toast, fruit, and milk. She was very specific.

Anyway, some fun things about Makenna:

-She is always happy. I'm not sure when that happened because when she was a baby she was a stinker, but now she is an absolute joy to be around.

-She can bust a move like nobody's business. The girl loves to dance and she is one funky diva!

-She is sooo responsible. At home and school, if she is asked to do something, it will get done.

-She is a candy freak. You wouldn't know it to look at her, she's as skinny as 6:00 straight up, but she loves sweets!

-She's a girly girl. Loves clothes, fashion, hair, makeup, doing her nails, etc... but... she can play soccer just as good if not better than any boy her age!

-She's a smarty farty pants!

-My favorite... she has the cutest freckles in the world. I love them. They are sooo Makenna.

Happy Birthday Kennie-girl. We love you sooooooo much!

Jr Prom & Sweet Aunt Sara

2009-04-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

So here are some pics of Jordan & adorable Sammie from Jr. Prom. It was on the same night as the David Archuleta concert so it was a very hectic night.

They went to the zoo for their day activity. The group: Jared & Keisha G, Valerie & Seth, Sammie & Jordan

They went to Biaggi's for dinner and then the dance was at the Airport Hilton. Fancy Schmancy!

It was funny because the kids were all meeting at our house at 5:30. Sara was picking me and the girls up at 6:00. I thought no problem. I'll take pics and get the kids off by 5:45 and be ready to go when Sara comes. Duh! Teenagers are not on time, how did I forget this? So they all show up at about 5:45 with most of the parents in tow because we all want pictures.

So finally we get all the pictures we want and Sara should be here like right now and of course I still need to change. So I run into my room and am hustling like crazy. In walks Sara with huge tears just streaming down her face. My first thought was that someone hit her car as she was coming in our circle cuz there were so many people coming and going and everyone was in a hurry and there were so many cars parked everywhere. I said "Oh no, what happened?! She says "Jordan's going to Prom." Cute huh?

I wish I wouldn't have been in such a rush and would have thought to take a pic of Sara bawling her eyes out. That would have been priceless!

Happy Birthday Jacey-boy!

2009-04-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Jace is 12 years old today!

Lucky for him his birthday is on a Sunday this year and since it's General Conference today he got to sleep in. He wanted cinnamon rolls for his birthday breakfast in bed.

We are having a birthday party tonight for all of the cousins who have birthdays in April, but we let him open one of his presents this morning. Just some summer clothes but the funny thing is that Wade said "Those are stokin' shorts Jace!" and Jace said "Did you say stokin? What the heck does that mean?" Well, FYI, that was a very cool word back in our day. I guess that shows how old we are!

Lovin those cinnamon rolls!

A few of Jace's favorite things:

hanging out with friends, football, soccer, sleeping,eating, reading, the color green, warm weather, Christmas, school, and family vacations.

My favorite things about Jace:

1. He is the sweetest boy you will ever know. He always asks me if there is anything he can do to help me.

2.He is very quick witted and has a come-back for everything.

3. He is a perfectionist, if he commits to doing something he always finishes it.

4. He has more friends than anyone I know (and more girlfriends than any kid his age).

5. He is always happy and being around him makes others happy.
6. He is a read-aholic. We can't buy enough books to keep him busy.
7. He is very creative and smart and musically talented!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

David Archuleta ROCKS!

2009-03-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

My mom got all the girls (except Olivia who opted to go to the Monster Truck Show instead) tickets to David Archuleta. We have been counting the days!!! It was so much fun and he was so incredible!

Sara picked us up and we all met at my sister Denise's house and then headed to Costa Vida to eat before the concert. This is Sadie, Makenna, and Marquie in the back of Sara's car.

I was so excited that I forgot to take pics at Costa Vida. It was packed in there and I got a little distracted. Plus, David Osmond was there- another distraction. I'm really mad at myself- but we weren't there for long because the kids scarfed down their food in like 2 minutes cuz they were so anxious to get to the E Center. Anyways, this is a poster Sadie and Mak made for David. They weren't allowed to take it in. They were crushed!:(

All of us just before walking in.

So our seats were in the nose bleed section, but they actually were pretty good. We were on the first row so the kids could see great. We were just worried they were gonna fling themselves over the bar when David came out, they were so excited.

Marquie & Sadie patiently waiting.

Goofy Bam-she can't control her excitement to see David.

So we knew there would be an opening act. And he was pretty good and not too long. But about 10 minutes after he finished a second opening act came out- oh man:(. She was okay too but we were so ready for David by then. When she finished, the whole place started screaming DAVID! DAVID! DAVID!-- including us. Me & Sara

Shandra & Halee

Sadie & Makenna

Shenay & Marquie

AND HE FINALLY CAME!

Need I say more?

During "Touch My Hand"

Halee singing along at the top of her lungs.

And so were the moms!

Shenay & Marquie- How do you really feel about David Archuleta??

We had a blast! It was a first concert for Sadie, Mak, Halee, & Shandra. I think they're gonna remember this for a loooong time!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T16:29:00.001-08:00

This was such a great Valentine's Day because it was on Saturday, so the whole fam was home, except for Jordan who went snowboarding with his friends.

After we all slept in, Wade made his traditional heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. Yummo. Marquie and Shenay are not happy about the picture so soon after they woke up, but I still think they look great!

I forgot to mention that first he had to take the YM around and pick up food for the food drive, and he still came home and made everyone breakfast. What a guy!!

Woops, I forgot to turn the picture before I downloaded. This is Makenna showing off her heart shaped cake she made at Activity Day. She has the funnest leader. Thanks Cynthia!

All the girls showing off our Valentine flowers given to us by our Prince Charming (aka-daddy). Fun day!

Jackson Hole

2009-01-13T12:47:00.000-08:00

Jackson Hole is becoming one of my favorite places on earth. We went there in the summer and had a blast. We weren't expecting to go again so soon, but Wade had a PT conference there this past week. We decided to take the whole fam and have some fun. Did we ever!! Jordan & Marquie love snowboarding so we knew they would like it. But Jace and Makenna have never done any snow sports and I haven't skiied in I don't know how many years. I was a little nervous because Wade had class all day on the first day so we were on our own. The thought of me teaching Jace & Kenna how to ski is pretty hilarious I must admit!

They did so great. Luckily there was a beginners area with a tow rope that pulled you up an easy hill. We started there and it didn't take them long to get it. This is Mak being pulled on the tow rope.

Jace showing off his snow plowing skills.

I feel bad I didn't get any still pics of Jordan & Marquie on their boards. They were way too advanced for us so we kind of split up. I got some good video of some of their tricks. If I ever learn how to put video on I'll show it (don't hold your breath).

Wade got to join us on the second day and totally showed us all up. He's still got it!

The best part of our trip was going snowmobiling. It was soooo beautiful. We went to a place called Granite Hot Springs. We rode on a trail through the mountains to get there. Wade had to slam on his brakes at one point to let a moose cross the trail. It was so cool.

Jordan got a machine all to himself because nobody dared to ride with him. He's such a daredevil!

Family pic just outside of the hot springs.

This is a natural hot spring in the middle of the mountains. There's a little ticket booth to pay for entry and 2 very small dressing rooms to change in. It was so awesome!

This was the best spot. The water trickles in right behind where we are so it was the hottest spot. Chada!

Then we suited back up in our snow clothes and broke out the Subway sandwiches. We were very prepared.

There was another group of people who had ridden up on a dog sled. We had to get our picture with the dogs.

On our way back down the mountain we saw another moose. This one just trotted along the trail in front of us for about a mile before it turned off into the trees. So cool!

A Happy New Year Surprise!

2009-01-02T10:25:00.001-08:00

Welcome Baby Paislee!

Well she's here! Beautiful baby Paislee decided to come a week early. We are all so excited! The family all came over to our house for New Years Eve and Shay was having contractions the whole time but they weren't regular. She went for a walk, took a bath, the whole nine yards. We really wanted her to have the New Years baby so we were trying to get her to jump on the tramp and play Rock Band, but it didn't go over too well.

Anyways, all I can say is Shayla knows how to have babies. She got to the hospital at 5 and had her at 7:45. I don't know how she does that! Good job Shay and Trev!!!

Paislee Shay Stone, 6 lbs 4 oz, 19 1/2 inches long

So precious!

Sawyer giving baby sister a kiss.

Favorite Aunt:)

Proud daddy holding up the foot prints.

Happy Birthday Jordan!

2008-12-23T07:29:00.000-08:00

Today is Jordans birthday. He is 17 years old, can you believe it? I can't. Here are a few things I love about Jordan:
1. He's the funniest person in the world- especially when he talks with one of his many genuine accents.
2. He is who he is. He never tries to put on an act to impress people. If you don't like him, it's okay with him. He's such a free spirit.
3. He loves healthy food. Jordan rarely eats candy. He likes to snack on healthy food (gets that from his dad).
4. He's totally buff! If you punch him in the stomach your hand will hurt. I know this from experience.
5. He's so smart. Jordan has never liked school, but he hangs in there and gets good grades anyway.
6. He looks out for his siblings. I would like to say that he's always nice to them but that's not true. But if anyone else is not nice to them, he will definitely take care of it.
7. He can build or fix anything.
8. He can talk his way out of anything. I actually don't love this so much about him, but it's definitely a talent worth sharing.
9. He's so grumpy in the morning. This is something I've learned to love about him after realizing he gets it from me.
10. He can make friends with anyone! He is so nonjudging. He gives everyone a chance. He doesn't care what people look like or what race or religion they are. Once at Cherry Hill we couldn't find Jordan and after about an hour we see him going down Cardiac Canyon with complete strangers, acting like they were lifelong friends. Another time we were camping and a group of teenagers came over to see if Jordan could come play night games with them. I said "How do you know them?" He says "Oh I just met them earlier today". He has so many friends.

These are just a few things I love about the Jordman. I really could go on forever! Have a great birthday bud. We love you!
Here are some pics from his family bday party.

Pretty handsome kid huh?

This is Jordan reading his "Christian card". Uncle Christian always makes homemade birthday cards and they are always hilarious.

Jordan insists on having cheesecake for his birthday parties. But 17 candles are hard to fit on a cheesecake so I made a regular cake just for show.

After presents, Jordan entertained us by playing Christmas songs on the guitar. Two months ago he decided that he wanted to play the guitar and has taught himself how to play. He's actually pretty good.

Jord showing off some of his new stuff.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2008-12-16T07:29:00.000-08:00

I know, I've been such a slacker making posts lately! So sorry. Wade decided to mention in our family Christmas card that I enjoy blogging and so I thought I better not make a liar out of him! I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season as much as I am! I truly love it. All of it! Except for the having to make homemade gifts this year on the Meier side. I am not a crafty person and after they get their gifts they probably won't ever ask me to do homemade gifts again. Sorry guys! Anyway, dance concert is over, enrichment night is over, my RS lesson is over, no more devotionals to sing at, and I'm close to being done with my shopping (hooray) so I am in full "enjoy Christmas" mode. In fact I'm sitting in my Santa robe eating caramels right now- yes homemade and very scrumptious even if I do say so myself! Jace is in a play at school this morning, and when I get back I'm going to pop in a Christmas movie and start the wrapping. I'm soooo excited!
Anyhow, here are a few pics of the fam getting our trees up and decortated. Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!
Jace and Kenna in the true spirit of decorating with their Christmas hats and all!

I know it looks like I'm floating in the air but really Im on a ladder. Such an ugly picture:(

The Jordman who was not in a decorating mood but humored me with sort of smile even though he was being forced to participate.

Marquie showing the remnants of the ornament she dropped and broke. Yeah, she looks sorry but I don't know. Big trouble!

So we always wait until the last minute to do our Christmas card pic. This is the one we wanted to use but when I went to create it on the Costco website, it cut off Jordans head. So I had to use a different one that's not so cute (because we were on a time restraint). So if you get the ugly one in the mail, just refer to this cute one! I love my little fam, they are the best!

Don't Eat Me

2008-11-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

Well the "Don't Eat Me" part needs some leading into so I'll start with the fun stuff. Every year we have a Halloween FHE on the Monday before Halloween. We start by turning on the Halloween music CD full blast and we dance throughout the house.

Then we eat a yummy dinner that includes clam chowder in bread bowls and apple cider in the cauldron full of dry ice. -But the dry ice was kind of whimpy this year, I don't know why.

Then we play Halloween Bingo and Makenna always wins first and then we play a kajillion more times until Marquie finally has a turn winning:)

Then we make and eat caramel apples and by then we are feeling quite miserable- in a good way.

Then Wade and the kids make a monster: They stuff Wades coveralls with newspaper, then attach the monster mask, gloves, and boots. Our monster sits on the front porch as part of the Halloween decor until Halloween.

Then on Halloween that sneaky Wade changes into the monster costume and sits back on the bench. Last year he scared the daylights out of just about everyone that came trick-or-treating. But a lot of the kids were onto him this year. He was disappointed. But he still got a few good scares. I wish I had some better pics but I was trying to answer the door and take pictures at the same time and it wasn't working out.

So this cute little boy came up to the door and Wade stood up and growled and he screamed "Don't Eat Me!" It was so cute. Don't worry, Wade took the mask off and showed him he was just a person. But it was pretty funny.

Even funnier was my niece Sawyer. Keep in mind that she just recently went to Disneyland where there are tons of Disney characters in costumes. When she came up the walkway, Wade stood and growled and she waved and blew him a kiss. She didn't even hesitate.

This is Makenna in her school Halloween parade. She was a baby this year.

And Jacer boy as Elvis. He can bust an Elvis move pretty good too!

I Love Grass!!

2008-10-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

It's a miracle! We finally got grass in the backyard last Friday. What a project this has been. We have been in our house for almost 2 years. We live in a cul de sac so our yard is oddly shaped. The front yard is about as big as a small bedroom. The back yard wraps all the way around the house. It's kinda strange but it's growing on me. Wade put the front yard in last summer no problem. But the back was one project after another before we could lay sod: Retaining walls, Rock walls, Burying the tramp, etc... I thought it was never gonna get done!

Can you tell how excited I was? As soon as the truck pulled around to the back field I ran out and took the picture. I think the driver was afraid I might hug him or something.

There were about 10 of these crates scattered around the yard. I'm not sure if Wade is hugging the sod or taking a nap after realizing how much work was ahead.

We have the most awesome neighborhood. Originally we were planning to lay the sod on Saturday when lots of help was available. Then we found out it was going to snow all day Saturday so we made a quick change to Friday- while all of our help was at work. Jace & Makenna got home from school just as we were starting & gathered up some of the neighborhood kids to help. I wish I would have gotten a pic of Kenna hauling those rolls of sod. She's such a tiny thing, but boy is she tough. She was heaving those things around like nothin. And trust me they were HEAVY! My back still hurts.

We are so glad Wades dad is retired. He is always helping us out (the poor guy). He's the first one to show up when we need help- Thanks Wayne! And that's my handsome nephew Dallas behind him.

Wade & Jacer boy working together.

Jordan & his buddies (aka "The Main Men") saved the day. Things were a bit slow movin til they came after school. They slapped that sod down in no time. We were so thankful! This is buff Jordan and Rambo.

My dad Dennis who got work off to help. Thanks dad!

Some of "The Main Men"- Dallas, Jon, Zack, Seth, Richard, and Rambo. Jordan has the best friends. I love these guys!

And of course, the best part: Lasagna!! They sure did deserve it!

Funny how Shenay & Marquie just happened to show up right at the end for the food. What a coincidence! Just kidding, they were at a 3 hour soccer practice so I suppose they deserve it too!

Happy Birthday Trev!

2008-10-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

It was Trevors birthday yesterday. Shayla invited us to all go the Old Spaghetti Factory to celebrate. Woohoo!

Shay & Trev

Denise & Shayne

Wade & I

Sara & Chris

Aubry (Trevors sister)& Jesse
Christian & Kate. That bread is scrumptious! (as well illustrated by the Egans)

My moms friend Charlene & mom

I love watching Sawyer eat. She's so tiny so you wouldn't think she eats much. Umm No! The girl can put it away. As soon as her food came she was oblivious to everything but getting that spaghetti into her mouth.

She's so cute. Check out her hair. She had these cute pigtails in when we first got there but decided she'd had enough of them and pulled them out. I think she is even cuter with crazy hair.

Trevor blowing out his birthday candle. We sang so loud I think the whole restaurant was aware that it was his birthday. Happy Birthday Trev!

A Little Late, but "Yay for Wade"

2008-10-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Many of you already know that Wade opened a Physical Therapy Clinic in West Valley with his partner Troy Marsh in May. Well they finally had their Ribbon Cutting last week. I'm really proud of Wade. This has been a goal of his for a long time and it's great to see it happen. He has 2 clinics in Tooele and he has loved working out there, but it's quite a drive and it's been nice having him closer to home (about 2 blocks from home actually). I'm really thankful for all of his hard work and determination. He is a great husband and dad!

Wade, Troy, and Travis Allen are all PTs for Meier & Marsh Professional Therapies.

We have such a supportive family. Vickie, Wayne (Wades parents), Denise, Sara, and Shay. Wades dad helped Wade so much with the build out of this clinic. Thanks everyone!

Our Mayor, Dennis Nordfelt, gave a little speech.

Then the official ribbon cutting. Those of you who live in West Valley will have to look for this picture in Octobers West Valley Journal.

The Meier and Marsh staff!

Also.... while many of us are sleeping, Wade has been training for triathlons.

My brother in law Shayne got Wade and Chris interested in triathlons. Wade decided to give it a try and has done a few over the last year. This one is at Yuba Lake. We went with the Aguilars and pulled the trailers down to the campground. Wade does the Sprint Distance which is a half mile swim, 13 miles on the bike, and then a 3 mile run. This is him starting with the swim in the very cold lake.

The beginning of the race stresses me out because there are soooo many people and they are so close together. They are literally on top of each other at times. After about 30 seconds I can't tell where Wade is anymore.

After the swim they run to the transition area where their bikes are waiting. They do a quick change out of their wet suits and into their biking attire and then take off again.

Then after the bike ride, it's back to the transition area to drop off their bike and change their shoes for the running part. Wade beat his time from last year so he was happy. I was happy because after the race we go back to the trailers and have a huge yummy breakfast!

What Should I Do In My Spare Time?

2008-09-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. I know it's been a whole month since my last post. It has been such a busy month. I had to take Marquie to school early today and so I thought I'd give a quick update before the rest of the fam gets up.

At our house, we call September and October "Busy Season". Huge understatement. It's both my favorite and most stressful time of year. This is why:

Soccer- We love soccer. Marquie plays on the High School team. Games twice a week and practice every day there's not a game. Jace and Makenna play rec soccer so they have practice once a week and games on weekends. I love going to soccer games. I love the way the weather changes during the season.

Football- The boys love football. I love that they love it. Wade is coaching Jace's Little League team again this year. Games on weekends and practice every week night except for Wed which works out good for Wade since he is in YM and it's mutual night. Again, I absolutely love going to the games, but it's a huge time committment.

School- Of course there are always changes when school starts back up. We're still trying to get into a new routine with new teachers, homework, etc...

Dance-Most of you know I teach dance. So new classes, new music, new choreography. And Marquie and Makenna both have dance once a week. All on different days of course.

Add to that scouts, piano, church callings, grocery shopping, budgeting, laundry, cleaning, and making emergency trips to the store every time one of my kids says "Oh yeah mom, I forgot to tell you that I need _____ tomorrow. (This is usually around 10 pm).

I do have to say that Jordan has been a life saver. Now that he can drive, we have taken total advantage of him the poor kid. He's usually running someone somewhere for us in between his extremely busy social life. Thanks Jord!

When my kids were little and at home all day I used to dream of the day when they would all be in school and I would have all this free time to do whatever I wanted. WHAT HAPPENED?

Happy Birthday Marquie Spark!

2008-08-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Marquie's birthday. She is finally 15 and started High School today. We celebrated her birthday yesterday because she's gonna be gone all day today:(

We woke her up bright and early by singing a very off key version of Happy Birthday- I think we were all still a bit tired. She did get her traditional breakfast in bed, although I don't think she likes this tradition as much as she did when she was little- teenagers like their sleep. I'll be in huge trouble if I put the picture of her actually eating with her "just woke up" hair and no make-up.

Last night we had a family birthday party. Here is Marquie showing off her beautiful nails. That was Grandma Vickie's present to her. Woohoo!

Marquie is a HUGE Jason Mraz fan. As soon as she heard he was coming in concert she's been asking to go. So you can guess what she got from mom and dad. She was extremely happy!

Marquie asked for peach pie instead of cake- a little bit harder to put candles on, but we improvised.

Marquie and Jordan just before they left for school this morning. What a way to start your birthday! Oh well. Hope you have a great day anyway Marquie. We love you!!!!!!!!!!

Palisade Park Fun!!

2008-08-05T11:56:00.001-07:00

As many of you already know, I love traditions. One of my favorite summer traditions is our annual trip to Palisade Park. It's a great little campground with a lake and a golf course. We go every year with Wades family and my family, whoever can come. This year was especially fun because everyone could make it (except for Cade & Candice & girls in Oregon- would you please move back?) Anyway, I need to learn how to do a slide show because I have so many great pics. But I couldn't figure it out so here are some of my favorites:

Makenna catching guppies. The kids catch all kinds of creatures. We usually end up taking home a few frogs & lizards, but I have to put my foot down when it comes to the snakes.

Halee and Shandra in their homemade hot tub on the beach. Luckily there are showers here and we used them plenty!

Evan and Austin making "chocolate milk". The kids never got tired of playing in the water and I never got tired of watching them. There were sand toys and water toys strung from one end of the beach to the other.

Jace, Denny, and Davin swimming back from the dock.

Wade & Livvy splashing in the tubes.

Jordan doing back flips off the dock.

Christian doing tricks off the dock.

Sadie & Makenna doing tricks off the dock.

This has to be my favorite picture. Livvy was pouring water over Christians head and then combing his hair into different styles with that red rake in her left hand. At one point she even licked her hand and smoothed some of his hair down. This went on for about 20-30 minutes. We all know why Christian is the favorite Uncle!

Jordan and Gracie playing on the beach. She gives great kisses. Lucky Jordan!

Yes, even the grown ups get a turn to play. Me, Sara, and Katie

One of the nights we are there, we go to a place that used to be called "Fat Jacks Pizza & Pasta". This year we were a bit saddened to find out that the name has been changed to "Roys". This is Shenay, Marquie, Shantae, and Keisha waiting for their pizza. After we pig out on pizza we go next door to this ice cream place and pig out some more.

Goofy Shayla letting us all know that she is ready for breakfast by wearing Sawyers bib.

Maybe Sara should have borrowed Sawyers bib!

I've been tagged!

2008-07-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

So, Candice tagged me like a week ago and I'm just getting around to doing this. Here goes...

Three of my...

Joys:
1- My family. Just like everyone else in the world, I feel like I have the best family ever- immediate and extended.
2- Food. I love to eat and I love to cook.
3- Holidays. I love parties, traditions, and getting together with family.

Fears:
1- My kids getting kidnapped.
2- That I'm going to get Alzheimers. I think I might be in the early stages now. I do Sudoku every morning and night because I heard it might prevent getting it.
3- Crazy drivers. I got hit last fall and now I'm a nervous Nelly, especially when I'm the pasenger and Sara is the driver.

Goals:
1- Finish the backyard.
2- Lose 10 pounds. This has been a goal since I gave birth to Jace. He's 11- how am I doing so far?
3- Take my family to Africa. Someday.

Obsessions:
This is funny. I couldn't think of any and I asked my kids what they thought my obsessions were and they came up with a whole slew of them in about 30 seconds. They feel strongly about the first one.
1- Cleanliness. I really don't think so, but I'm sure it seems like it to my kids. I think "organization" is a more accurate word. I don't like the way it feels to be unorganized.
2- Light. I love light. The first thing I do when I wake up is open all the blinds. All of the lights in our home are bright. I hate dim lighting.
3- Right now I'm a bit obsessed with the Food Network. I think this is just a stage that will pass though because it used to be the Game Show Network, but not so much anymore.

Random Facts:
1- I hate fruit flies and cold sores.
2- I have to have ice in all of my drinks except for water. I even put it in my milk if it's not super cold.
3- I love surprises.

I know, I'm not too interesting. I now tag: Sara, Sadie, and Caitlin

Rockin' out with Journey!

2008-07-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Wade and I (and most people our age) grew up listening to Journey. They are classic! So when my sister Denise called and asked if we wanted to go with her and Shayne, we were all over it. We hesitated when we heard that Steve Perry wasn't the lead singer anymore, but after viewing the new lead singer on the internet we decided to go. Journey was awesome but my favorite part of the concert was "people watching". I don't have enough time to get into all the interesting things I saw, but I will say that I find it very comical how many people cannot dance or even clap on beat.
The concert was at the USANA amphitheatre. Cheap Trick and Heart both opened the concert. This is when most of the "people watching" took place. Shayne is almost as excited as Wade!

Wade and Shayne rockin out to "Anyway you want it".

Denise doing some serious rockin out. She nearly rocked Shayne right off the blanket!

Me rockin out. Denise and I were a bit confused with the "Rock On" sign. We get it mixed up with "I love you" and "Hang Loose". Check out the next picture and let us know which one of us is right!

What's not to like?

2008-07-07T09:52:00.001-07:00

Aside from Christmas, the 4th of July is my favorite holiday! I think I love it so much because it's kind of lazy. We always start the day by letting the kids be in Bammys neighborhood parade. It's a pretty piddly parade, about 10 minutes long from start to finish. But the kids love it- I actually do too, it's a tradition! After the parade we go to my moms and eat, play in the water, watch movies, eat, play games, do fireworks, and eat, eat, eat. (I'm remembering now why I like it so much). This is Livvy & Jace in the parade.

Chris and his lovey aerobesque on the scooter. Somebody call "So You Think You Can Dance"!
My mom rented a huge blow up water jungle gym thingy. The kids loved it and got very sunburned. This is Sadie, Austin, Jace, and Makenna. I think Denny is behind them somewhere.
So, another tradition we have recently added to our 4th of July festivities is making homemade icecream. We recently got a new recipe-burnt almond fudge- from the Petty's. (Matt & Mark are the homemade icecream gurus, thanks you guys!). It was fabulous. We also had our standard strawberry-banana.
This picture is supposed to be of Sara and I enjoying our yummy icecream. But Sara was enjoying hers a little too much and her "Mmmm" sound effects were too much for me and I lost my composure.

Fantastic Fireworks

2008-07-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

I need to figure out how to put my pictures on the way I want. They came up backwards and I don't know how to fix it. Anyway, we went to Wades parents in the evening to eat again (can you even believe it?) and to do fireworks. We usually spend the 4th with my family and the 24th with Wades, but Cade and Candice were here from Oregon so we did some rescheduling. We are so excited to see them!!

My in-laws Wayne and Vickie had some neighbors who had gotten some fireworks from Wyoming. They were much cooler than ours. We had so many fireworks we didn't get to do them all.
Makenna and Caitlin. They have so much fun together. We love it when they come to visit!
The Meier clan. It is not very often that we are all together, so we wanted to get a picture of the whole family while we had the chance. You can tell who the pranksters are in the family!
Yes, more eating! Does anyone have the number to Weight Watchers?

Jackson Hole & Yellowstone

2008-07-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

We took the fam on a little vacation to Jackson Hole. It was a blast. Neither Wade or I had been since we were kids and our kids have never been. We did the Alpine Slide while we were there. Makenna was a little nervous to go by herself so we were telling her that if she felt like she was going too fast all she had to do was pull the brake back and it would slow her down. So Wade and I went first and Makenna was after me. Well we waited and waited and waited. When she finally came down we asked her if she liked it and she said "Yeah, I didn't put my brake on the whole way down!" (Yeah right!) I'm sure it felt like it.

So we thought we could do Yellowstone in one day. (Those of you who are familiar with Yellowstone are laughing right now). I had no idea it was sooooo huge. But we at least made it to Old Faithful and were able to see some wildlife on our way...bears, elk, deer,and buffalo- but not a moose-wah, we were sad about that. Old Faithful was pretty cool!

One of the funnest things we did was go to dinner at a place called Bar J Chuckwagon Suppers. The dinner was okay, but the entertainment was awesome. There was a group of men that sang and did some comedy and it was hilarious.

The highlight of the trip had to be our river trip. If you are having a hard time picking us out, Jace is towards the front with a red bandana on. Wade is behind him in his red Utah hat. I'm right behind Wade looking terrified. Makenna & Marquie are next to me, and Jordan is next to Marquie, kind of hidden. So the funniest thing about this picture is that I swear I was not scared at all. I thought it was so much fun, so I was surprised when we looked at the pictures and I have that horrified look on my face. So funny. This picture was taken just before we went through some rapids called "Lunch Counter".

Hooray for Dads!

2008-06-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

We had great fun on Father's Day. My kids aren't too happy about me posting a picture of them right after they woke up but we had to capture dad's "breakfast in bed". Wade is such a great dad and husband! He does so much for our family. We love you dad!!!!
We also had a celebration with my dad at our house on Monday. We love to get together, there a so many of us now and we are still growing (Shayla's having baby #2 in January). We have so much fun together and we are so grateful for our fantastic dad!

Locks of Love

2008-06-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Makenna decided after 3 years of growing her hair out that she was ready for a change. Once she heard about "Locks of Love" there was no changing her mind. Our neighbor Jana Nordfelt has a salon in her house and said she would do it. She cut 12 inches off (yikes!)Makenna absolutely loves it! I think it's adorable on her too but I am still a little sad that my baby girl is old enough to want big girl hair instead of braids and pigtails.

Treehouse Trauma

2008-06-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

So Jordan and his buddies are building a really cool tree house in "the forest". This is an area close to our house that is full of trees. The kids love to go exploring over there. There has been a tree house there thats kind of run down. So they decided to build a bigger and better one. Last Saturday Jordan came in and asked where dad was (he knows what a whimp I am with blood). Wade was out running errands and didn't have his cell phone with him so Jordan decided he had no other choice. He said "I think I might need stitches." Of course I freaked out and ran him over to Insta-care where they said he definitely did need stitches. Gross huh?

The Dr. told us to have Jordan's stitches removed in about 10 days. Those of you who know Jordan won't be surprised to hear that he took them out himself after a week because they were "bugging him".

Blogging world.... Here I Come!! (maybe)

2008-06-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

So, miracles never cease. I love to look at other peoples blogs but decided early on that I just simply don't have time to do one. But the peer pressure (more like sister pressure) has gotten to me, and I hate to be left out of anything, so I am going to attempt being a blogger.

These are just some pictures from our Moab trip last summer. We had a blast. One of the days we were there we went on a 4 hour horseback ride through the mountains. Makenna was scared to death. Within the first half hour I started sneezing like crazy. By the time we got back to the stalls, one of my eyes was swollen completely shut (apparently I'm allergic to horses, or maybe it was all the dirt- I don't know). I was completely miserable and the fact that my family thought it was hysterical didn't make me feel any better. Wade went to the store and got me some allergy medicine which helped some. But even by the next morning my eye still looked like Wade and I had duked it out. We were planning on going to church that day and I didn't want to go because I looked like such a dork. My kids insisted that we couldn't possibly see anyone we knew in Moab so we went. Of course, I saw two people I knew. That is so my luck.