'My Memories' Tag!!

Okay Julie- It takes me forever to do "tags", but I eventually get around to them! This one required not only a little deep thinking but some serious recollection, which is sometimes hard for me ;) But I'll give it a try!

20 yrs. ago: I was 12 yrs. old & my family had just moved back from Wildflecken, Germany. It was actually just my mother & us kids for the 1st year. It was so sad to leave there (such a beautiful country) & to leave my dad (my parents got separated for a while)! Hard to come to Utah & be the new kid (AGAIN!) Started at South Davis Jr High & ended up loving it. Made new friends & parents eventually reconciled. Life was smooth going again.

10 yrs. ago: Cam & I lived in our 1st little house that we had built in West Layton. We had just had Jody & were excited about having another female in the home! Cam had started his own business (Autoboss) & was enthusiastic about that new venture! We loved that neighborhood & the friends we made in the Greenbriar Ward! These are probably the days I miss the most. Times of cheap dates like game nights, movie rentals, and bbq's with friends. We sure played a lot of board & card games! Things seemed so simple back then when we were just happy to be together. We were in a home, had started a family, & it seemed like we had our whole lives in front of us with endless possibilities!

5 yrs. ago: Our family had just built a home in the Waldron Farms Subdivision & we were loving living there!! We now had our 2 boys & 2 girls with the addition of Jessie. I finally took up exercising & had ran my 1st marathon with my girlfriends, Tara, Paula, & Adrienne. (It all started because Cam laughed at me when I told him I was thinking of trying to do it! Teach him to doubt me!) We were happy to finally be able to rent a car without being charged an extra fee for being too young!

3 yrs. ago: This was such a roller coaster year for me! I had just lost my dear Grandma to pancreatic cancer & had given birth to my final baby, Sadie. I wholeheartedly believe I was blessed with my beautiful baby girl to help me through that tough time. We had sold our home, moved into a 3 bedroom condo (yes, all 7 of us!) & were building the home we are currently in. Cam had gotten his real estate license & was enjoying that new venture! I was beginning training to run my 3rd marathon on my 30th birthday! It was definitely a busy time!

1 yr. ago: About this time last year, Cam helped coach the Btfl High boys soccer team to a state championship! We were winding the school year down, with the realization that I'd soon have 2 kids in junior high!! We were looking forward to a fun summer with our kiddies. We were also counting our blessings: the real estate market was going great for Cam (hard to remember those days, isn't it!?), our family was doing great, & we were truly enjoying the friendships we had established in our new neighborhood!!

So far this year: We've had our share of medical mishaps & yucky stuff so far. Drew broke his hand snowboarding, Colby had a scope that helped lead to his diagnosis of abdominal migraines (after a year of MRI's, CAT Scans, xrays, & endless blood tests), Cam was recovering from his 2nd ACL surgery, & I broke my ankle the day before Valentine's. I know of one more biggie to come (I'll share that in a sec). But, we're still all generally healthy & we've got each other! All the kids are enjoying soccer, track, gymnastics, dance, young mens, scouts, and achievement days. Cam's working hard towards helping the high school team have another successful year & I'm just trying to do my best to keep up with all of them!

Yesterday: I spent the day at the orthodontist's office, my gynecologist's office, getting my hair done, & running the kids to all of their many events. Enjoyed a volleyball game with some girlfriends. Got some bad news from the doc (he gave me no choice- gonna take the right ovary- it's covered in cysts & endometriosis. surgery date undetermined yet. he wants it soon because of the pain & severity. i gotta wait til after playoffs & my bro's wedding). Also spent some time doing deep thinking about life, friends, and family. Made some big decisions in relation to those & feel good about the direction I'm going. (ooh- sounds serious!)

Today: Took Colby to the doctor, did some paperwork, & went to lunch with Lori, Rach, Tara, Adrienne, & Karin for my birthday. (Thanks again ladies! Love your guts!) So exciting!

Tomorrow: Hopefully my mom will watch my kiddies so I can go to the Btfl High game. They play the team they won in the State Finals last year, our buddies, Bonneville High. Really don't care for that team! Hope we can take it! Gotta get ready for the following morning- we leave to California. We're surprising the kids Sat. morn by waking them up super early, telling them to grab a few outfits, & taking them to Disneyland!! We're gonna spend 3 days just enjoying each other's company. No housework! No school! No sports! Just pure, clean fun chasing Disney princesses & characters, avoiding roller coasters (okay- maybe that'll be just me), and remembering why we love each other so much!

This year: Looking forward to seeing my little brother get married in June & continuing on his road towards growing up & maturing :). Gonna throw his fiancee a bridal shower & host their rehearsal dinner here at my house. Happy to have my dad & the fam move back here in June from Oahu. REALLY looking forward to Drew's biological dad being closer coming in September. That'll be awesome for Drew & it'll be just in time for his 1st year of high school football. Totally excited for a getaway in November to Kauai with some friends! I'm also excited for summer to spend time camping, swimming, & playing with the kids!! Dreading turning 32 next week but happy to reach the 14 yrs. together mark with my cute hubby!!

Times have been hard, times have been good, and times have been exceptionally great!! Thanks to all of you who have been a part of them!! I treasure the memories and am excited for the opportunity to create more!!