"H" is for Hiking

One of the whole points of our family's "alphabet days", is to find various activities that we can do as a family that are different, fun, & exciting! Part of the fun is to have the kids take part in thinking of unique things to do & helping plan them out! Last week for FHE- we talked about the many blessings our Heavenly Father has given us that are all around us that we may see every single day, yet not really recognize as a blessing! Personally, having lived all over the world, I know that one thing I always missed when not living in Utah- is our beautiful mountains! I LOVE camping, love hiking, just love looking out my windows & seeing the gorgeous view of our mountains! So- we went hiking up along the Bonneville Shoreline with the kids. Fairly easy hike for the little ones- good one for a 1st hike back for me since my ankle & surgery! It was SO stinking cute to see Sadie try to be such a big girl & hike on her own! It was also cool to see Drew offer Jess & Jody piggy-back rides when they got tired! The weather was nice & cool up there & there were no distractions like phones to take away from our family-time! We saw a bunny which reminded me of how different my boys & girls are from each other (the girls said "aww-how cute" while my boys said "oh- I wish we had a shotgun") It was fun to chat with my kids! We even got the bonus of watching a gorgeous sunset! I loved it! It reminded me of how much I truly love to hike & how much I need to get back to doing it more often!

"K" is for Kangaroo Zoo

Alright- so- I'm very behind on our summer alphabet days!! Unlike last year, I've decided skipping around is okay. Jenny was sweet enough to invite us to go to Kangaroo Zoo yesterday. Now- even tho this is embarrasing-I'll still share: when she said Kangaroo Zoo, I for some reason thought- an actual zoo! I know- I'm a goober! I thought, "wow, maybe it's some sort of petting zoo for like Australian animals or something"! Ya- it was definitely not one of my more intelligent moments, I admit!! But, the kids were still happy to spend time playing on all of the fun inflatable toys they had there. I took Tami's 3 kids while her & Megan were home with the stomach bug. They all played for a couple hours & enjoyed themselves being wild as they wanted! (PS- I was making a big effort to be a "good, fun, interactive mom" & play with the kids on all the slides, etc. However, I think it's pretty overrated- due to the multiple raspberries I received on my elbows & ankle from the toys! Maybe I'm better off just watching from the sidelines!)

Boating at Pineview

Our good friends, Ryan & Amber Gorham, were sweet enough to invite us to go boating with them this last week up to Pineview. It was tons of fun & the kids loved it! Our other good friends, Jeff & Tami Harris, brought their boat as well & we kinda intermixed the kids. I, of course, grabbed CJ to snuggle while my girls went with them to do some tubing & attempts at waterskiing. (Jody actually got up!!) It was great to get out on the boat & have some time together with our family away from work!! Drew was in St George with some friends & Colby couldn't come because of his soccer tournament (which we had to leave early for)- but maybe next time! Thanks for the fun times Gorham's & Harris's!!

Colby's new toy!

Colby helped earn a new toy this past week! He had originally bought a mini-chopper from our friends, Ryan & Amber (by working off the hours mowing lawns, doing clean up at their spec house, babysitting, etc.). He loved that chopper but really wanted to get a dirt bike more! So, he kept saving money from other babysitting jobs & mowing jobs until he had almost enough money (we kicked in a little) & then also sold the chopper to buy his new bike! Cam surprised him by going & buying the bike from some kid & brought it home in our friend's truck. I had asked Colby to come out front with me to help Cam unload some stuff from the car when he got home. He assumed I was talking about the usual "stuff", like groceries. You should've seen his face when he saw the bike! His exact words were "You gotta be kidding me! Are you serious??" He was thrilled! Our friend, Jeff, & his son, Parker (Colby's favorite side-kick) were almost as excited as Colby was!! It was so funny for me to see one male neighbor after another come over to check out the new toy in the driveway. Colby was happy to show it off! I'm grateful for the fact that Colby has seen what hard work can earn! There were plenty of times he complained about having to mow a lawn or babysit when his other friends were playing. But look at his reward! I know he thinks it's worth it! Now let's hope I can keep him from trying to be on it 24 hrs a day!!!

The Men in my Life!

Just wanted to take a minute to recognize the men in my life! 1st-Cam- He & I just celebrated our 14th anniversary on July 9th! He still continues to prove his love to me every day! He continues to be my best friend, the one person I know who loves me unconditionally, accepts me for who I am (in spite of all my shortcomings!) and who I know without a doubt I can always depend on being there for me no matter what! Our anniversary was not all that we had hoped it would be. The day included the unexpected death of my uncle Jack (my mom's bro) & I kind of had to take a minute out to help her out with that. Cam worked a lot that day but we did manage to escape for a nice dinner out at Tepanyaki (which I love!!). I guess all that matters is that we love each other & I'm grateful I've got him in my life & appreciate all he does for our family! 2nd-Drew- He just turned 15 on July 22nd! Big guy! Not only is he now taller, stronger, and faster than me- he seems to think he knows more! I'll continue to remind him that he's got a lot further to go before that's the case! One more year before he's driving on the road (scary thought for us all!)! I love him & am proud to be his mom! The pic is of us taking him out to dinner at Outback for his birthday dinner.(please try not to think we're all too cheesy for having to squint into the sun in the picture!) 3rd-Colby- Wanted to congratulate Colby on his 1st place win at the Pioneer Cup/La Roca Cup. His new La Roca team did fantastic & dominated the competition! Way to work hard Colby- keep it up & good luck at this weekend's Park City Tournament!!
I'm really proud to have all 3 of these men in my life & I love them to death!!!

More Wedding Pics

Just had to share these terrific pics that my friend, Kelli Willard, did of my brother's wedding! I know she was nervous about this being her first wedding, but she did a fantastic job & I can't tell her how much my brother & sister-in-law appreciate all she did!! Nick & Sonia are already such a great-looking couple (and I'm not partial at all! ;0)- but I think she truly captured the moment beautifully!!

Memories

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Thanks for the idea, Amber! Fun idea- It'll definitely be interesting!