Zack's Amazing Luck

About 2 weeks ago Zack opened up this box of cereal and was a winner of a $10 Visa card from Golden Grahams. What a lucky duck. I totally forgot about it until I stumbled across his picture....this could be an advertisement for cereal don't you think?

A Minor Addiction

Hannah just loves her passeys...she even pronounces it quite clearly. I'm only dreading the day when we need to get rid of all the passeys in the house. When it is nap or bedtime, and I can't find a passey, I tell the kids that whoever finds me a passey first, earns a dollar. Believe me, it is worth that plus some. Brady and Zack were definately addicted to their passeys. I got to the point that I would only let them have it at nap time, and so I tied a short string to the passey and then pinned the passey to their pillow. I caught both of them (at different times obviously) sneaking into their bedroom in Saratoga and taking a few sucks on their passey, and then they were good to go. I relate it to a chain smoker taking a few short drags on a cigarette. It was dang cute though. Rachel and Jace never took one, but that is what I contribute Rachel's chatty-ness too. Just as long as Hannah is rid of them by Kindergarten I think we will be okay.

Boys Will Be Boys

So this is basically a black-mail post. But right after Rachel's party last Monday, I asked to kids to just play what-ever and keep it quiet. After I finished cleaning up, this is what I found. Because of the 'new toys' that entered our house....Zack was having a tea party with Hannah, and Brady and Jace were playing Polly Pockets with Rachel. See they really do get along sometimes!

Nickelback Concert

For our 13th Year Anniversary, I got Nate Nickelback Concert tickets. (Kinda selfish, because they were really for both of us.) But last night the 26th of August was the concert at the USANA Amphitheater in West Valley. We both love to listen to Nickelback, but could have gone without all the swearing between the songs. The pre-performing bands Papa Roach and Hinder liked to use the F word a lot. Nate leaned over and said teasingly , "Wow I didn't know this show was going to R-rated." But my favorite song that Nickelback performed was the song 'Photograph'...it starts our "Look at this photograph, every time I do it makes me laugh..." It was cool because they displayed pictures up on the big screen of everything he mentions in the song...even Kim the first girl he kissed and her kids since she's had since then. But the funniest part was towards the end of the song they had a picture of different scenes from Utah like the Delicate Arch, Bryce Canyon, etc. They showed a picture of Steve Young...which everyone boo-ed, then a picture of some Crazy Ute Fans....everyone cheered, then a picture of the Salt Lake Temple...sadly enough everyone boo-ed again. You could tell we wern't in Utah County...in fact it was hard to tell we were in Utah at all with everyone drinking and smoking. That was the first 'Rock Concert' I have ever been too. I've gone to plenty of country concerts and such, but this was quite an eye opener to see how prominant the church is in my life. (Which I am EXTREMELY greatful for!)
Both Nate and I discussed how our kids have no hope as to going to any concerts without a chaperone. But it was a fun night and great to get away and spend some time with my cute hubby.

(PS...Nate did get me some great anniversary gifts too...beautiful flowers, a USB powered external hard drive for all my pictures, and a waterpik. You may wonder why the waterpik, but Monday I got braces, and he had heard that a waterpik would really help the whole braces thing....which he was totally right, and I have been using it night and day since my mouth is SO SORE!) I'm sure I'll have some pictures later of my braces...since I'm in for the long haul...2 years...YIKES!

End of Summer

Although I was sad to see the kids' summer vacation come to an end, it is good to get back on somewhat of a schedule. We are now into soccer and football season, so our Saturday's are tied up from now until the end of September, and then October for Football. But the kids had an awesome final week of summer. On Monday, Nate took Brady and Zack (and also their cousin Cassidy), to Lagoon for the day. This is something that he has wanted to do for the past 2 years, since now they are old enough to ride the big rides, and they are just as dare-devilish as their dad. They had a blast, and stayed the entire day. No pictures, because...no stroller to carry the extra stuff around. But Nate of course won a few bears and a couple of snakes at the hoop shoot...his favorite passtime. On Tuesday I took all of the kids to 7 Peaks with my sister Jo and her kids from Blanding. Again we stayed the whole day and soaked up as much sun as we could. A few days later we went to the new Lindon Aquatics Center. A little smaller than 7 peaks, but still a lot of fun. We had one last cousin lunch on Thursday. (So weird that I only will take 2 kids to cousins lunch from now on.) We enjoyed a lot of swimming during the summer and lots of cold treats. One new thing that surprised us was the Ice Cream Man....I honestly didn't know they were still around, but he came by one day and of course we indulged a little bit!

The kids enjoying a treat from the Ice Cream Man in the backyard. We set up an extra long and extra wide slip and slide on this day...but forgot to take pictures. Oh well we had a nice dead spot on the grass from where it wasn't getting enough water, but too much sun through the tarps. (Shhh...Don't tell their dad)

Family Prayer Part 2

So here is the second part of the Duck Duck Goose/Family Prayer story that happened tonight. Some nights Hannah is in bed before we say family prayer, but when she isn't we have to 'explain' to her that we will play a game of Duck Duck Goose after our prayer. Because without fail when we kneel down for family prayer she wants to start a game. Tonight was no different, and she 'grudgingly' knelt down 1/2 way through the prayer. When it was her turn to be it she stood up and said, "Da...Da...Da...Mama...." (when she tapped me on the head). I guess she doesn't think that I'm a duck!

Lucky 13 part 2

1. Sara is an very affectionate person, my confidant and best friend. And she laughs at my dumb jokes.

2. She makes our house a home. Decor - food - cleanliness - laundry - you name it. The food is so good she's won 3 chili cook-offs.

3. Sara is very giving - a mother of 5 (6 if you count me) and does not have much time for herself. Recently she went on a girl’s weekend trip to Las Vegas and I honestly don't think she bought herself anything. It was all for the kids.

4. She truly puts the lord first in her life. I could say, "I don't want to go to church she would say ok, see ya when we get back. And she would take all 5 kids and head off to church. This is also evident when I get to take all 5 kids while she goes to yet another primary meeting.

5. She doesn't hold grudges. And it’s a good thing to; otherwise I might have my own bedroom.

6. She has unbelievable will power and self discipline. No matter what it is, no carbonation, running daily, fasting, or keeping a secret.

7. She's so patient. Even if her hair is on fire she can keep her cool. She might produce a small stream of tears (or river), but she doesn't fly off the handle.

8. Intellectually she's a natural. When I took calculus in college I would spend hours at the tutor to figure things out. She on the other hand could sit down with me and figure it out on her own. This sometimes made me curse.

9. Her parents gave her $100 for being sweet 16. She used that money to buy my wedding ring; which is always a reminder to me of our commitments.

10. She goes out of her way to spend time with my sick grandmother, mother, sisters, and other relatives.. And even makes them goodies.

11. My family likes her better than me. My mother is the first to take Sara’s side no matter what the argument. People just like her better. Or is it that they feel bad for her, because she's stuck with me. hmmmm See #10

12. She has never been caught up in worldly possessions. A big 9 passenger van might not be her vehicle of choice but she would drive it happily if it were needed.

13. She is faithful. She waited for me for two years, and we have since disproved the theory of 'good things come to those who wait'

Thanks for a wonderful 13 years lover.

First Day of School

Well we started the school year August 20th. And now the 3 oldest go full time. This is the odd year I guess....Brady is in 5th, Zack 3rd, and Rachel 1st grade. When they came home I had homemade cookies waiting, a tradition of ours for the 1st day. (Which I am kind of rethinking....then I'm stuck at home all day with a TON cookies.) But I spoiled myself and celebrated by going to 2 aerobics classes that day....I'm sure I'll find plenty to do with my time as the school year goes on. I asked the kids what their favorite part of the 1st day was and Brady said: Science, Zack said: Recess, and Rachel said: Seeing Mitchell Menlove's Mom and Shannon at the cafeteria (Teresa works there as a lunch lady, and Shannon was on her lunch break.) It is nice to have some order back to the house and have it quiet when Hannah goes down for a nap. Jace was willing to ride the bus to his school, so it took a lot of explaining that his school doesn't start for a couple of weeks. He will actually have 2 years of preschool, since his birthday is in September. For now I'll enjoy having the younger 2 here, and not being worried about getting home every day at 12 to meet a kindergartener.

Off to school.

All the troops ready for the big day.

Jace and Hannah 'helping me make cookies'...Hannah looks happy now but she had a fit when I let Jace hold the beater and not her...sheesh!

Brady off the bus.

Rachel and Autumn....good freinds and first timers staying the whole day.

Zack and Burghandy, glad to be home.

Brady's friend Mitchell Abel....always a character.

Finally eating some cookies and telling me about their first day.

Tibblefork

Too bad I forgot swimsuits...Jace still had a ball running around in his under-roos!

Courtney Clayson....I just loved all the mud on this little princess.

Brett on the canoe with Jake, Hannah, Courtney, and Josh.

Zack practicing his cast out....he reminded me of Huck Finn with his pants rolled up.

Annie on the raft and Brett on the canoe with a bunch of kids having a water fight. Annie is always up to no good!

Brady liked standing out on the rocks to cast out.

Jace and Jake...two good little buddies.

Rachel was the only smart one and brought extra clothes, sometimes I gripe and moan about her extra packing whenever we go somewhere, but it sure came in handy.

Hannah loved the mud...so much for that shirt!

Josh, Brady, Jace, Rachel, Zack and Caleb out on the canoe...they did pretty good for a bunch of little kids.


Last Saturday, the 22nd of August, we were invited to go to Yuba Lake with a bunch of families in our ward, but since we had 3 soccer games and 1 football game, we decided to find something fun to do closer to home. We decided to ask the Clayson's if they wanted to head up to Tibblefork for a little canoeing and to escape the heat of the day. We took up a picnic lunch, our Crawdad (aka...canoe), and some fishing poles. They kids had a blast rowing around the lake, playing in the water, and getting quite muddy. Brady and Zack also practiced casting out a lot with their poles. I think they will enjoy fishing later on...especially if they ever catch anything. Next summer, I am going to remember to fill the slower days in the summer with a quick Tibblefork trip, just so we can escape the heat. It felt so good up there, and it was nice go get away for a bit. There were quite a few other people up there, but it wasn't too crowded. When we first arrived there was a lady walking around in the mud, looking for a set of keys that she might had dropped. Well she couldn't find them, and then about an hour or so later a Ranger came by to see if we had seen any keys. Of course we hadn't, but he was helping her get a tow truck up so that she could get her car back down the mountain. But just as we were leaving about 3 hours later, Zack was walking in the mud and just happened to step on her keys. We thought the best think to do would be to drive her car down to the ranger station. But as we were walking to the parking lot, she pulls up in I recognize her and Nate runs the keys to her. She was so relieved, and gave Zack and Nate a big hug. Then she came back and gave Zack $5, because he saved her about $200 I'm guessing for finding her keys. It's amazing how $5 can make an eight year olds day. We had a fun afternoon, and hopefully we can go up there one more time this year, maybe when the fall leaves are changing.

Lucky 13

Today is mine and Nate's anniversary. It is crazy how fast time flies, but I'm glad that I have had the privledge to share them with Nate. I would like to share 13 random memories and/or reasons of why I love Nate and why I married him:
1. When I lived in Manzanita Hall at SUU, I was walking home from church one Sunday and looked at the parking lot to where my car was parked and it was shimmering in the autumn sunlight...since Nate worked on the freight crew at Albertson's he decided to saran-wrap my car with a large roll of industrial plastic wrap. It took a knife and scissors to get it all off.
2. Nate is a very thoughtful gift giver to me. He always ponders and asks many women what they would want for a gift. They've even said, "Wow, I wish my husband would take time think about what he is getting me."
3. He made ME a huge cheesecake from scratch to ask me out for the first time....that was a hook, line and sinker.
4. Nate is a very hard worker and seems to always have energy to get the job done.
5. It took him 3 weeks to kiss me after we started dating, but we had seen each other every day of those 3 weeks.
6. He is a great dad to our kids, and still wants more....that's border line crazy though.
7. We wrote each other FAITHFULLY for his 2 year mission. And even though he was on a tight budget, he still remembered to send little (and big) gifts from the mission field.
8. Nate loves to spend time with just me. From time to time, he will say, 'Um how long has it been since you and I have gone on a date?'
9. One night, when we lived in Cedar City, and there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground, he came home from work at 4:00 am, and decided to stand outside in his garments for a good full minute and then run and jump into bed with me and 'snuggle'. I was mad then, but we can laugh about it now.
10. He loves basketball...and honestly I LOVE watching him play basketball. He is naturally athletic, and I love that about him.
11. Nate is known as the family fence mender. He always says that it is best to take the humble road, and not have contention among those you love. Even though he has been shot down in the past, he still tries to 'mend family fences'.
12. On our honeymoon to California, we had a BALL. Seriously, it was the funnest trip I have ever been on. When we were at Six Flags, he was literally dragging me from ride to ride like a little kid. He wanted to ride the scarey rides as much as possible. I'm glad that he still hasn't lost his childhood boyness attitude.
13. He loves life. We are both so happy with the life that we've created together. Even though I know we both make mistakes, we definately have learned from those mistakes.

I love you Nate...thank you for a wonderful and lucky 13 years!

(Brady was our photographer for these pictures....and when we told him that we wanted to take some pictures of us kissing...he just giggled like a little girl.)