Boys earn Yellow Belts

My latest chauffeuring project has been to and from karate on Thursday nights for Sheriff and Wannabe. They have alternated between excitement over going and "do I HAVE to???" depending on what they were doing or watching when it was time to leave for karate. If nothing was going on then karate was an exciting alternative.






We did miss a couple of classes - one because we were at Lake Powell and one because.. well.. I just plain forgot. This made it a bit of a nail biter during exams because the two classes we missed had to do with combinations - the hardest part of the exam. The boys were deer in the headlights at times but they did just fine and the end result ....


Yellow belts!!!

I'm so proud!!! Now just don't use those moves on your brothers!!! Yeah right!!!

And the Primio Meme Award Goes To ...

Really I hate to accept this award...

really!!!

Someone (my sister) has kindly awarded me the Primio Meme Award which means I must share 7 things about myself and then pass on this award to 7 lucky others. Do I know 7 people??? Do I know 7 things about myself that I would be willing to share??? hmmm....

I know exactly where to start...

1. for the first time in my life I ran out of gas just the other week. Thanks go to Dede and her husband Bill for rescuing me as my own husband was unavailable on a job.

2. I hate spiders but love snakes. I'm famous in my family for my distinctive "spider scream".

3. My comfort foods are Milky Way, Cream of Celery soup, Swiss Rolls and chips and salsa (especially my brother-in-law's salsa)

4. I have never had a speeding ticket, or parking ticket... in fact I have only had one ticket in my whole life (when I was 16 years old) for a car accident that really wasn't my fault... HONEST!!! So really that ticket doesn't count.

5. My dream vacation would be to go on a European cruise. That way you could see a few countries all in one trip, plus eat lots of fantastic food (great bonus) and see some fabulous architecture. Food, beauty and culture all wrapped up in one trip.

6. I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. In high school I wanted to be an accountant. When I started BYU I wanted to be a Russian professor then I switched my major to psychology so I could do marriage and family therapy. I still think I'll go back to school but I'm not sure yet what it will be for. My interests keep changing.

7. Although not someone who loves camping and being in the outdoors hiking, repelling, etc., I find myself in awe of nature. I love driving or walking and just taking in the site of the mountains, the trees, the flowers and appreciating the beauty of varying sunsets, cloud formations, etc. The variety in nature is astounding to me.

Alright, here is where I have to others to give the award to and you have to write about yourself. LUCKY!!! And the Primio Meme Award goes to...

Bobette

Dede

Cozette

Alicia

Kim

Jodi

Emily

Our New Temple

Yesterday we took a tour through the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple as a family. Other than the fact that it took me multiple tries to spell Oquirrh, the temple is beautiful.

It was a great experience to go through as a family and be reminded about our special temple day last year in March when three of our boys were sealed to our family in the Salt Lake Temple. Of course more memorable for the boys was the toy room in the temple and the fact that they got to play with lots of toys there. Shocker!!!

At the open house for the Oquirrh temple the boys did notice how beautiful it was in the temple. I don't know how much they will remember about this day but I do know that my boys understand that temples are important and that they are always looking for the temples when ever we go out for a drive. For that I am grateful. If they are looking for the temples with their eyes then perhaps they will look to them with their hearts as well.

Moments to Live For

Last Friday we took the family to a local park that was advertising a car show. We knew our boys would LOVE to go to a car show because everyday when we drive in the car I hear them call out "hotrod!" "hotrod!" everytime we pass a cool looking car. Frankly it doesn't even have to be a true hotrod ... it could be a red, yellow or blue car (even if it is a Geo Metro).

Well we got to the car show and we were surprised to discover that there were also carnival rides and slides (for a price of course). I was not surprised, however, that my 5-year old wanted to go on the ferris wheel because he loves to live life dangerously and will try anything at least once (and many things he shouldn't more than once). Brett opted out on the ferris wheel and Giggles was not tall enough to ride on his own so I volunteered to be his partner for his first ride. He was very nervous at first and needed my arm around him and a constant reassurance that he would not fall out. I distracted him with all the sights around us and after the 20th time around he was ready for me to let go and raise his arms up in the air (I was ready to barf).

Although I am often tempted to include a bunch of pictures when I do a post I am only going to include one. It says it all. Days are often full of mundane tasks, running around to and fro and dealing with the difficulties of raising kids and trying to stay sane in the process but then you have moments like these with your kids...

and it puts things back into perspective.

Little Boys or Wild Animals... You Decide.

A couple of weekends ago our family was given the opportunity to go to the zoo on a special night. We started out looking at the monkeys and the Madagascar animals. On our way back to the pavilion for dinner which was provided for us we bumped into a giant germ and some other friendly mascots.






no... Wannabe did not want to touch the snake...




The boys were determined to have their faces painted. Most of them chose tigers but Sheriff wanted to be a bear.






As Smiley was getting his face painted I was trying to determine what zoo animal his makeup artist had chosen for herself. Or perhaps she was going to a wedding later. Right April? hahaha!!!


We had a great time at the zoo and there just wasn't enough time to see and do everything. The boys really enjoyed the bird show of course and the elephant show where the elephant showed off her tricks.

Brett wasn't able to go with us because this evening was special invite only and we were given 5 tickets (you could not purchase additional tickets). I must say that I was a little nervous about taking 4 boys to the zoo without backup (Brett) but I managed just fine. I would have been MORE nervous to send Brett with 4 boys. hahaha!!!! (I know Brett will read this and say "HEY!!!!")

Fun at the Lake

This past week was a Lake Powell marathon. We went down with friends and then we were joined by family at the end of the week. Lake Powell is an integral part of our summer fun and this was our first family trip for this year.

Although I try to get there as quickly as possible (I HATE the drive) ... once there, I'm not in a hurry to do anything. We do things at a more leisurely pace. There is no rush to relax.... just kick back and do things like...

play -






go off the slide -





ski -


molecule -




chill out -





cliff jump -


go for a boat ride -


fish -



This is a view of Navajo canyon when our boat was racing down looking for a great place for a canyon lunch.



This is a view of Navajo canyon a couple of days later as we were being towed out when our boat broke down.



I not only survived 8 days at Lake Powell (I don't usually go that long) but I had a great time. Thanks to friends and family for coming and making it a great trip!

Can you Believe It? Part 2

I'm creating my own saying... Desperation is the mother of invention. I'm tired of Smiley's clothes being all over the floor of his bedroom because he has no dresser anymore. I purchased a dresser from Ikea last weekend but with going between two homes trying to move things, paint, and unpack, assembling the dresser has not been top priority on Brett's list and frankly I can't read instructions of ANY kind. I can't assemble toys, furniture, or even a coordinating outfit.

So it is no wonder that a pile of this...


is very intimidating to me. Instructions of any kind are gobbldigook to me. Sheriff can assemble Bionicles and that to me is amazing. Don't ask ME to do it.

Brett assembled the frame to Smiley's dresser last night and I helped him with one of the drawers. It was getting late however and we turned it for the night. I wondered this morning if I could remember how to assemble a drawer and decided to try it out with these tools...


I didn't have a hammer so my meat tenderizer had to do instead. again... Desperation is the mother of invention (our hammer is at the old house.)

No one was more surprised than me with the result...


Actually I think Brett will be pretty surprised. Come to think of it the boys were probably wondering why I was ignoring all of their screaming, crying, toy throwing and messing around for an hour. They probably thought my super hearing was broken or something. Remember ... all moms have a super power... mine is super hearing.

I think we sometimes surprise ourselves when we try something new. I certainly surprised myself. I was also surprised with what was left over...


hope the dresser doesn't fall apart!!!