My Favorite Things

This picture was taken at Hidden Lake in Glacier National Park this past August. I loved this trip and I love these kiddos!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Merry Christmas!!

Hello everyone!!

 

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I'm hoping to get my act together in January! We are all well and are having a wonderful Christmas holiday.

 

Here's just a few highlights of our Christmas Day:

 

Katie asked for a guitar for Christmas and Grandma Janis delivered!! It's beautiful and Katie loves it!

 

 

We also spent time with the Fraziers and enjoyed a delicious prime rib and crab feast! Oh yeah!

 

I hope all of you are well and happy! Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Another Twenty-Five

Twenty-Five Things About Us Right Now

1 - Ryan and I had a blast with our friends in Disneyland. Just adults at the Happiest Place on Earth....sounds crazy, but it was great!

2 - I only ate two frozen chocolate covered bananas while visiting the Magic Kingdom. I'm so disappointed in myself for not eating more.

3 - I absolutely love doing things with Ryan. I never get sick of spending time with him. After our fun weekend together, I missed him so much when he went back to work.

4 - I am so blessed to have such wonderful family! My parents took care of my sick little Ethan while I hopped on a plane and then Denise took them for the rest of the weekend. I appreciate all you do for me and my family! Thank you!

5 - Ethan finally learned how to ride a bike!!!! It was a long time coming (a combination of fear because he fell once, and lack of time spent on helping him), but he's doing great!!

6 - Ethan also lost his front top tooth and the other one will come out any day now. He will look so cute!

7 - I am reading the book, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. It is an amazing book! Go read it, now!

8 - I got the Spring cleaning bug a little early, and have been going crazy organizing my house. I took everything out of my pantry, cleaned and painted the shelves, and put it all back in perfect order. It is a beautiful sight.

9 - I also emptied my master closet, took a bunch of stuff to the DI, and organized it so nice and neat.

10 - I wish I would get the organizing urge in my garage or craft room. I hope I can get to those soon.

11 - My friends brought me some chocolate covered macadamia nuts from their Hawaiian vacation. I will be forever grateful.....so yummy!

12 - Braiden is growing out his hair a little so he can spike up the front. He is so funny about his hair...I had to buy a big bottle of hair gel and he's spending more time in front of the mirror!

13 - I can't wait for The Amazing Race to start!!

14 - I made Alton Brown's brownies the other day....they were so chocolatey, even for me! They were like death by chocolate! Yum!

15 - In order to make the brownies, I needed a kitchen scale because all of his measurements are in grams. I went and bought one and feel so special to have this chef-like kitchen tool!

16 - And speaking of yummy treats, I love cake bites from My Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery. Oh. My. Goodness.

17 - I'm trying to nurse my crippled washing machine along. I really don't want to buy another one right now. However, I don't think it has much time left (sigh). It has been a wonderful machine for such a long time

18 - I am way overdue to watch the A&E Pride and Prejudice!

19 - Even though we've had such a mild winter, I still really want Spring to get here

20 - For her science class, Lauren had to put several eggs in vinegar to remove the hard part of the shell, and then place them in different liquids. I've had ugly looking eggs on my kitchen counter for over a week...ewwww!

21 - Because our church meetings start at 1:00 this year, I'm really missing my Sunday naps.

22 - I have a drinking problem. I have to have a Diet Coke every day. I really need to do better at cutting down on my consumption.

23 - I have two favorite drink spots...Kaysville's 7-Eleven and any McDonalds. The Sev has great ice and I can get caffeine free and then top it with a little Cherry Coke. If I need caffeine, Micky Don's (my father in law's name for it) has the best Coke. Hands. Down.

24 - I also have a onion ring problem. I have been craving them lately....bad! Why do they have to be so good?

25 - I love coming home, taking my shoes off and putting on thick, soft socks. I hate having cold feet.

NYC!

We started a tradition that we copied from our friends. Some people may think we are nuts, but that's OK.  We decided to take each child, when they turn fourteen, on a weekend trip of their choice. So, when Katie's birthday loomed near, she chose the Big Apple.  She also wanted to invite her grandparents along for the ride!  We were all so excited to go! 

Our first adventure took us to Brooklyn on the Subway.  Here's Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge once we got there.

We ate at Grimaldi's for lunch. Pizza was great, and the company was even greater.  We sat by and talked to some great New Yorkers.  They were so funny!

Next, we ate yummy ice cream at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory and started to make our way back to the city across the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge.  It was so cool!

We stopped by Grand Central Station.  It was neat.  I've always described my house as Grand Central Station when my kids come home from school and all of their friends show up, and now that I've seen the real place, my description of home is pretty accurate!

Then, we finally caught up with Grandma and Grandpa and took a bus tour of the city.  It was nice to sit and see a lot of this amazing city!

The next day we went down to Battery Park to see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.  Both were so great!  We also met up with our friends from home!

Our next stop took us on a hunt to find the best Lobster Roll in NYC.  I haven't tried all of them to know, but the ones we ate were SO GOOD!!! I ate mine so fast, that I didn't get a picture.  It started to rain pretty hard at this point, so Grandma and Grandpa went to the hotel, our friends went shopping, and Katie, Ryan and I went to the WTC museum.  It was so moving and I'm so glad that Katie could see it.  That night, we went out to a fancy dinner with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Katie's birthday trip. The three of us then went to Top of the Rock to see the city at night.  Our pictures didn't turn out great, but it was neat to see this amazing city from up above all lit up.

The next day we went up again, this time to the top of the Empire State Building.  Again, what a beautiful city!!  It was so neat to experience that with the people I love!

Afterwards, we shopped and shopped and shopped at the historic Macy's and along 5th Avenue.  We wore Grandma and Grandpa right out, so we went to Central Park and they went to chill.  Central Park was great!  Perfect weather and people watching!  The ice cream was good, too.

Then it was time to get ready for Broadway!!  Katie chose to see the musical Phantom of the Opera. It was a great show in a great theater!

So, that's our trip to the Big Apple in a nutshell.  We had a blast, and I'm glad we started this tradition with our kids. Braiden is already brainstorming over where he wants to go!

Summer Time!!

Hello there!  Now that it's twenty twelve, I'm planning on hitting the ground running!  I'm going to catch up on my memories, so I'm overviewing the wonderful Summer we had.

In July,

-We had a blast at Hogle Zoo with Grandma and the Gittins (that sounds like it should be some sort of crazy rock band name, doesn't it? "Grandma and the Gittins" has a nice ring to it!)

-We attended our cousin Emily's baby blessing

-We celebrated Independence Day in Oakley with the Rodeo, Parade, Food, and Family!

I love, love, love this picture!

-We had to leave the Oakley festivities early to head down to San Diego for the Bar Convention (we watched the fireworks from the freeway). We went with friends from the firm and had a great time in Sunny CA!

-We played at the beach

-We went to Lego Land.  Disneyland it ain't, but we still had fun.  The best part was the mini cities they built.

-We had a blast at SeaWorld



  -Our last day in San Diego was spent touring the USS Midway. It was really neat!

-Jen went to Park City for the weekend for a Girls Only Trip with Denise, Jill, and MomNancy. We had a blast zip lining, alpine sledding, hiking, shopping, and eating!

-We went to a Bees Game with the whole family

-We celebrated Jason's birthday at the Spaghetti Factory (surprise, surprise!)

-We went to Lagoon for Harper's birthday

-We said goodbye to the Gittins family. We miss them so much!

-Ryan and I hiked up to Adam's Canyon's waterfall with Amanda and Jay

-We celebrated Grandpa Blair's birthday up in the canyon and roasted hot dogs and S'Mores

-We enjoyed our annual neighbor/friends fireworks night in our front yard

-Braiden enjoyed basketball camp at the SportsPlex

-Ryan and I saw Idina Menzel in concert up at Deer Valley!

In August,

-Had a great backyard BBQ at our house with friends from the firm

-Katie and Lauren had a blast at Girls Camp

-We took the girls to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Hale Center.  It was awesome!

-We did lots of school shopping (two teenage girls, one picky sports loving boy, and one kid who outgrows everything in a matter of weeks....you do the math!)

-We saw the "UP" house at the Parade of Homes with Amanda and Jay.  It was so cute!

-Soccer started back up again for the boys

-The kids got all dressed up for the first day of ninth, seventh, third, and first grades!!



-Ryan completely surprised me with a trip for our 16th wedding anniversary.  He has tried to surprise me many times before, but always unsuccessfully. This time he pulled it off!  We went to Disneyland for a few days and had a wonderful time just being together

-We had a fun-filled FHE with the Dawson family!

Whew!!  What a fun summer we had!  We made a lot of great memories. What a great family I have!  I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people I share my life with!