{Trick or Treating}

This year our friends invited us to Park City to go trick or treating. It was a blast!!

Park City Main Street was shut down and all the stores handed out candy. Not just for kids either, everyone had their dogs dressed up and the stores gave out doggie treats.

This was my favorite dog costume. So funny!

Even my little Rio put on a mask for the occasion

Um.... this guy was not dressed up, I think he always looks like this.

As you can see my night was a little crazy and I didn't take an individual picture of my kids. I will have to get them dressed up again and post later.

{Memory Tuesday}

TELL ABOUT A TIME AS A CHILD WHEN YOU GOT INTO TROUBLE

Wow, Which story do I choose. I got in trouble a lot.

My dad loves this story.

I think I was 16 years old and some friends and I had gone to lagoon and had such a great time that we decided to go again. For some strange reason in my mind I figured that if I asked my parents if I could go again they would say no. So, I lied. I told my parents we were going to the zoo.

I was the only person who followed through with that lie, Oops. My parents talked to other parents and found out that we had actually gone to lagoon.

As I am sun bathing in Lagoon-a-beach I look up and see my dad standing over me!! Lagoon is HUGE, how he found me I have no idea, you ask him how he found me he has no idea.

I had to pack up my stuff and go home with him and my mom. The 1 hour ride home was the longest and quietest ride of my life. I don't remember if a punishment was given when I got home but having to leave my friends and the embarrassment of getting caught lying was punishment enough.

{Carving Pumpkins}

Last night we went to our friends house to carve pumpkins. What a mess! It's a good thing this only happens once a year.

This year we decided to get creative and let the boys do a picture in the pumpkin rather than a plain old face. They were determined to do it themselves, the pumpkins came out pretty good.

Garrett decided on the skull and cross bones

McKay decided on a ghost.

{Birthday Wishes}, {Surgery}

Happy birthday to my mom!! I love and miss you mom!!!!!!!

My dad had a much needed knee surgery today, he is doing well, they are going to keep him in the hospital for a few days to monitor the pain and help him walk around.

{Memory Tuesday}

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU "GREW UP?" DID YOU BECOME THAT?

Well, isn't it every little girls dream to get married and be a mom? I can't say enough how happy I am to be married to my best friend. Dave is amazing! we can count on him for anything, he keeps us laughing, he is handy around the house and he is the best father I know!
I am so grateful to have my boys. Some women never get the chance to fill a baby grow in their stomach and then to have the most overwhelming feeling of unconditional love when the child is born. It is another great feeling to watch your kids grow into really good kids (of course I haven't been through the teenage part yet, yikes!).

As a teenager I knew I wanted to work in an office environment, I have loved the 2 jobs (NuSkin for 11 years and current job DBA for 3 years). Of course the dream of becoming a mom also means staying home and I have been given some pretty harsh opinions about that, but I don't regret working. It has helped me to appreciate my kids more. Dave and I love "hanging" out with our kids, they go almost everywhere we go, very seldom do we get a babysitter.

{Birthday Wishes}

HAPPY 7th Birthday to my sweet baby, he isn't a baby anymore!!!

GARRETT

{Halloween Party, Birthday Party}

The end of October is a big party month for us. We have Dave's Birthday, Garrett's Birthday and my mom's Birthday.


When my mom was alive she started a fun tradition for her birthday to have a party with all of the grandkids dressing up in their costumes. We decided to keep this a tradition in her honor.


My kids are the 2 in the front with the scary masks. McKay is some scary guy and Garrett is a skeleton. Notice the sweet little Power Ranger not sitting close to the skeleton. That is my brother's son Isaak, so funny!

We ate pizza and then played a fun game eating donuts on a string with no hands. The kids were a mess after but they loved every minute of it

Then we took a pumpkin and birthday balloons up to the cemetary for my mom
Since everyone was together I decided to have Garrett's birthday party. We went to the local swimming pool. The cousins have so much fun. I am so glad they are all close in age and can grow up together.

(Birthday Dinner}

For Dave and Garrett's birthday, Dave's mom wanted to take them to dinner.

We met his mom, sister (Tara) & Kelly (Tara's boyfriend) at the Myan in Sandy. The food was nothing to brag about, they actually dropped a huge tray of our food while bringing it to us so we got our meal for practically nothing. It was fun getting together, his mom is doing surprisingly well since his dad died, she is living with Tara right now and is very happy.

Dave and Garrett were lucky enough to have Myan head gear put on their heads and a picture taken to prove it. You can just imagine how excited Dave was for this. ha ha

{Birthday Wishes}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

To my best friend, my soul mate, my husband of 10 years!!

He is the big 3 2 He sure doesn't act like it!

I LOVE YOU SWEETIE!!!!!

{Memory Tuesday}

DESCRIBE ANY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES THAT YOU WERE INVOLVED WITH AS A YOUTH

I was involved with a lot of church activities. I loved playing softball and volleyball. Our ward did a lot of young women activities that kept us busy and out of trouble :)

I wasn't involved with any school activities but I had a big group of friends that always hung out. We had a BLAST!. Going to the mall, hanging at each others houses and going dancing! Dancing was an every Friday night event at the Palace Dance Club in Provo. I just get a huge grin on my face when I think about it. LOL I miss the good old days.

{Scrapbooking Retreat}

If you wonder why I have been gone for a few days it is because I have been in HEAVEN!! Twice a year the girls go scrapbooking at a 3 day retreat. The local scrapbook store up here in Midway (Memory Box) hosts a retreat at Hidden Springs Ranch in Altamont, Utah. Where is Altamont you ask? In the middle of no where!! It takes about 2 hours to get there and when you drive through town don't blink or you will miss it. No street lights and the Junior High and High School are together.

The company I work for built an ENORMOUS lodge called Hidden Springs Ranch in Altamont and they rent it out. Most groups are family reunions because the place can sleep around 90 people. The company I work for also owns the scrapbook store so why not use this place for the retreats! http://www.hiddenspringsutah.com/the-lodge.php

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and scrapbooked until Saturday afternoon. We only stopped to eat the food that our "wife" made. We called her our wife because she cooked us some AMAZING food! We also stopped scrapbooking once in a while to potty and get a little bit of sleep.

This was the bunkroom that we slept in.

Some really funny conversations happened in this room.

GIRL TALK!!

I am so lucky to be surrounded by and loved by 5 amazing women!

From Left to Right

Teressa (my sis), me, Angie (my cousin), Cindy (my aunt)

Leesa (my good friend of 11 YEARS!), Me, Stephanie (Neighbor and friend)

There were also some other great girls that we have gotten to know through retreats in the past but I didn't get pictures of them. DANG IT!!! I guess I will need to go again.

This is our organized mess.

Each time we have gone something really funny happens that sticks with us forever. Last time we went Angie was talking to her daughter Kylie on the phone. Kylie was a little upset that Angie was leaving for 3 days and finally just got fed up and said "Have fun with your friends mom!!!!" That was our new moto. I had t-shirts made that say have fun with your friends and we wear them everytime we go scrapbooking. This time someone dropped something on the floor and it made a loud sound, immediatley Cindy says "SCRAPPER DOWN!!" That quickly became something we said and laughed a lot about the entire trip. Now I know my next t-shirt!!

{ACDC}

Tonight as I walked past McKay's bedroom (he is 9 years old) I hear him singing an AC DC song. What the crap??? I had to stop and make sure I was hearing him right. I opened his door and said "where on earth did you learn that song?" he said, "my video game." I explained to him that I use to listen to that song and group when I was a teenager. SO FUNNY! What a proud moment, my son knows AC DC. LOL

{Memory Tuesday}

On another blog I read, she picks a question out of her journal jar and posts it with her answer. I thought this was a great idea. Feel free to comment your answer, I would love to read them.

TELL ABOUT A DREAM YOU HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN.

I don't know if this was a dream or a vision. I like to think of it as a vision because it was SO real.

Soon after my mom died I had been going through a lot of emotions, mostly angry that my mom would die so young of such a stupid lung cancer when she never smoked in her life, and of course devastated, I was really starting to get close to my mom and appreciate what a WONDERFUL woman she was. One night while in bed I turned over to see my mom sitting on the floor next to me! She looked healthy, happy and at peace. I remember asking her how she was and telling her how much we missed her. She just smiled and said she was watching over us, watching over my dad and mentioned that Kent (my brother) would talk to her a lot and she was listening.

The next thing I remember she got up and walking out of the room, my eyes followed her the entire way. I looked at Dave and said "did you see that? My mom was here" He was immediately awake which is strange for him, it usually takes me a few times to wake him. He said "I saw that!"

I will never forget that. It helped me mend my anger knowing that my mom was in a happier place and that she was watching over us.

{We Moved, New Job, Birthday Wishes}

Whew....this weekend was so hectic trying to get everything moved. We only moved down the street so I didn't do a lot of packing, just throw stuff on the trailer and hope it doesn't fall off! LOL Now the big job of finding a place for everything. That is going to take a while. I am going to a 3 day scrapbook retreat this weekend and my stuff is all over the place. Needless to say, my scrapbook stuff we be organized before the rest of the house. PRIORITIES!!!

We didn't even have half of the stuff in the house before Garrett decided he needed to meet the neighbors. I told him to wait a few days til we could get settled but it was killing him...so off he went to be the little social bug that he is. Come to find out there are 2 boys (twins) his age. Thank goodness!!!

Dave is LOVING his new job. His supervisor is showing him the ropes, Dave is doing more than guys that have been there for 4 years. I guess that means they like him. Dave IS a hard worker and is good at building anything whether it is a house or a swimming pool. I have a feeling he is going to move up in the company quickly.

Happy Birthday to my brother Kent!! BIG 3 7, almost over the hill!

{Memory Tuesday}

I think this has gone around through email before but I just can't get over it! So FUNNY! I can relate to everyone one of these

You know you grew up in the 80's if:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE".

2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton

3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom

4. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"

5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

9. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)

10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

11. You know the profound meaning of " WAX ON , WAX OFF"

12. You wanted to be a Goonie.

13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us...head-to-toe)

14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pail Kids in the schoolyard.

17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

18. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.

19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.

20. You know that He-Man has the power of Grey Skull.

21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"

23. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"

24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

25. You have ever played with a Skip-It.

26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.

27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

29. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"

31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell, The ORIGINAL class.

32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.

33. You just sang those words to yourself.

34. You still sing "We are the World"

35. You tight rolled your jeans.

36. You owned a banana clip.

37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"

38. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"

39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

{Soccer Season}

Soccer season has arrived and consumes our lives every Tuesday and Saturday not to mention a lot of practicing in the yard.

McKay, wow what can I say, he is an amazing player. Those long skinny legs keep him going fast and his determination gives him the skill. Next year I hope to get him into a competition team. Go # 50!

Garrett, wow what can I say about him....he is such a free spirit! It might just be his age. He loves to play but doesn't really care if he ever kicks the ball or if they win or not. So Funny!

Go # 1

{Life changes}

We have had some major life changes in the last 3 weeks, it has been such a stressful time for us but we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. (I hope)

Just after we got back from Hawaii, Dave got the news that Ivory Homes (who he builds homes for) was slowing down and they didn't need him anymore. um.... please wake me up from this nightmare now!! Ivory Homes was our whole business!! Dave frantically looked around for more work but not only was Ivory slowing down but the entire housing market was slowing down. What were we going to do!?

Do what anyone would do, find a job! Dave has been framing for 12 years, that is all he knows, how could he start a new career without starting at the bottom? His brother Kory called and offered him a job at Trugreen Chemlawn, it was a great idea and Dave went down the next day to work it all out. Come to find out the job wasn't going to pay what we had hoped. My brother Lynn had called and offered him a job as well but at that time Dave thought the job with Kory was going to work out so he told Lynn no. Dave immediately called Lynn and asked if the offer was still good. It was! THANK YOU LYNN!!!!

The company is called CEM. http://www.cemsalesandservice.com/index.html
They service swimming pools from the start of construction and operation to maintenance and renovation.

Dave was assigned to the new recreation center in Vernal, Utah (about 2 hours away). Instead of driving home every day, the company has a house for the employees to stay at. They work 12 hour days on Mon, Tues, Wed and half of a day Thursday. They come home Thursday afternoon, having Friday and the weekend off. Dave started last Tuesday (Sept 25th) He loves it!! It is so different from what he has been doing for the last 12 years. Framing is very physically draining and takes a toll on your body, Dave was always worried about what he was going to do in 10 years, well......I think he just found the answer to that question.

Our house payment was the next thing we thought of, there was no way we could afford it without the money that normally came in. We needed to sell it, but how can we sell it right now when the housing market is down? Well, some friends of ours knew someone moving from California looking for a place temporarily and our house was perfect for him. He was willing to rent with the knowledge that it was going up for sale. So, within a week we were looking for a place to live. That very same day driving home from work I see a For Rent sign go up at a house about 4 blocks from our house. I immediately called the number and with no questions asked he agreed to rent it to us. We are moving this weekend!

What a whirlwind! For anyone going through something similar or anything else that is stressful all I can say is hang in there and be positive. Thankfully Dave and I were able to handle the stress together rather than argue, it actually brought our relationship a little bit closer, if that is possible!


I have always had the belief that things happen for a reason and the chain of events lately is proof of that.

{Witches}

It is October 1st which means Halloween is upon us. I'm not a big fan of Halloween. I could go without all of the spooky decorations, dressing up, trick or treating etc.... If it weren't for my kids I am sure I would be one of those grumpy old people with their porch light off and not handing out candy. HA! HA! It's a good thing the school does trunk or treat. Get in, get out approach rather than walking miles in the freezing cold just to get some stupid candy. Okay, here I go on my little rant. I guess this all comes from when I was younger, I had been walking all over the place to get the best and biggest candy just to have my bag ripped out of my hands by some mean teenage boy walking by.

There is one thing that makes me smile on Halloween and that is WITCHES!, not just any Witch, they can't be scary and evil looking, but so ugly it's a cute Witch!

Every October Gardner's Village in West Jordan has a Witch event, it is a must see if you are in the area. http://www.gardnervillage.com/events.php?day=01&month=10&year=2007