Utah Trip

This weekend I decided to take the kids to Utah to visit the cousins. Kliss has been saying that we needed to come down and go to Hogle Zoo with her before June 2009because that is when her passes expired. Michelle and I waited until the last possible weekend we could go and finally took her up on it. Scott had to work but my little brother Logan offered to ride down with me so he could help me with the kids. It was so nice to have him there to meet all the kids demands while I was driving. Thanks Logan! Here are all our kids by the gorilla exhibit. We have kids with ages 10,9,8,7,6,5 & 3 so they each had a buddy and it works out perfectly. Can't plan that much better for grandkids! Notice Ben's broken arm. He broke it the day before we came down. He did really good and it didn't seem to hinder his ability to play. It is really hard to get 8 kids to stand still for a picture and to find a place where there aren't 50 other people standing around. On our way home today we stopped at Temple Square and took a tour of the Conference Center. The last time I went was when it was first built so it was fun to go back and be reminded of how cool the building really is. This is a fountain that is inside at the begining of the tour when the kids were inclined to listen and sit still for a second. Here I am with my little family on top of the Conference Center overlooking the Salt Lake Temple. It was super hot up there on a 90 Utah day but it is really a pretty view. Here is Zack and Haylee saying their goodbyes. We hardly heard from them all weekend they were so good to play together and get along so well. We are going to miss the Francis family for the next few weeks until they come up for some camping!

I'm Officially 30-Eeek!

It is completely weird that I have hit my thirties. I don't feel any older today so that is good. Scott left me a message in my work notebook. It put a big smile on my face. Ashtyn giving me a hug for my birthday. Brigham really wanted to take some photos. Here is Briggy kissing my 29 week belly. He comes and talks or sings to my belly every day. The girls don't seem to care that much about it but Briggy is always there to talk to his little sister. It is super cute. Scott is taking me to dinner and a movie for my birthday and I may get to do a little shopping if time permits. Thanks to everyone for the emails, cards, treats, babysitting etc. to make this such a great day. I really appreciate it!

Brigham's take on the Nursery

We are in the process of painting stripes on the walls of the nursery. This used to be Brighams room and the stripes were green and blue so we are covering the old stripes with colors from the crib bedding. Since this is a process, we had paint out in the room but the door was locked. Sunday afteroon Scott and I laid down for a nap but it was literally ten minutes before we decided we weren't all that tired and decided to head to his Dad's. I wanted to check on how the stripes were drying (the pink is taking forever--we had painted Saturday afternoon and it still wasn't dry 24 hours later)I walked in the room talking to Scott and touching the walls. I didn't even notice the new artwork. Scott just sat there stunned that I hadn't said anything and waited patiently for me to figure it out. I have to admit my reaction is not what I would have thought. I wanted to laugh and had a hard time keeping a straight face while lecturing Brigham on what he had just done. I don't know why it didn't bug me. What a pain it is now going to be to pull out my tan paint and touch up but whatever. He got his inner Van Gogh out and now I get to go shopping for some new church pants. I will post a picture once the stripes are painted and the nursery is more complete.

Swim Lessons and Trampolines

We started the summer off with swimming lessons Heise. Today was the last day so Scott and I stayed and swam with them. They had a great time. I must say I am glad it is over. Driving back and forth to Heise 8 times gets old, even Brigham was getting burnt out. Action Shots: Brigham with his swimming certificate. Good job buddy! Brigham with his swimming certificate. Good job buddy! We had our annual neighborhood garage sale last weekend and it was a hit. We were able to pay off a medical bill and buy the kids a trampoline so it was a success. The kids have been jumping every chance they get despite the rain. We had one nice day and several neighborhood kids came to play.

Gringo Updates

We are trying some new things at Gringos so I thought I would update everyone who may be interested. If you click on the Gringos logo on my sidebar it will take you to our new website. You can check out the new menu and print coupons. We are also going to be at Smith Park every Thursday serving things like nachos, churros, chips and salsa, strawberry lemonades etc. They are all sold for $2.00 and under. You can also buy the tub of 16 oz salsa to bring home. They have someone there each week playing music so it is a fun time to take your family to the park and let the kids dance and enjoy some cheap mexican food. Here are some new menu items:

Haylee's Big Day

Haylee had a big day today. She officially graduated from Kindergarten and had her final dance recital of the year. We are proud of all you accomplished this year Haylee! Haylee with her teach Mrs. Nichols Singing in the program Her Ballet costume She took Ballet with her cousin Whitney. On stage at the Kirkham Auditorium. The night was a success!

Memorial Weekend Adventures

This weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday my Dad had 4 semi loads of cattle brought up to the Kelly Canyon area where they will be living for the summer. Once they unload the semis, they trail them several miles to their destination. Ashtyn and Scott rode horses with several other family members that went up. I got to drive the pickup behind the cattle drive with the kids that weren't riding that day. We started at 8 a.m. and got home at around 10. It was a long day but the kids had a blast. Haylee became friends with a cousin she doesn't see often. She asked me if you can marry cousins. He picked her flowers and they went to watch the sunset together. Too funny, especially since they are only six. The day went pretty smooth besides a calf that fell from a cliff. We thought for sure he was dead but he survived the fall. I am still in awe that it evened happened. Our little Haylee, she kept wanting to pose for pictures. Brock and Brigham riding Crook We also fit camping into the weekend. We got to watch one of my cousin Katie's twins while she went on the cattle drive Saturday. Morgan was a lot of fun and is such a good baby! Dad's pickup that I got to drive all day. This thing is huge, If you could only see the trailor it is pulling. Since it was Memorial Day weekend I had some pretty interesting experiences trying to pass people in campers, on four wheelers etc. on those narrow roads. The kids played ontop, inside and all over that thing. Good thing Grandpa considers it a work truck and is pretty laid back about it. The whole back of it was filled with tossed brown sides of the oreo cookie. Lovely. Sorry Dad! This was my view for most of the day. Yee Haw! The kids played and played (Haylee's new friend Morgan McGarry is in the yellow shirt) Ashtyn on Dixie my horse that I got when I was 8, Scott on Harley, my little sister's horse. Brigham on Crook he loved to ride and kept begging to go. We forgot to bring a bridal so he had to be led around and I was too lazy to lead the horse around all day. I am glad he loves to ride. Haylee doesn't get into it so 2 out of 3 can hang with Grandpa all summer. My Dad and two of his brothers. Verl - Tim - Kent My handsome Daddy. Isn't he a stud?