Mattinson Memoirs

Adios January

2012-01-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

How pathetic... the whole purpose of this blog was to keep a running record of our family and to share it with those who want to keep up with us. I have obviously failed this month!

Here are a few things that have been going on for the first month of 2012:

Kensie has been doing softball conditioning with the high school. She drives me to conditioning every Monday, Weds, Thurs at 5 P.M. and then hands the keys over. (I think I might like when she can drive by herself, but only for this reason!)

Rick celebrated the big 40! I don't think celebrate is the right word, remember when 40 seemed so old? I am so glad that it was his turn first, I am really dreading my turn! We sent him to work with 40 treats that had 40 jokes about turning 40. I opted to be nice since it will be my turn soon enough. After his birthday dinner we awarded him with a list of 40 things we love about him. It was a pretty easy list to come up with!

On the same day as Rick's birthday, I had my first funeral as a Relief Society President. Everything came together really well and I am so grateful to have amazing sisters in our ward that are so willing to help. We will be doing another funeral luncheon this Thursday, I didn't even get a chance to return the washed dishcloths!

Jaden went on a Klondike Campout with the scouts. Camping in the cold does not appeal to me, but he had a great time. He stayed warm and did not come home a human popsicle!

After much peer pressure, I caved and joined Pinterest. I have spent too many hours pinning away and looking at all of the amazing ideas out there. I think I can get the habit under control without counseling...

I think I can do better next month, after all it will only take 2 posts!

Emery's Baptism Day

2012-01-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

We had an exciting weekend with lots and lots of family right here in Vernal! In fact, we had about 40 family members here from out of town to support Emery as she was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! We had been praying for weeks that the weather would be good enough for everyone to travel and I am so grateful that it was!

Rick baptized and confirmed Emery on Saturday morning. Emery was so excited, she almost ran from the chapel to the baptismal font when they said it was her turn. Everything was really nice and I am grateful for the spirit that was there. I am very proud of Emery and her decision to be baptized. She has an amazing spirit about her and will be an influence for good through out her life.

We are so grateful for the support of our family. It meant so much to Emery to have everyone there! It was fun to have lunch at the church afterwards and get a chance to visit with everyone. There were only 2 bad things about our weekend: 1) everyone left us by noon today and 2) there was something on the lens of my camera that messed up every picture! Grrr...

Here are a few more pictures taken earlier at the Vernal temple:

Our Christmas

2011-12-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Christmas! We woke up to wonderful gifts from Santa and each other, ate our traditional ebelskiver breakfast and made it to church by 10:30. This year our young men and young women were in charge of sacrament meeting at the care center. It happened to be at the same time as our church so we attended church with the elderly. Jaden passed the sacrament and gave a talk. It was a neat experience, the spirit was very strong.

After church we ran home, loaded up and headed to Salt Lake. I hadn't seen my family since before Thanksgiving and was really feeling homesick. We made it in for the tail end of Christmas lunch. It was so good to see everyone and spend some time with my parents.

Christmas Morning

All Syd wanted for Christmas was a flute - go figure!

Jaden made marshmallow roasting sticks for everyone.

Kensie made necklace hangers for the girls and a tie rack for Jaden.

Emy made decoupaged sketch books - see direction here.

Syd made groovy gloves for the girls and a p.j. shirt for Jaden.

See directions here.

This was our second year of having the kids make gifts for each other. I still love it! Everything seems to mean so much more. We also stuck to the 3 gift rule again this year: something to play with, something to wear and something to read. Santa doesn't overbuy like he used to and he gets sort of creative according to the kids needs and wants. Emery's something to wear was an MP3 player. Kensie and Jaden both got Ipod touches to play with.

I love the Christmas Season! It's nice to see so many people thinking about others rather than themselves. I love this time to reflect on the birth of the Savior and his life. I'm grateful that our family enjoyed another year of good health and that we have been given so many opportunities to learn and grow.

Christmas-time / Stress-time

2011-12-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

December is keeping us crazy-busy! If there isn't a Christmas party, there is a band concert, birthday party, goodies to be made, shopping to be done, presents to be created, class parties to plan, sisters to be visited and the list goes on and on and on. I think we are finally at the tail end of it all and can relax and enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.

The girls got to see Santa twice in one day!

We made many, many popcorn snowmen to share with friends and teachers.

Now for a moment of truth, Christmas really isn't the only thing that has been stressing me out. Kensie turned 15 last Saturday and I took her to get her learner's permit on Monday afternoon. Can I really have a kid old enough to drive? I can vividly remember the day I turned 16 and went to get my own license! As I sat there waiting for her to finish the test, I thought I was going to hyper ventilate. I could just feel my hair turning gray. I didn't want her to fail, but I really didn't want her to pass either! Well, of course she passed and now wants to drive all the time. It is such a weird thing to have my teenager driving me around. She is listening and learning and I am slowly learning to breath while she drives although I may soon wear a hole in the passenger floor where I am pushing on my imaginary brake or I may pull the "oh shit" handle off of the door! Is this normal? Can I do this? In the back of my mind I keep thinking that Jaden is right behind her, scary!

Emery Turns Eight

2011-12-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

Can you believe my beautiful Emery is eight years old? It seems like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital for what we thought would be a normal delivery. Good old Emy, she's always full of surprises!

I am really proud of Emery and the amazing young lady she is becoming. She loves to serve others and is a great friend to everyone. She is looking forward to being baptized in January!

We had a Birthday Party with 12 of Emery's friends on Friday afternoon (yes, I said 12. I know I am insane). We found some cute ideas online for a Puppy Party. The girls had a blast and it wasn't too stressful!

The house looked a little like this...

We ate paw cupcakes

My fave thing was serving puppy and kitty snacks out of dog dishes!

The girls filled out adoption certificates and each took a stuffed dog or cat home.

What a fun group of friends! A little loud, but very cute!

Sugarfest 2011

2011-11-04T08:19:00.000-06:00

We survived Halloween!

The three wards in our church building had a combined Trunk or Treat.

Needless to say, there was lots of candy and kids!

Syndey had to be Strawberry Shortcake. There were no other options!

Emery ended up being a little devil.

This kid always makes me laugh!

Three of my favorite ~~girls~~ geeks!

Overwhelmed

2011-11-03T22:26:00.000-06:00

I think I have just endured the most emotional week of my life. On October 23rd Rick and I had an appointment with the bishop after church. Lets just say I almost fell out of my seat as the bishop asked me to be the new Relief Society President in our ward. I instantly felt inadequate, unworthy, unqualified. Next, all I could think of was my mom serving as R.S. Pres. when I was a young girl and the lasting impression it has made on my life.   Through my tears I somehow croaked out a "yes" and somehow walked out of the bishop's office in a state of shock.

Over the next couple of days I felt completely overwhelmed by my new responsibilities. I had no idea how I would select counselors when I didn't know very many sisters in our ward. I only went to Relief Society for about a month before serving in the Primary and then Young Women. After spending a couple of days in prayer I was amazed at how clearly my counselors and secretary came to me.

Our new presidency was sustained last Sunday. I quite literally was shaking in my shoes as they called my name to stand up before the congregation.  After being set apart, having our first presidency meeting and spending time in the temple, I now feel overwhelmed by the Savior's love. I know that I will be able to learn and do whatever I am asked because I can have the guidance and comfort of the Holy Ghost. What a humbling, tear filled week.

I'm not saying that I am comfortable in my new shoes by any means! But, I am slowly feeling better and I am ready to serve the sisters in our ward.

Girls, Girls, Girls and Dinosaurs

2011-10-25T21:30:00.000-06:00

Hurray! We finally had a visit from Shauna, Shaylee, Jessica, Haylee, Reagan and Ella! It was so good to see them all and show them around our town. Emery and Syd were in HEAVEN. They could not get enough of their cousins!

The dinosaur quarry just re-opened in Jensen so we took a trip out there to check out the fossils.

The quarry has been closed for years and I had forgotten how amazing it is to see the actual site where the bones were recovered and still remain.

More bones!

Exhausted girls after a hard day of playing!

On the second day the girls were here, we went to the Dinosaur Museum.

The museum is a must for your first visit to Vernal!

Needless to say, there were tears shed when it was time for everyone to head back to the city. It was so good to spend some time with my sis and nieces. I wish I could just pack them all up and move them out here!

For the record, Sydney has asked if we could go to Haylee and Reagan's house to play at least a half dozen times this week! After a year, she still doesn't get the concept of us being 3 hours away instead of 5 minutes.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T11:57:00.000-06:00

We spent the weekend in Richfield.

While there, Grandma and Grandpa took Emy, Syd and I to the pumpkin patch.

Syd was so excited to ride on the train that was pulled by a tractor.

We also went on a hayride through the pumpkin patch.

The girls picked the smallest ones they could find!

Kensie and Jaden went to the Haunted Corn Maze with their cousins. They must have had a good time, I'm finding straw and corn everywhere as I am doing laundry!

Our visits always seem too short. We always leave wishing we could spend just one more day. The kids can never get enough of their cousins or grandparents!

The Magoon

2011-10-12T14:33:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we woke up to this!

Luckily, we went to Lagoon the Saturday before when it was sunny and 80 degrees. We hadn't been to Lagoon as a family for years, and we really had a fun time. Sydney is adamant that the correct pronunciation is The Magoon and we love to hear her say it!

Playing in Pioneer Village (before we got soaked!)

Taking in the Frightmares action...

May it be many years before we go again!

Our Pumpkins

2011-09-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

Check out our pumpkins!

Up until this year we have never grown one bigger than a softball.

We have had so much fun watching them grow and change colors.

We especially love this gigantic one!

Look at how big it is compared to Emy's head.

Emery's school had a harvest festival last Friday.

The kids were invited to bring a harvest creation made out of fruits,

veggies and flowers from their gardens.

Emy's creation was a "dragonfly"

You would have thought it was made of glass

if you had seen how we took it to school!

We have been very blessed with a wonderful garden this year!

I have been able to do a batch of salsa every week for about 4 weeks and the tomatoes are still coming!

We have really enjoyed the peas, beans, peppers, zucchini, melons and corn too.

So Long Summer....

2011-09-22T16:10:00.000-06:00

The first day of fall is going to come tomorrow with or without my permission. I really wanted summer to hang out a little longer! I have been a horrible blogger all summer. Just not enough hours in the day to share everything I wanted to!

So... please excuse me as I dump all of the pictures off of my phone and into this post. Summer was good to us, lets hope for an even better fall.

Swimming at Red Fleet

Checking out the Pioneer Museum here in town.

We had the opportunity to participate in the procession as Sgt. Daniel Gurr was brought home to Vernal to be laid to rest. One of the most patriotic moments of my life.

My *cough cough* 20 Year Class Reunion

Go Cougars! KHS Class of 91

Melissa, Sherrie and I

Melissa and Jason

Sherrie and Grant

Eating at Dairy Keen in Heber

Alpine Loop

Dinner with the Girls!

Riding in The Basin. This is our usual route.

Riding near Richfield

Garden gone wild!

Syd's first day of pre-school - yep that's a shiner!

Whew! I feel better... Happy Fall!

Weekend Visitors

2011-09-19T20:26:00.001-06:00

My parents came to visit for the weekend. It was their first trip EVER to Vernal. It was so fun to have them here and show them around our new stomping grounds. A huge thank you goes out to my sister Craelene for driving them out.

We were lucky enough to have my Dad here for his 81st Birthday on Friday!

We went out to dinner where Emery managed to almost drop a large ball of butter in his lap

and then came back home for icecream and cake.

It was nice to have my parents and sister around to visit and laugh with.

Of course Aunt Nene spoiled the kids rotten while she was here and they loved it!

We didn't want to let them leave when Sunday rolled around.

Hopefully they will come back real soon!

Kensie will even entertain Grandma in her rubber boots again!

(One of those you had to be there to get it things!)

My Summer Accomplishment

2011-08-29T13:23:00.000-06:00

Hold tight to your seats, I'm about to reveal why I am not in the running for mother of the year...

A few weeks ago, Jaden's scout troop held a Court of Honor. It was the first one since we have been in the ward and Jaden finally advanced to the rank of Star. (He should have gotten this a year ago but that's not the story I'm telling.) I was so proud as Jaden was up there getting all of his merit badges from camp and the shin dig.

And then it hit me! Jaden didn't have a merit badge sash like the other older boys. I bought one before we moved. I just never did anything with it because I HATE TO SEW! Well, I felt pretty ashamed, my son has earned a lot of merit badges and has no way to show them off. It became my goal to hand sew all of those little circles onto his sash before the summer ended! I'm proud to say I did it! I bled, I cussed and I finished adding all 22 merit badges.

Lesson learned. I will add these little suckers as he earns them and... I still hate to sew.

P.S. I hope that no one ever looks at the backside of that thing!

One Year

2011-08-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of school, which means we have been in Vernal for a whole year. I guess we are officially Vernalites, which according to Rick is better than Kearnidiots! Time has really gone by quickly. As I look back, I am amazed by how smoothly our moves and settling into a new community have gone. We have had some adjusting to do, but nothing like I was expecting. Vernal definitely feels like home and I know that it is where the Lord wants us to be!

Here are some kids not excited about going back to school!

Another Lawn Update

2011-08-23T21:37:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind on the lawn updates! That's just how my summer has been. School starts tomorrow so hopefully I can get this family back onto some kind of schedule.

Week #2

Week #3

The pictures really do not do it justice. It is really filling in and getting greener!

Tour of Utah

2011-08-15T23:36:00.000-06:00

We were able to catch the last two stages of the Tour of Utah while we were in Salt Lake this past weekend! I love the whole atmosphere of the Tour and how much it has grown in the last couple of years. I literally found myself giddy like a school girl waiting for the riders to come by!

On Saturday afternoon, Kensie, Rick and I went up to the capital to watch Stage 4 which was a circuit race. The circuit was just under 8 miles, so we were able to see the riders go by 11 times!

Here are the highlights of my day!

(Warning! If you are not a professional cycling fan, you may find this extremely boring)

I got to shake Bob Roll's hand and have a picture taken with him!

I love the Bobki!!

I was almost ran over by Levi Leipheimer after the race as he was headed to the podium to get the yellow jersey!

The guy that kept showing up on the T.V. coverage in the gilly suit hung out near us for a while. He rode up on a bike and had to be dying in the heat! He had a fist full of cash and handed out $100 to the first rider at the top of the hill we were on. Next, he was handing out bills to the team cars. It was very entertaining!

Here are some race pictures from Saturday...

(lots of Levi in yellow jersey and Team Radio Shack)

On Sunday the last stage went from Park City to Snowbird. We decided to watch from our favorite KOM spot at the summit of American Fork Canyon (Alpine Loop)

Waiting for the riders

Making noise

Dave Z

Levi

Lawn Update and Fish'n

2011-08-10T12:58:00.000-06:00

As promised, here is a look at the lawn after one week.

I have been watering, watering, watering and am really scared to see the water bill!

We were so excited to see so many blades of grass after one week.

It looks even better since I took these pictures!

Saturday evening Rick took us up to Matt Warner to go fishing.

This was my first trip up Diamond Mountain since we moved out here and I loved it!

Once again, I am amazed to live in such a beautiful place!

We didn't catch anything this time, but we pulled over and watched an eagle flying around with a fish.

It was amazing!

Watching Grass Grow

2011-07-31T17:09:00.000-06:00

It finally happened...

The hydro-seed went down yesterday. I am a happy camper! We are keeping busy with trying to keep the soil moist and I am saying lots of prayers for no downpours to wash the seed away.

Take a look at the front yard.

And... the back.

Close Up

While we are talking about green things, the garden is doing great! We have been picking and eating peas, cucumbers and zucchini daily. Beans are on the vine and tomatoes, pumpkins, peppers, corn and melons are looking good! I'm so relieved everything decided to grow!

Take a look...

Girls Camp & the Cabin

2011-07-28T15:51:00.000-06:00

I was put in as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's presidency one week before girls camp. It didn't dawn on me that they would probably want me to go to camp until I was sitting in sacrament meeting right after being sustained. I'll be honest, there was a little dread before the excitement came.

I was able to make arrangements with my awesome sister Shauna to meet me in Heber Weds. morning. (Yes, I am blessed! I'm convinced there isn't anything my sisters wouldn't do for my family!) Shauna and Marty took my little girls on to Kearns and eventually Scipio. (Emery + Jaden home alone does not work.) I headed up to Heber Valley Girls Camp to meet our Stake who had been there since bright and early Monday morning.

It was kind of weird driving up the mountain to join a bunch of leaders and young women that I really didn't know. Luckily, I knew I would have Kensie there! I guess I keep ending up in Young Women because I never grew up! I'm also pretty sure that Heavenly Father has a good sense of humor!

I can honestly say that I instantly fell in love with the girls and leaders. They are awesome and I am excited to be with them. Isn't it funny how the Lord always knows what we need?

Here are all 24 Young Women!

Kensie and friends

My favorite part of Heber Valley Camp has always been the challenge course. I love to see the girls push themselves and do things out of their comfort zones!

Here is Kensie climbing the pole, walking the wire and repelling. She is awesome!

The only other time I went to this camp, I didn't get a chance to repel because it started to thunder and lightning. I have always been bummed that I didn't get to do it. Well, I got my chance this time! Thanks to one of the young women, I even have pictures to prove it!

Yep, I still get a thrill out of scaring myself!

We came home from camp Friday afternoon, showered and repacked. Off to Scipio we went to celebrate the 24th of July and retrieve Emy and Syd. It was fun to spend a couple of days with my parents, siblings and their families. I was wicked tired the entire time but it was great to see everybody! We went to the parade, played in the water, celebrated grandma's birthday, went to the Scipio Rodeo and took a bike ride to Yuba Lake. I was too ~~lazy~~ tired to take pictures.

Here are the few that I did take!

Watching for more candy at the parade!

Best Friends and cousins!

Steamboat

2011-07-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

I tagged along with Rick to Steamboat Springs, Colorado last week. Rick was there for lots of branch manager meetings and training. I was there for a little rest and relaxation! A huge thank you goes out to Grandma Gerry and Grandpa Bob for staying with the kids and holding down the fort while we were gone.

This was my first trip to Steamboat Springs and I thought it was beautiful! It reminded me a lot of Park City. I was amazed at how biker friendly the entire community was and if I return, I will definitely bring my mountain bike!

We had some great views from our hotel balcony.

On Wednesday evening we took our bikes for a spin.

It ended up being a beautiful moonlit ride!

1st Week of July

2011-07-10T19:31:00.000-06:00

Is it just me or did the first week of July fly by?

Here's a quick recap of our week:

We spent the 4th of July weekend in South Jordan with Joel, Sherry and fam.

It was fun to hang out with them and be there on the 4th for their pool party.

Syd and Em were in the pool from 10:30 to 4:30 and it rained on and off the entire time.

I was too busy stuffing my face to remember to take pictures. Here are a few of the party.

Syd

Jordan in the coolest shirt ever...

Fun in the pool!

Shauna and Haylee

The Memmott Gang

We left Kensie in Kearns Monday night to go to girls camp with our old ward. In exchange, we brought Jaden's good friend Jake home to Vernal with us for the week. The boys had a good time catching up and playing video games all week long.

The original plan was to go camp in Indian Canyon near where we were picking up Kensie from girls camp on Friday night. Just as we started loading up the camping gear, the skies opened and it poured. We decided to just pick Kensie up Saturday morning and stay home out of the mud. We also decided it would be a good time to try out liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Adding the liquid nitrogen.

Stir, stir, stir!

Rick and I tilled up the backyard twice and the front yard once more on Thurs/Fri. We all spent Saturday afternoon in the sun working. First we leveled out dirt and got rid of rocks and then we started spreading out the topsoil. Did I mention that we finished the sprinkling system last week? We are getting closer to grass!

Emery in the top soil tunnel.

I'm tired and sore, but it has been a good week. Rick and I have been staying up late every night watching the Tour de France. We are such nerds, but I love it!

Jaden leaves for a week of scout camp in the morning and the summer continues to fly by!

Dino Tri Relay

2011-06-26T21:27:00.002-06:00

Extra extra read all about it! Team Memmott took 6th place out of 26 relay teams at the Dino Tri! Best of all, we were the first all women relay team to cross the finish lane. Maybe we should have been dubbed the Dream Team? We did awesome considering it was a first tri event for all 3 of us.

Here's the scoop...

The swim started at 7:00 A.M. so we were up bright and early to ride busses to Red Fleet Reservoir.

Red Fleet was a beautiful venue.
All of the white dots in the water are swimmers.

Amanda, Me, Rick and Rod
Can you tell how nervous the swimmers are about getting in the open water?

Amanda got us off to an awesome start! She swam 750 meters in an amazing 13 minutes 14 seconds. She was one of the first out of the water and actually caught me off guard out of the transition area when she first got out.

As soon as Amanda put that timing chip bracelet around my ankle, I was full of adrenaline! My ride was 13 miles. However, the first 2 miles were nothing but climbing out of the canyon. It took about 14 minutes to do those first 2 miles. My main goal was not to let Rick or Rod pass me on the ride. I pedaled my heart out and neither of them caught up to me! My finish time was 48 minutes 49 seconds. I was hoping to be a little closer to 45 minutes but it was pretty obvious that I have been training more for distance than speed!

Me running into the second transition area to trade off with Samantha.

Run Sam, Run!

Sam running to the finish line.

Samantha had an awesome run! She ran a 5K in 25 min. 18 seconds.

Our overall time was 01:29:11.7 and our overall standing out of all of the Sprint distance participants was 25th.

Me and Sam

Aggie Ice Cream at 9:00 in the morning!

Check out our tats!
R does not stand for Retards!

It was fun to have lots of support from family!

Jordan, Ryan, Sam, Samantha, Amanda, Savannah

Joel, Sherry and Kensie

Emery, Dacey, Cyndie, Lindsey, Syd & Kensie

Overall the Dino Tri was a blast! I pushed myself to new limits and found that I still have that competitive streak in me! I would love to do a relay team again and see if we can do even better.

Rod did the full Olympic distance and finished in great time. Rick had some problems with his wet suit and didn't complete the swim. After all of his hard training, I'm sure there will be another Tri in the near future for him!

The Yard

2011-06-16T21:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry to be under the radar for a while. Our yard seems to be taking over my life! Add in two softball tournaments and Kensie doing clinics with the high school coach and... well you get the picture.

Here's the scoop on what we have been up to.

We put in a garden. Actually, I put it in twice since most of my plants froze! Among all of the weeds and rocks in the backyard there is a little spot for me to putter around and try to make things grow. I can't explain why I love it, it's just in my blood. We hauled in a bunch of railroad ties and put in a really cool watering system. It was a ton of work and railroad ties are HEAVY!

Next project, we hand picked all of these boulders/rocks and made our own retaining wall. Once again, a little project that turned into a huge one and by the way, rocks are really heavy too!

Here's a close up.

View from the vacant lot next door.

This ended up being a great solution for our sloping lot. I feel pretty good about it since we have no idea how much dirt they may have to bring in some day to build on the empty lot.

After the retaining wall was finished, we had to bring in lots of fill dirt to try to even out the front yard. Being the ~~cheap~~ frugal person that I am, I decided that we should use dirt that Rick needed to get rid of at Airgas. This means that we have made many, many trips back and forth to load and then unload dirt. If you want to see Kensie and Jaden squirm, just mention grabbing shovels and going to get dirt! Last night we decided that the yard is level enough.

Our next project is installing all of this stuff.

Umm... This is our sprinkling system.

And then there is this big pile of top soil that is haunting us!

The good news is that after the top soil we get to have grass! Is it lame that I am dreaming of mowing the lawn and not having dirt constantly tracked through the house?

Little Red 2011

2011-06-05T22:05:00.000-06:00

To start off my tale of another great Little Red ride, I have to back up and share the experiences and emotions that were a precursor to the ride.

Lets start with Wednesday night. I made arrangements with my good friend Melissa to pick up registration packets for Cyndie and I in Salt Lake. A pregnant Melissa bravely battled the crowd to pick up everything so we wouldn't have to do it the morning of the race (thanks again). When Melissa sends me a text to tell me that she has everything, I realize this is the first time I will ride Little Red without her, but for a very good reason! So, Weds. night Cyndie and I are back and forth all night making our final plans for the night before the race and race day.

Then Thursday morning came. Cyndie called me and I could tell right away that something was wrong. To make a long story short, she had just been to the doctor and was advised not to do the ride or any physical activity because of a complication she is having. In fact, she will go in for surgery on Tuesday. My heart completely broke for her. We have been so excited to ride this year especially since she wasn't able to last year. We have talked and sent texts about it since registration time. It just didn't seem fair! We knew she would be able to sell her registration since they are in high demand, but being the sweet person that she is, she wanted me to try to find someone I knew to ride with.

I immediately sent a text to one friend and found out that she was in Hawaii. The next text I sent was to Tari, a friend I made in our first Vernal ward. She is the mother of 4 and busy and I didn't really think she would be available last minute. As an answer to my prayers, she was available because her plans had just fell through for the weekend. She was really excited for the chance to ride and happily took over Cyndie's registration. Now that I have all that off my chest, let me tell you about Friday night and the ride!

I will not, let me repeat, WILL NOT ever put off getting a room for Little Red again. We ended up staying in Brigham City because I couldn't find a room in Logan. The hotel was lame, but there was an upside! We were right across the street from Maddox. On Friday night we met up with Rod and Cyndie as well as Robert and Laurie for a fun dinner.

Okay, now I can finally tell you about the ride. It was fabulous! I could not have dreamed of better weather! Perfect temperatures, not much wind and BEAUTIFUL scenery! Tari and I had never rode together. We talked about it, but our schedules never allowed it to happen. Amazingly, we rode at the same pace very comfortably. This was her first century and she did really well. I felt pretty good, just the usual aches and pains that come with being on a bike all day. So, in a bittersweet kind of way, I finished my century ride in 6 hours 44 minutes.

In case you can't tell, it was a 50's theme this year.
This is Tari and I before the ride.

Just me, the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red.

We made it! After the finish line with Little Red!
Yes, that is her arm on the table.

This is the cute little bracelet they gave everyone as they crossed the finish line.

Now, who's in for next year?!!

The Graduate

2011-05-25T22:06:00.000-06:00

Wow, I am getting slow at posting things!

Monday was Sydney's graduation from Pre-School

(even though she still has another year).

She was so cute about everything and loved wearing her cap and gown.

Here is most of her class. I had no idea Syd knew so many songs!

We loved Mrs. Kirstin and will be back with her again next year!

When I stop and think about it, it seems like just yesterday that each of my kids graduated from pre-school. Time goes by so quickly, I am constantly reminded of how important it is to enjoy each moment I have with them.

Chillin Up Dry Fork Canyon

2011-05-17T13:12:00.000-06:00

After being gone for 3 weekends in a row, it was nice to be home last weekend and get a few projects started. Did you notice I said started and not finished? After working around the house all day Saturday and getting in a bike ride, we decided to head up to the mountains for dinner and roasting mashmallows. I love Dry Fork Canyon and we have been scoping out rocks up there to build our retaining wall.

I love having beautiful mountains so close by!

The kids immediately decided that bears lived in all of the caves and were on high alert.

My not-so-baby-girls

Sydney's "castle rock". What an imagination!

Mmmm smores!

Goldilocks Ride 2011

2011-05-10T09:58:00.000-06:00

Saturday was the much anticipated Goldilocks ride. It was fun to see how much the ride has grown in a year and even more fun to have friends to ride with this year! My day was made before the ride even started! I got to see my old roommate and dear friend, Jill!

The weather was perfect for a 60 mile ride. I even got a little color on my arms and legs! This years route was a great mix of climbs and flat roads. I left the ride feeling pretty good. My knees held up and even more surprisingly, my carpel tunnel didn't bother me (sleeping in those stupid braces must really work). As with all of the women's events I have participated in, I left feeling inspired by all of the amazing women from all walks of life who set goals, challenged themselves and succeeded!

Cyndie, myself and Lauren before the ride.

Cyndie and Lauren at the lunch stop.

The End! 62 Miles

On the road.

Still Smiling!

Scenes from Spring Break and an Easter Birthday

2011-04-26T18:45:00.000-06:00

Emery had one wish for Spring Break. It was to see both of her Grandma's. Hence, our journey began. We spent all day Friday in Salt Lake. Sydney wanted to go to the zoo for her birthday, so of course we went to the zoo!

Friday night was time to dye eggs with the cousins, have an Easter Egg Hunt, and a little birthday celebration.

Saturday morning we hit the road again. This time we headed south for Richfield. We hadn't seen cousins since October and were way overdue for a visit. Of course we fit in a bike ride as well as celebrating Syd's special Easter Birthday!

Ice Breaker Tri

2011-04-16T22:30:00.000-06:00

Rick participated in his first triathlon today. His main goal was not to die. I'm happy to report that he reached his goal and is still alive and kicking! It has taken a lot of discipline and hard work to get ready for The Ice Breaker Tri and I am really proud of him. The swim was 250 meters, bike ride was 8 miles, and the run was 3 miles. This was great training and helped him to better know what to expect for the Dino Tri. Did I mention how impressed I am with this man?

Go number 50!

Getting ready for the start. I may have been more nervous than him!

Finishing the swim.

Taking off for the ride.

Getting ready to cross the finish line!

Fantasy Canyon

2011-04-03T20:48:00.000-06:00

We decided to go for a drive this afternoon while we listened to conference. Rick took us to check out Fantasy Canyon. It is located out near a bunch of oil fields and was totally new scenery for us. The formations were amazing!

As a bonus, we saw wild horses on the way to the formations.

And... antelope on the way home.

The more I see of the Uintah Basin, the more I am amazed at it's beauty! P.S. We didn't see any Pygmy Rattlers! Whew....

Is It My Birthday Yet?

2011-04-01T10:21:00.005-06:00

What a week! 3 out of 4 kids have been sick. Kensie and Jaden have had strep throat and Sydney had a little bout with the stomach flu (no, it didn't slow her down a bit!) On the bright side, we have been having some beautiful spring weather. Sydney and I decided to get the Easter decor out yesterday. I have been telling her for quite a while that her birthday is on Easter this year. So, needless to say, once we had the Easter stuff out she decided it was time for her birthday. All I have heard since yesterday is "When is my birthday? How many days till my birthday? It's Easter so it's my birthday." Heaven help me! I have already been listening to "I want that for my birthday" for about a month now. Hopefully we can make it to April 24th without a total breakdown!Sydney and I decided to make some "egg garlands" with a few of the hundreds of plastic eggs we have hanging around. It was really easy and turned out cute. We just snapped the eggs shut on a piece of yarn and strung them around the house.

Friday Afternoon Ramblings

2011-03-25T11:46:00.004-06:00

I once read a sign that said something along the lines of "Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken." I'm feeling a bit like that this week!

My teenagers are acting like teenagers. My 7 year old thinks she is 12. And for that matter, my 3 year old thinks she is 12 as well. I love my kids. They really are great kids. Just when I think I have seen everything, they always surprise me with a new problem.

We survived talking in church, again... We were all tempted to re-use our talks from November. However, we all came up with something new. I'm so glad that we will not have to be the "new family" again for a very long time!

The girls registered for softball this week and are really excited for the season to start. There are a couple of neighbors that Kensie has been playing catch with and that will be playing as well. Tryouts are next weekend and then they will be placed on teams. It will be good to have something as familiar as softball going on again!

The mud is finally starting to dry up and the girls cannot spend enough time outdoors. Of course, I'm going crazy trying to keep the dirt out of the house. I'm afraid it is a losing battle that I will just have to learn to live with! Rick and I are starting to think about sprinkler systems and what we want to do with the yard. So much to think about and so much to do!

I'll end with Sydney's new favorite accessory. Pink cowboy boots must be worn at all times with all outfits. Everyone compliments her on them and she loves it. Hope she gets over them before it is time to start wearing shorts!

From Our Backyard

2011-03-17T13:12:00.004-06:00

The first time we came out to Naples to look at lots, we could hear wild turkeys calling. It was so cool, it kind of sealed the deal! We have never had a neighbors house directly in back of us, so it was really important to me to keep up the tradition. The thought of being able to look into somebody's windows really bugs me! So.. the back side of our home borders a pasture. It really helps to bring that living in the country smell and feel home!

I had no idea how much entertainment farm animals would bring to our home. I often find myself staring out the window just watching.

From our backyard we can watch...

Wild turkeys and listen to them gobble and call out. We love it when the toms are out strutting their stuff. Our neighbors originally bought a couple of domestic turkeys and then all of a sudden 7 wild turkeys decided to roost with them.

This white one cracks me up. He will come right to the fence. Have you ever seen a turkey run? It is hilarious...

Sheep! What funny critters. The white goose in the picture herds the sheep around all day.

Cows. This calf was born this morning. I haven't even seen it stand up yet. Syd and I had to check it out as soon as we were dressed this morning. Sooo cute!

I think we made a great choice on backyards! And... just for the record, Sydney does not like the smell of horse poop! I promise that my next post will not be about livestock! Kind of a weird post pattern going on, sorry!

Baa Baa Black Sheep

2011-03-10T14:28:00.005-07:00

Sydney and I have a new pastime. It's called looking at the lambs. Baby animals are one of my favorite things about spring and we have been having a blast watching all of the little lambs and calves around us. Chance are if you have talked to Syd lately she has told you all about the baby lambs. Yes, we are city slickers!The weather has been beautiful this week! The snow is melting and we have MUD everywhere. I swear all the kids have to do is look outside and they have mud all over their shoes. Ughh... It has been kind of depressing not having grass under the snow. Even more depressing not having tulips or daffodils peeking out. We need to get a yard put in soon or I am going to go crazy!

Tri Thoughts

2011-03-01T09:34:00.004-07:00

I have been obsessed with triathlons lately. What an ultimate athlete to be able to swim, bike and run in one event. Last summer my brother in law tried to talk Rick and I into doing an event. I actually considered it and then reality struck me.

There were a few problems:

I am a really weak swimmer. I don't think they would allow me to wear water wings in the event, and that is probably what I would need to survive.

I hate to run. I have never found that runner's high. The older I get, the more I feel like my insides are literally going to fall out when I run. (may have something to do with giving birth to 4 kids?)

So, I love to ride my bike and I knew I could do awesome in that event! Wait, that means I should just stick to bike races and enjoy myself.

A while back we were sitting at the cabin and I had an idea. It was an awesome idea! My niece, Amanda, is an amazing swimmer and swim coach. Another niece, Samantha, loves to run. Why not do a triathlon as a relay team? We would have so much fun and could all do what we like to do!!

So, what I am trying to say is that I signed up our relay team for the Dino-Tri here in Vernal. It is the last weekend of June and I am so excited! Rick is also participating. This will be his first triathlon and a new experience for all of us. If you are interested, here is the website http://www.dinotri.com/.

Sure hope the snow melts by then!

Ski Day

2011-02-26T20:58:00.004-07:00

Today the temperature got up to a sweltering 40 degrees! Believe it or not, I willingly decided to spend time outdoors. For the first time this year, Rick and I finally had a chance to get out on our cross country skis. It was beautiful and we never saw another soul on the trail, just some deer!

I decided that we need to get out skiing more often so that I can get better. It's getting harder and harder to pick my 30-something body up off the ground when I fall over!

It felt great to be outside getting some exercise! I have been going through the winter blahhhs big time. I am more than a little anxious for spring.

Hungry

2011-02-24T14:23:00.004-07:00

Today I have a secret to share. My child is a bottomless pit. No, I'm not talking about my teenage son, that's another story. I'm referring to my almost 4 year old! From the time she gets up until the time she drifts to sleep for the evening, she is HUNGRY. I feed her breakfast, two minutes later she needs a snack. She always asks for "another breakfast" after eating her 2 waffles.

Is this a 3-4 year old stage that I have forgotten about? The most amazing thing is that she is one of my best eaters and she is still always hungry. Maybe I shouldn't complain, she loves fruit and veggies and will try about anything. It just gets old finding her in the pantry climbing on the 5 gallon flour bucket to reach a fruit snack. Did I mention that she would and has eaten an entire box of fruit snacks in one day? Scooby Doo, Smiley Faces, Dinosaurs, she's not prejudice, she'll eat any of them!

Maybe she eats because she is bored? It must be tough spending the day home with mom. Perhaps she just needs all of this food to keep her busy little body fueled. I know I'm exhausted from just watching her go all day!

Guilty?

2011-02-18T14:06:00.004-07:00

Does it officially make us country bumpkins if we purchased a big 4 wheel drive truck? If so, I guess we are guilty. Rick picked up our Nissan Titan last night. It's a big, mean, green machine! I'm excited to finally have a truck big enough for us all to fit in. I'm dreaming of fishing trips, camping trips, cross country skiing, looking at wildlife and just heading up to places we couldn't go together before.

Our next challenge, figuring out how to fit it in the garage :)

The Big V Day

2011-02-14T16:14:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentines Day! The kids are all hopped up on sugar and we are looking forward to some heart shaped pizzas for dinner. Here's a little glimpse of this years Valentine's fun.

We made lots of these...

A closer look...

And they led to so much fun!

(Yes, that is candy and slobber running down her chin!)

You can find the patterns here.

We also made lots of these...

Peanut butter hearts are the bomb!!!

I also found time to get a little crafty with some of these...

And... one of these made out of paper towel rolls.

You can find directions here.

X X O

Frozen

2011-02-08T09:42:00.006-07:00

Is it just me, or does Vernal have the lowest temperature in the state every time there is a weather forecast? As I walk Emery to the bus stop every morning, I find myself having flashbacks of living in Logan, standing in line for the campus shuttle and realizing that my snot is actually frozen! Rick warned me that it would be cold. I just didn't realize it would get this bone chilling cold! Last week was probably the worst. We woke up to -15 degree mornings and it never got above 0. Add in the windchill factor and we were freezing.
I avoid going out as much as possible. Good thing I have lots to keep me busy around here! We are finally finished playing musical bedrooms. Sydney now has her very own princess room and she has actually been sleeping in her own bed for over a week! Emery finally has her own bed to herself again and we are working on turning her room into a Fairytopia of sorts.

And... there are always piles of laundry to do, boxes to unload, floors to clean, and books to be read.

Room for Everyone

2011-01-31T11:28:00.003-07:00

We moved Kensie and Jaden into their new rooms over the weekend.

A new mattress for Jaden - Check

A waterbed patch kit for Kensie - Check

I think they are going to love these rooms! They are really big and will allow them to hang out with friends. We have a few finishing touches to add like hanging pictures and shelves and a desk to pick up in Salt Lake. Kensie and Jaden both seem happy and that is what matters most!

Most urgent project complete - Check!

A New Friend/Enemy

2011-01-27T09:56:00.009-07:00

Meet my new friend/enemy, the trainer. I affectionately like to refer to him as Mr. T. You know T stands for trainer and it is tough and likes to kick my butt!

With all of the projects we have going on, we are not going to the gym like we used to. In fact, we haven't been going at all! Rick found this as a great excuse to buy the trainer he has been wanting, and of course I agreed. Riding a trainer takes a lot of the joy out of cycling. There is no clean, crisp air to clear your mind and looking at a unfinished basement isn't very relaxing. I have to keep reminding myself that my legs and rear will appreciate the effort once spring is here. (That is if it ever gets here and the snow actually melts and the temps are warmer than 20!)

To be honest, my biggest motivation is the fact that it is time to start registering for some of my favorite women's only rides! I am looking forward to riding with girlfriends and spending the day testing my limits in the beautiful outdoors.

Registration is now open for

The ride takes place on Saturday May 7th in Herriman. More info here.

AND.....

Little Red Riding Hood registration is coming up quickly. Here is the info.

It's great to have something to look forward to and to train for! For the record, the trainer isn't all bad. I get to catch up on some much needed reading. Please don't try to picture me with a book on a bike, it isn't pretty!

A Home for Sydney

2011-01-13T09:51:00.003-07:00

Poor Sydney, I think all of this moving has her really confused. I took her to Salt Lake with me last week so I could attend a dear friends funeral. While we were staying with my parents, she kept whining to go home. On Thursday night when we arrived back in Vernal, she started asking again to go home. We keep asking her where home is? Does she mean the rental or the house we sold in Kearns? I keep trying to tell her we are home because this is where our family is. I hope it starts to sink in soon. Maybe once she has her own room again? I've decided it's home, I even unpacked my china and put it in the hutch!

Hard at Work

2011-01-09T17:04:00.003-07:00

Sorry we have been MIA this far into 2011! We have been BUSY!

It all started on New Years Eve day when we had 50 sheets of sheetrock delivered. Mr. Muscles (aka Rick) carried every sheet to the basement windows where Kensie, Jaden and I together lifted each piece into the basement.

By New Years Eve we had ceilings hung in both bedrooms!

It has been a week and we now have walls up in both bedrooms!

In my opinion, we are at the worst stage! Taping, mudding and sanding.
I want to take a minute and brag about how awesome Rick is! He was a bit nervous about wiring the basement himself but he figured it out. He even put a new circuit breaker thingy into the breaker panel!

I hope to be posting pictures of finished rooms in the next couple of weeks. Kensie and Jaden are excited to move into their new rooms and I am happy to have less crowded bedrooms!

Mission Completed

2010-12-30T23:09:00.003-07:00

The title of this post has multiple meanings! First, it means that I succeeded in taking down all of the Christmas stuff today. What a relief! I can finally start thinking about hanging pictures and putting everything in it's place.

Second, I actually accomplished one of my goals for the year! I read the entire Book of Mormon. I finished by the skin of my teeth nonetheless, but I finished! I challenged my young women last January to read the Book of Mormon this year for their virtue project. I'm so grateful that I stuck to it and finished. I know that I have been blessed and guided through out the year as I have read. It gets better and better each time I read it and I know that it is the word of God.

Lastly, I never had the chance to write about Jordan coming home from his mission! I was so upset the day he came home that I didn't dare post anything. It was hard not being able to be in Salt Lake that day to see him. I was able to chat with him on the phone and that made me feel a little better. Craelene and Joel are awesome and sent us pictures from the airport right away.

Jordan and two very happy grandparents!

Just to show you how much everyone changed in 2 years,

here is Jordan with Syd and Em the day of his farewell.

This is Jordan and the girls at Thanksgiving.

Just a few weeks after he came homeI am so proud of Jordan for completing an honorable mission. He has grown so much and in so many different ways. He has set a great example for our family.

Our Christmas

2010-12-28T21:17:00.004-07:00

Christmas was wonderful!

We spent the morning in Vernal opening our gifts and eating our traditional Aebleskiver breakfast.
After breakfast we went over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's (and Grandfather's) house. We made it just in time for the Memmott Family lunch! It was so fun to see everyone and visit. It was a great day spent with those we love.

We did a few things differently this year that I really liked! I decided to stick to a 3 gift rule from Santa. 1- something to play with, 2- something to wear and 3- something to read. I usually go overboard and keep buying and buying. This year, things were more simple and the kids were happy with everything they received.

By far, my favorite thing this year was helping the kids create home-made gifts for each other. I loved the one on one time with each child as they prepared gifts. You should have seen how excited they were on Christmas morning to share their gifts with each other. It meant so much to see how proud they were of what they made!

Since Sydney is learning her alphabet, I helped her paint wood letters for her brother and sisters. She picked out the colors and embellished the girl's letters with glitter.
Kensie tied fleece blankets for everyone. They turned out so cute and her brother and sisters loved the patterns she picked for them

Jaden made clipboards for the girls. They turned out really cute and the girls were so surprised. I loved how excited he was to give them to his sisters. We found the idea here.

Emery made the coolest bleach tee shirts ever! We made stencils using freezer paper and sprayed bleach right onto the tee's. Sydney's was a dragonfly, Jaden's a basketball and Kensie's a sun. We found the idea here and plan to play around with this some more!

The events leading up to Christmas this year were crazy! I'm so grateful we were able to sit down and enjoy our day and time together.

Finding Christmas

2010-12-19T19:29:00.003-07:00

We finally broke out Christmas! We put the tree up and decorated on Thursday.

On Saturday morning I took Emery and Syd for breakfast with Santa. It's official! All Emery wants for Christmas is her 2 front teeth! She lost both teeth this week and looks adorable! I love it!We woke up to a really good snowstorm this morning so it finally looks like Christmas too. I'm so grateful for this time of year and the opportunity to focus on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

While We Were Moving...

2010-12-16T08:45:00.008-07:00

The move went well. We had everything into the garage or basement by Sunday and have officially had 6 sleeps in our new home! We only had a few inconveniences like not having a gas line in the laundry room and waiting almost a week for phone and internet service.

Of course life goes on while moving and we have been busy with birthdays, concerts and Christmas parties. Here are a few things I didn't get to post:

Emery turned 7

Jaden had a band concert and played in his first ensemble

Today I'm considering pulling out the Christmas boxes and tree. I don't recommend moving at Christmastime!

Carpet and Counters

2010-12-05T13:34:00.003-07:00

Both the water and power company ran into a few snags on Friday. We are still without water and power! Hopefully we won't be pushed too far back on our occupancy permit. We still moved a million boxes into the basement this weekend. We made a serious dent in the garage and will soon be ready to move on to the big stuff. Fun, fun, fun!!

This is how the counter tops turned out.

And... the carpet.

We are all a bit sore and tired. I think the only thing that keeps us going is the knowledge that we are almost at the end!

The Move - Part Two

2010-12-02T13:40:00.005-07:00

Word on the street is that we can start moving in this weekend! We have waited so long for this day to come and as a result we are all in denial. We will not have our Certificate of Occupancy until Monday or Tuesday (thank you very much Utah Power), so we can move stuff in but not live there. We don't have to be out of the rental until the 15th so we should have time to get everything moved over in an orderly fashion.

The plan is to start unloading the garage this weekend, a task that gives me an ulcer every time I think of it! The boxes and stuff go on forever and ever....

On the bright side, they are putting in counter tops, carpet and a deck at our house today. Hopefully I will have some pictures to post soon! Can you believe we are almost at the end?!!

Kitchen Cabinets

2010-11-28T18:11:00.003-07:00

We stopped by the house on our way into town yesterday. We were so relieved to see that the painting was finished!An even better surprise was that the kitchen cabinets had been installed!

I love, love, LOVE them! I was a little nervous about the coffee glaze but it turned out perfect. Here's a closer look at the cupboards.And a close up of the drawers and cabinets.

We are almost there!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T17:43:00.004-07:00

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." - W. T. Purkiser

We made it to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving! A special "thank you" to Mother Nature for keeping the weather clear and an even bigger "thank you" to an understanding husband that knew I needed one more weekend with the fam!

The Kitchen Clean-Up Crew - aka: Craelene, Shauna & Joel

I love this picture of Lindsey and Sam looking at ads!
We pour over them every year.
Yum.... Pie! Grandma and Grandpa enjoying their day.

Amanda and Jaden (that would be a pumpkin pie smile on J's face) Cousins!
Once again I find myself blessed with so many things to be thankful for. I am so grateful for all of the ways that Heavenly Father has blessed our family in the last year. I know he has watched over us and made many things possible that we could have never done on our own. I'm grateful for our good health, our many opportunities to learn and grow, and for our loving family and friends that are always there for us.

Tin Grin Again

2010-11-23T15:12:00.004-07:00

We have a new brace-face at our house! I took Jaden in this morning to get his braces on. I cannot believe how quickly they put them on! To be honest, I was really worried about finding an orthodontist in a small town and thought they might be kind of rinky-dink. I was really wrong, I have been very impressed with everyone in the orthodontist office and like them every bit as much as I liked Dr. Hotty, I mean Kensie's ortho.

An hour before I took Jaden in, I had to give him a pill to dry up his saliva. They said he could still eat and drink after taking the pill. When Jaden went to eat a bowl of cereal 10 minutes later, he couldn't swallow because his mouth was so dry. Poor kid gave up and decided not to eat. After that, I told him to practice his trumpet since he had a while before his appointment. When he went to play, he couldn't, he didn't have any spit! We had a good laugh.

I'm glad kid #1 has her braces paid for and off! Jaden's will be on close to 2 years. Hope I can get his paid off by then. These are the days I am grateful for the 5 year break between Jaden and Emery!

Whirlwind Weekend / House Exterior

2010-11-21T17:17:00.004-07:00

We had another one of those crazy weekends that just fly by. We left Friday night for Salt Lake so that we could a) have dry roads and b) catch a late showing of Harry Potter. Kensie, Rick and I made it to the movie while the other kids hung out with Aunt Nenie and Uncle Steve. The movie was good but nowhere as good as the book. And... I cannot believe I have to wait until summertime to see the second part. Grrr....

The top priorities of our visit was family pictures on Saturday afternoon and Jordan's Homecoming on Sunday. Saturday turned out to be a cold, blustery, stormy day so our outdoor pictures at Wheeler Farm turned into quick pictures outside and a few more in the barn. We had the whole fam damily together for pictures. It wasn't too bad although Rick and Jaden differ with my opinion. I hope they turn out good and it was fun to see everyone! After pics, Grandma and Grandpa took us out to dinner. It was nice to sit and visit and spend some time with them.

Shortly after dinner, the heavens opened and it snowed like crazy. We knew snow and rain was in the forecast. We were hoping that it would be a small storm or maybe it would magically hold off until we were out of the valley. Wrong! It snowed all night. We were staying at The Clark Hotel (a.k.a. my sister's house) and we woke up to about 9 inches of snow. After looking at the road conditions and an updated weather forecast, Rick and I knew the safest thing to do was get on the road while it was light and head back to Vernal. What a disappointment! We were so looking forward to Jordan's Homecoming. Sooo... we loaded up the van, said our good-bye and a prayer for safety, and got on the road. We made it safely to Vernal where there was no snow and it was just starting to rain.

Of course, we had to stop by the house on the way into town. They applied the color and stonework over the weekend and we now have a garage door! Inside they are still prepping for paint and they put sheetrock back on the fireplace wall.

Here it is... We picked a green stucco and I love it!

Close up of the stonework.

I'm so relieved that our color scheme all worked out. I like the way it all came together!

Flooring... Finally!

2010-11-18T21:04:00.003-07:00

2 - 2 1/2 weeks! That is when the builder said our home should be finished. I'm really hoping he's right and things go as planned. I keep having these horrible thoughts of trying to set up a Christmas tree in our little rental. We would probably have to hang one from the ceiling or something. I'm not real excited about the fact that we will be mixing moving chaos with the holidays. I've been trying to get somewhat prepared for Christmas ahead of time. The kids are all making gifts for each other this year. I found some great ideas and will take pictures to share after Christmas. The kids have been known to frequent my blog once in a while so I don't dare to say more than that. I love that they are excited to make things for each other and I hope it will mean more than buying something at the store.

We have had all kinds of off the wall stuff with the house this week. The carpet I picked out was discontinued so I was able to select a new one that I like much better from a local shop. I walked into the house being built next door and saw the rock on their fireplace and decided that I didn't like it. I called Rick in a panic and told him to stop by and see what he thought. We decided to sheetrock around the fireplace and only do slate on the bottom ledge. It probably would have been better to decide that before they started prepping for the stone, Oops! Next, they were having a problem matching the color of stucco that we wanted. Rick and I have been set on the same color from the beginning and luckily we have everything straightened out and it should be pretty close to what we had planned. The color should be applied tomorrow and the stonework over the weekend!

Kensie and I stopped by the house this afternoon and they were putting down the flooring. It wasn't finished, but this is how it looked.

This is the tile that is in my laundry room and both bathrooms.

Yes, it is green!

This is the Perigold Pine flooring that will be everywhere but bedrooms.
I can't wait to see it all installed!

If you look to the right of this picture, our appliances are here!

Once the flooring is finished up, they will begin prepping for paint. It has been so long since we picked it out that I can't remember what it looks like! Bring on the Polar Bear and Toasted Wheat.

Stucco, Trim and... Shelves

2010-11-15T19:36:00.006-07:00

Wow! It has been a typical Monday. I'm ready to go to bed just to get it all over with! You name it, it went wrong today. We had a little snow, Emery missed the bus for the first time, Sydney threw a complete fit in the middle of Wal-Mart. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow!

The good news for today, the house continues to progress.

They applied the stucco last Thursday and will hopefully add the color soon. This is the first time I have seen it out from under of a bunch of protective plastic covering. The black part and bottom half of the garage will be stone. Baseboards and Mouldings are going up.
Here is the style of door I picked out.
Bedroom closet

Part of Master Bedroom Closet Linen Closet

Pantry Doorway

More of the pantry, I can't wait to use it!

Once they finish up all of the trim work they should move on to painting.

We are getting closer!

Wall Texture and Almost Stucco

2010-11-10T21:22:00.004-07:00

I learned an important lesson this morning. Vernal gets way colder than Salt Lake. I'm talking a whole new kind of cold. When I went to take the kids to school this morning, both of the sliding doors on the van were frozen shut! This is even after I let the van warm up for a while!! I can't have a garage to park in soon enough. I'm not sure I am made for this kind of weather.

Now that I have that off my chest, here's a little house update:

On Monday they finished the shingles and they started prepping for stucco.

All of the chicken wire stuff is in place. I think it has been too cold to apply the actual stucco!

On Tuesday they taped and mudded the sheetrock.

Today they were busy texturing the walls and ceiling. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it will be a Sante Fe texture.

The kids and I are going to Salt Lake for a couple of days. (Big Smile) Hopefully we will come home to stucco!

House Update & Farewell to Fall

2010-11-07T19:34:00.006-07:00

Saturday felt like a farewell to Fall. Rick and I went for a long bike ride which will probably be the last of the season, we raked leaves and stuffed more outdoor things into the garage, and we made smores.

We are supposed to see snow this next week so it was nice to be able to enjoy a weekend of beautiful weather!

We had some exciting progress with the house this week! Let me show you....

We have windows.

After our 4 way inspection on Weds. they installed all of the insulation upstairs and down.
We have a driveway and steps into the house.
The roof is almost completely shingled.

(I hope they finish before it rains and snows!)
They put the eyebrow above our garage.
We have a front door. (It will be stained one day.)
As of Saturday, we have sheetrock!
It is amazing how quickly they can do these things! We are getting more and more anxious to move in. Kensie and Jaden have already selected their rooms in the basement and we hope to get them started as soon as we get settled.

Progress

2010-11-02T18:28:00.004-06:00

I thought I would give a quick update on the house. Things are moving along! As of today, the basement is completely framed. The HVAC guys, plumbers and electricians have all been in.

On Friday we had bathtubs and stairs to the basement.

Today we have the front porch started, the fireplace framed in and shingles on top of the house.

Hope I'm not boring everybody with all of the house stuff! One day soon I will have something else to talk about.

Halloween

2010-10-31T16:19:00.006-06:00

The scariest thing about our Halloween was that we had to talk in church today! We survived and everyone did a great job. I'm glad to have it over! Here is how the rest of our Halloween Weekend went:

On Friday night we headed over to Jensen to check out the Pumpkin Festival.

I got a kick out of this road sign.

There were hundreds of pumpkins to see. Wow, some people are really creative!

On Saturday evening our ward had a dinner and Trunk or Treating. This year Emery was a Ladybug and Sydney was a Fairy Princess. They both looked so cute!

The rolls at dinner were spiders. Aren't they the cutest?!!

The wind started blowing and the rain came down half way through our Trunk or Treating. We finished up real quick and headed for home. The funny thing was that we didn't know what to do with ourselves once we got home. We have always gone to my parents house after Trick or Treating to have goodies and hang out with family. It was kind of weird and we missed our family big time. I guess it is time to start some new traditions.

Raising the Roof

2010-10-29T15:54:00.004-06:00

I love our nightly trip to check out the progress of the house. It is exciting to see the daily changes. I was told yesterday that we are exactly a month out. My fingers are crossed...

Here is the what the roof looked like on Tuesday

And then on Wednesday
We have also had the plumbers in!
The framers have done a great job. Rick talked them into framing the basement for us on the side. Woohoo! One less thing we will have to worry about doing. We hope to be able to get the electrician to do the same thing so we will only have to worry about sheetrock.

Boo-tiful Pumpkins

2010-10-28T12:56:00.004-06:00

I just put a tray of pumpkin seeds in the oven and remembered that I didn't post these pictures yesterday. It was a sunny enough day ( I didn't say warm) for the kids to carve pumpkins outside at the picnic table. Yeah... That meant no pumpkin guts in the house! Here are a few of the kid's creations. My pumpkin is still intact on the front porch, as it should be!

Kensie helped Syd make a Princess Pumpkin

Jaden created a barfing pumpkin

Em wanted a scary pumpkinOf course, Kensie created an alien

Thanks to Grandma Gerry for the pumpkins! Maybe we can grow our own next year.

And Then There Were Walls...

2010-10-26T11:14:00.002-06:00

Can you imagine our excitement when we pulled up to the curb and saw this? On Monday they put up all of the exterior and interior walls. It finally looks like a house instead of a bunch of cement!Our future kitchen/great room
The future bedrooms/bathroomsMy much anticipated laundry room and pantry.
View out the master bedroom windows.

The Framing Begins

2010-10-24T20:25:00.005-06:00

The framers finally decided to show up! Maybe they could feel the bad vibes I was sending their way. On Thursday evening when we stopped by, the structural walls in the basement were all in place and they had started preparing for the upper floor.By Friday evening, the floor joists were all in place.

Front View from the street
Here are our exterior walls waiting to be installed. I'm so excited! It will actually look like a house once these babies are up!

A Delay...

2010-10-21T09:55:00.005-06:00

Forgive me as I recite a few lines from one of my favorite childhood songs... "Be patient, be patient, don't be in such a hurry. When you get impatient, you only start to worry. Remember, remember that God has patience too and stop to think about the times that others wait for you....

Now that I have that out of my system, I can tell you that not much has happened with the house since my last report. They were supposed to start framing on Monday and the framers were delayed. I was told that the worst case senerio would be them starting the framing on Thursday, which of course meant they wouldn't be there until Thursday!

On the bright side, we now have a garage floor!

We also have a pile of trusses.Last but not least, we have flooring material that is ready to go.
Now, all we need are some framers!

The Ocean

2010-10-20T18:59:00.006-06:00

Before we left California, we wanted to take the kids to the see the ocean. Saturday morning was really overcast, a little rainy and not exceptionally warm. We headed to Huntington Beach with the idea of letting the kids see the ocean for the first time, walk in the sand, dip their feet in the ocean and not get clothes wet. Wrong! Within minutes all four kids were wet from the waste down. Poor Sydney was standing one second and the next thing we knew a wave had knocked her down and she was getting sucked into the ocean. She had a horrified look on her face and decided to play in the sand after that.We had a fun time even though it wasn't the sunny morning I had envisioned. We watched the surfers for a while and then peeled everyone's wet clothes off and changed for the drive. I have still never been to the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day. Maybe next time!

Disneyland

2010-10-19T11:40:00.015-06:00

Our trip to Disneyland was perfect! Our hotel was right across the street from the front gates, the weather was in the 70's, the lines were not too long. We were all happy.

When we checked into our hotel Thursday afternoon, Sydney plastered herself to the window that faced the park and said "I have to get there!" It was so cute, I loved seeing the excitement in both her and Emery's faces!

Friday morning was a little bit wet when we went entered the park. This turned out to be a good thing because we quickly got on all of the rides that we absolutely wanted to ride. Our second ride was Space Mountain. Sydney wanted to ride so we all got on. When she got off with a smile and said she liked it, we knew we were in for a fun time.

You name it, Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, The Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain... Emery and Sydney rode them all.

We spent a couple of hours with our good friends, the Taylor Family. It was fun to meet up with them at the park and get on some of the rides together.

Here are some of the hundred plus pictures that we took!

The decorations were phenomenal! Here are just a few...
Emery is a huge fairy fan and her must see was Pixie Hollow!

The longest line I stood in was the Princess Fantasy Faire

Syd finally got to meet the princesses

We met Tigger and Pooh!

We watched the parade and both Emery and Sydney were

brought out onto Main Street to dance with the characters.

Instead of saying Dumbo, Sydney says Jumbo.

However you say it, she made sure everyone got on!

Emy & Jaclyn

Jaden & Austin
Kensie and Syd
Waiting for Thunder Mountain!
Taylors in a teacup!

Good Times
Dave & Rick looking innocent NOT!
They are taking a pic of my wet butt from Splash Mountain
It looked like I wet myself and took forever to dry!The Haunted Mansion - we loved Jack!
Best Friends! and a little sister...
Leaving the park
Exhausted!

Remembering Porter

2010-10-07T12:41:00.006-06:00

Yesterday Sydney told me that she misses Porter. It about broke my heart because I miss him as well. In the chaos of moving, we had to put Porter down. It was the best thing to do, he was getting uncomfortable and we knew it was time. Knowing it was the right thing to do didn't make it any easier. I cried every time I thought about it, and I cried when I had to tell the kids, and I cried every time I looked in the backyard and he wasn't there.

I had no idea that a dog would become so much like a child. Rick and I got Porter shortly after we bought our first house on Longmore Drive. He was around before any of our kids came along and was one of the family. We were lucky to have him around for 14 years.

Here are some fun Pictures of Porter that Kensie took this summer to remember him.

Counting Down

2010-10-05T09:53:00.004-06:00

It seems as though we are counting down everything lately. We are counting down the days until Elder Memmott returns from his mission, which is under a month! We are counting down the days until we get to move into the new house and finally get settled. And... we are counting down the days until we get to leave for our trip to Disneyland. The girls made a countdown chain during conference and are eagerly counting the days down.We didn't really talk about the trip until last week and I'm afraid even that was too soon! Sydney has been talking non-stop about seeing the princesses and Tinkerbell. We are all excited and honestly, I may be more antsy than the kids!

If you have any great ideas for kids on long road trips or a must see at Disneyland, please share!

How Firm a Foundation...

2010-10-02T21:37:00.003-06:00

The girls and I stopped by the house tonight after we sent the guys to the General Priesthood Meeting. We were excited to see that they had taken the forms off of the basement walls that they poured on Friday. We officially have a foundation!

This is the view from the street

This is peaking into the basement from Kensie or Jaden's future window.
This is the backside of the house. Check out our neighbors framed house! We should be looking like that in about a week! Kensie and Jaden will have daylight windows. They will be completely out of the ground, thanks to our slightly sloped property.
Next up, they are supposed to back fill everything and begin framing. Fingers crossed that we stay on schedule!

Footings and Floor

2010-09-28T11:31:00.008-06:00

Look at this beautiful shiny cement! We now have footings and a basement floor. Within the next couple of days they will also pour the walls. I am so grateful for Mother Nature's cooperation with all of this. The warm weather seems to be helping to move things along as planned.

Is it weird that the most exciting thing to me about these pictures is the plumbing pipes? To me they are saying not too long before you have 2 full bathrooms and one day, even 3! One day soon two people can shower at the same time! They are giving me hope that one day in the near future I will have a dishwasher again and will not have to spend half of my day at the kitchen sink washing dishes.

Don't you love the blue sky in this picture? I love how clear it always is and am excited to have a view of this mountain range from my kitchen window.
In case you were wondering, the guys working on the foundation are really nice and thought it was cool that I was taking pics to share with my family and friends. So far, the people working on the house have been really friendly and talkative. Maybe I should stay away so they can get more work done!

A Sunday Drive

2010-09-26T20:13:00.003-06:00

Rick took the family for a Sunday drive up Dry Fork Canyon.

The leaves were changing colors and the scenery was beautiful.

I love having so many beautiful places close by and it is fun to have Rick introduce us to the Uintah Basin.

I feel very blessed that the kids do not get carsick!

General RS Meeting

2010-09-25T21:41:00.005-06:00

I attended the General Relief Society Meeting tonight. I knew I really needed to be there because everything and everyone was working against me going. I signed up to take a dessert a few weeks ago to make myself go. Left to my own devices, I would have stayed home with my family and watched it on the DVR when I could get reign of the remote. As usual with these types of meetings, I'm glad I went. Our stake put on a scrumptious dinner and I actually met a few more sisters from our ward.

I loved hearing from the General Relief Society Presidency as well as from President Monson. They all delivered messages that I needed to hear and I'm grateful for their reminders of the blessings that come from serving others. I realize that service is that little something that is missing from my life. I have been without a church calling for so many months that I have kind of fallen out of the routine. I will start looking for more opportunities to serve!

The most touching thing about the conference was seeing the choir from the Kearns Region! I saw sisters from the stake and ward I grew up in as well as from the stake and different wards that we have lived in. I was literally in tears as I saw so many familiar faces. I was feeling down about not really knowing anyone in a new ward and stake. Seeing all of these dear sisters that have touched my life in so many ways was really emotional. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to go tonight and for a loving Father in Heaven that always knows what we need and when we need it.

The Hole

2010-09-23T13:23:00.003-06:00

May I present to you THE HOLE! Not just any hole, the hole for our house!

Rick and I were running a few errands last night (particularly, trying to agree on a stucco color for the house) and decided to stop by the lot. Low and behold, the excavation guys were digging the hole! The last we had heard they were still waiting on permits from Naples City so we were surprised, in a very good way! We were so excited that we jumped out of the car and went to take a look. Did I mention that it had been raining all afternoon and evening? We were both in flip flops and this is what our shoes looked like this morning on the rug.

I am so excited! We were told that once the hole was dug it would be 45 days until the house is finished. That is if the weather cooperates and everything goes as planned. I realize that the probability of moving in in 45 days isn't that great, but it would be such a relief if it really happened that way! I'm hoping and praying to be in by Thanksgiving.

Our footings and floor should be poured next Monday and a week after that they plan to start framing. Did I mention I am excited?!

Dad's 80th Birthday

2010-09-21T13:42:00.004-06:00

We spent the weekend in Salt Lake to celebrate my Dad's 80th Birthday. On Saturday night we went out to dinner with most of my siblings and older nieces and nephews. We had a great dinner and it was so nice to see everyone! After dinner, we headed back to Grandma & Grandpa's house for cake, ice cream and presents.Some of the grand kids had a surprise for Grandpa. What a good sport, he let them spray him with that awful smelling silly string.
It was so nice to be able to visit with my parents again! I could sit and listen to my dad tell me stories from way back when... for hours. I'm so grateful for the example that my Dad has always set for me. His hard work, endurance and service have made a big impression on me. I'm looking forward to having a house fit for company one day! I can't wait to bring my parents to Vernal for a visit.

Sydney + Preschool = Smile!

2010-09-16T10:35:00.006-06:00

Sydney's First Day of Preschool

Isn't it funny how when you send your 4th kid to preschool it isn't so devastating? I miss not having my side kick around for a few hours, but I know that she is ready for something different than hanging out with mom. It turns out that Sydney loves preschool. In fact, she loves it so much that I have had to literally drag her to the car both days. Monday was blue day and she got to eat blueberry muffins and paint a blue whale. Wednesday was red day and she was excited that she painted a red strawberry. I'm so happy that she loves going! It is kind of weird to have some alone time, I don't think I have been without a child by my side for at least 6 years!

There is a sister in our ward who has a connection with some fruit growers in Arizona. She has been offering to get fruit for anyone that wants it. I bought a flat of raspberries and spent most of the day Tuesday making jam. This was my first attempt at raspberry jam and it was really easy. Jaden is in heaven since he lives off of peanut butter and jelly!

Things are going good! Kensie started a softball clinic on Monday and today is the big day we get to close on our construction loan and get everything going on the house!

Brace-less

2010-09-12T17:08:00.004-06:00

The girls and I made a much anticipated trip to Salt Lake on Thursday evening. The big event was Kensie getting her braces off on Friday morning. I don't think I have every seen her so excited for anything! The good part, her teeth look great! Bad part, she looks older without braces. We loved her orthodontist and everyone in their office. Now it's Jaden's turn and we are trying to decide if we should start treatment here in Vernal or haul him to Salt Lake once a month.

Jaden went to his first scout campout with our new ward while we were gone. He really seemed to like it and almost completed his astronomy merit badge while there. Go Jaden! The girls and I had a good visit with Grandma & Grandpa and my sisters. We are looking forward to seeing everyone next weekend!

A Town Called Emery

2010-09-07T18:41:00.006-06:00

Who wouldn't be excited about a town with the same name?!! Emery waited 6 long years to get to the county and town that shares her name.

We went to Richfield for the long weekend and made sure we came home through Emery County. Em was thrilled to finally see it. The funny thing was that once we were there she said "Where's the city?" I can just imagine what she must have had built up in her mind!

We had a great weekend with family in Richfield and discovered that the ride from Vernal to Richfield is very long! I need to get creative with some activities for the kids to do in the car next time. The drive was beautiful, we went through Indian Canyon and saw a lot of the state that the kids have never seen before and I hadn't been to in years.

On Monday my mother in law asked me if I wanted some fresh corn to take home. Of course I said "yes". When she asked how much I replied, "whatever you want to give me". It turns out she was done with corn for the year and sent a bunch of bags home with us. I spent a good part of today shucking over 100 ears of corn. (I guess this is revenge for my kids because I have made them shuck the corn all summer.)

I blanched the corn and then cut it off of the cob and put in bags to freeze. I really don't care to see another husk, hair or kernel for the rest of the summer! However, it will be nice to have some corn from grandma and grandpa's garden for dinner this winter!

What's Cooking!

2010-09-02T21:05:00.007-06:00

Wow! I really meant to do this post much earlier in the week. Going back to work after 2 weeks of vacation has been crazy. I'm not complaining, busy is good!

I was feeling all domestic and had a little fun in the kitchen this weekend. This is what I did:

I have been dying to try out making salsa in a roaster oven. I saw my sis-in-law, Cyndie do this last year with spaghetti sauce and have been so excited to try it! I used my usual salsa recipe and cooked it on 350 when I was home and about 200 when we were away from the house. I threw all of the ingredients in late Saturday afternoon and I didn't fill my bottles or do the water bath until Monday morning. I loved not having to stir continuously and it turned out extra thick. Next time I do this I will not let it cook down quite as far. I ended up with 24 pints and it really didn't seem like much work at all. (Note: I wasn't going to do salsa this year until I accidentally stopped at a fruit stand and the farmer gave me a great price on tomatoes, and peppers and onions and well enough said...)

I found an awesome recipe for this Oreo Ice Cream Cake! We loved it and it was sooo easy to make. I actually used chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt and Lite Cool Whip to make it a few less calories.

On Saturday morning, Rick took us crawdad fishing. It doesn't get more redneck than that! Rick and Kensie actually caught the crawdads while the rest of us played around near the creek. They ended up catching twenty something of these things and brought them home to cook them up. Ummm... a little too fishy for my tastes, but Rick and Kensie enjoyed them!

Home Sweet Rental

2010-08-27T10:10:00.005-06:00

Here is a picture of our new abode. I am posting this picture to comfort my mom and sisters and ensure them that we are not living in a shack! Becoming a renter has been quite the adjustment. After owning our own home for the past 14 years, it is strange to have to get permission to do things and to have to follow rules. I'm not fond of the feeling of living in someone else's house!

The rental is less than half the square footage of our home in Kearns. We have gone from everyone having their own space to everyone being in someone else's face! Luckily, the home is older and the bedrooms are pretty big. The three girls are sharing a room and it seems to work pretty well until Sydney doesn't want to go to bed. Jaden has so nicely agreed to having a bedroom/office so I have somewhere to work. The kitchen and dining area are smaller than we are used to, but everything we brought in to unpack has fit perfectly. Most importantly, the piano fit into the living room so I did not have to listen to Rick go on about me buying a piano when I knew we would be moving!

Living in a smaller house is teaching us some important lessons like:

How to wash and dry dishes by hand since there is no dish washer.
How to share. We are sharing everything! We have gone from three bathrooms to one, from five bedrooms to three, and from three t.v.'s to one.
How to be grateful. I am speaking for myself here, I am learning that we have been very blessed all of these years by being able to have our own home. We are very lucky now to live in a house instead of holding up in an apartment.
Our most important lesson has been that we have learned that wherever our family is together, is home. It doesn't matter the size or location, just that we are together!

Speaking of homes, I thought I would give an update on our future one. We found out last week that the floorplan we had planned on was 2' too big for our lot. So... we went back to the drawing board, picked a different floorplan and made some modifications. Our Rural Housing Loan from the USDA has been approved and we should be able to get things started very soon! We are probably looking at some time in November for construction to be complete. Once again, I'm so grateful for our rental and a month to month lease!

Back to School We Go

2010-08-26T12:10:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. Three kids in three new schools and everyone survived! Honestly, I was probably the most nervous about the big day. The middle school and jr. high are close together so it will be easy to drive Kensie and Jaden or have them ride bikes together. Emery's school is the closest and she gets to ride the bus! Go figure. I took her to school and picked her up on the first day so today was her big debut on the school bus. I think she was pretty excited to be the first kid in our family to get to ride the bus to school.

The kids are being so good about the move. Nobody came home with anything negative about school and they seem to be meeting more people and starting to settle. I took Sydney to meet her preschool teacher yesterday. She did not want to leave the preschool, I practically had to drag her out. She will not start school until after Labor Day. Poor girl, she is totally bored here at home with me. She doesn't have anyone around to boss her and tell her what to do! I'm not sure what I will do with myself once she starts school. I guess I will schedule those hours to get work done.

A Weekend, Finally!

2010-08-24T08:57:00.005-06:00

How did we spend our first weekend in Vernal? By relaxing, becoming reacquainted with my road bike and FISHING of course! It is so nice to live a whole 5-10 minutes away from water! On Saturday evening we drove up to Steinaker Reservoir to fish (I made sure that we didn't bury the fishing pole box in the garage when we unloaded everything!) We had a great time just chilling at the beach and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Jaden doing a little exploring.

Kensie trying to get the girls out of the water so she can fish!
Who would have thought a mud hole could entertain for hours!

Jaden was the only one to catch a fish and we are thinking he caught the same one twice!

The moon as we were leaving.

There is no question, this is where we are supposed to be. We are adjusting okay and I think things will get better once the kids start school tomorrow and make new friends. We went to our new ward on Sunday. It is an older ward and doesn't have the primary kids and youth that we are used to. Everyone was nice and we will adjust. Kensie and Jaden get to go back to Steinaker Reservoir tonight for a back to school party for mutual. They are excited for some boating and skiing.

The Big Move

2010-08-19T12:44:00.005-06:00

We didn't fall off the face of the Earth, we just moved! After an exhausting month, we are officially residents of Vernal. The move actually went really smooth. We pretty much moved everything we owned on August 7th. Robert brought his horse trailer down from Tremonton, Rod brought theirs from Richfield and we rented the biggest Uhaul truck available. We loaded, drove to Vernal, unloaded and made it back to Salt Lake in time for our last Fire, Water, Ice party. All I can say is that we have a lot of stuff and I am grateful for everyone that helped us get it here. On Tuesday morning when we left with our final load, we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! I had the van completely loaded with all of the little odds and ends that were still at the house as well as 3 bikes on the bike rack. Thankfully, everything and everyone arrived safely here.

Kensie and I named this truck the Snakemobile. Of all of the things you could have on a truck, we ended up with snakes from Canada!

Emy is smiling because she didn't ride 400 miles in this truck!

So I guess you could say this is stage one of our move. We are currently in a small rental house with a huge 2 car garage that is storing all of our possessions. The rental is nice, just small. We are learning to share space and make the most of it. Phase 2 will be moving into a permanent home. We officially closed on our Kearns home today and will likely sign papers to begin construction on a new home next week. (Unless we happen to find the perfect existing home before then, miracles do happen!)

I will post more soon. As for now, the boxes are calling me to empty them!

24th of July

2010-07-27T22:57:00.006-06:00

We stepped away from packing and stressing for a couple of days and spent the 24th of July weekend in Scipio. It was so nice to spend time with the family. I find myself cherishing every moment a little more than before. As an added bonus, my cousin Jeff and his family from PA were there to spend the weekend with all of us. It was so fun to see them and introduce them to our kids. The last time they came to Utah, Rick and I were newlyweds and their kids were little!

The Wolfords: Reese, Bryce, Emily, Lynn and Jeff

Most of the Memmott Clan in front of the Little House

Rodeo Fun!

Part of the fam watching the rodeo

Kian, Haylee and Kyle

Sydney Sunshine!

Baby Ella

Loving Lucy

2010-07-22T17:15:00.003-06:00

My sister Craelene and her husband went back east for 2 weeks. We were trusted to doggysit. The kids have had fun having Lucy around. Sometimes I think she loves it, other times I think she misses her nice quiet home. Poor dog, she has been around for the 2 most insanely hectic weeks ever!

Lucy figured out that I am the boss at the very beginning! She likes to sit at my feet wherever I am. Here she is sitting under my desk in the office. Sydney and dolls decided to join her.

The girls were upset the first night when the dog jumped on their bed. The second night, I could hear them coaxing her to come and sleep with them!

A Fire, A Roadtrip, An Offer

2010-07-18T07:17:00.004-06:00

The week started with 3 showings in a row. One Sunday afternoon, one Monday Afternoon and one late Tuesday morning. We were quite excited with all of the action on the house and going crazy trying to keep everything in tip top shape. After leaving for 2 hours on Tuesday morning for the showing, we came home to the smell of smoke. It was really strange, we could smell it as soon as we got out of the car in the garage. I told the kids to run and see if the field behind us was on fire again. How sad is it that we have had so many fires out there by the railroad tracks that I immediately think it is there? When I walked into the house I could smell the smoke even stronger. We were checking things out and ruled out that there was not currently a fire in the field that we could see. I was just sending Jaden out to the mailbox when we saw two police cars speed into the cul-de-sac. Of course we all ran out there and could immediately a) hear the nieghbor's fire alarm going off, b) see that nobody was home, and c) see smoke begin to roll out of the house. For those of you that have been to our home, this is the white house next to us with the 3 car garage. Our driveways kind of turns into one. Our neighbor across the street had heard the fire alarm beeping and called 911. What a blessing. The police told us to get back in our homes and stay out of the way. What a hard thing to do. We stood upstairs looking out Syd's bedroom window and helplessly watched 6 fire engines and numerous other emergency vehicles cram into the cul-de-sac and take action. They eventually broke through the french doors in back to get in. What a heart wrenching experience to watch our neighbors and their family come home one by one to such a disaster. It was emotionally and physically draining as we had turned the swamp cooler off since that was what was pulling all of the smoke into our house. Poor little Emery was having a really hard time with it all. She has spent countless hours playing, eating, hanging out at the neighbors.

On Tuesday evening Marixa took me through the house. The fire was contained to the kitchen and they were thinking it was some kind of electrical problem. It will be quite a while before they will be back in the house due to all of the smoke and water damage. My heart goes out to them. I am so grateful that nobody was hurt. You can replace a home, but not a life.

Wednesday afternoon we packed up and made the trek to Vernal. It was the first time I had ever driven out there without Rick. We drove into town just in time to meet Rick for dinner. Our mission, while in Vernal was to see some more homes, meet with the builder we have been looking into and see lots available, and have a little fun. We saw a few homes, we ruled out most of them. We checked out lots, we found one we wouldn't mind building on. We spoke to the builder, they seem pretty flexible. We explored Vernal a bit, went to the new Dinosaur Museum that we had never been in and spent some time at the pool.

On Thursday evening as we were walking out of the Realtors office from talking to the builder, we had a call from our SLC Realtor. He was calling to tell us we had an offer on the house. We grabbed pizza and went back to the hotel room to take a look at it. From the hotel room we made a counter offer and sent it off from Rick's office on Friday morning. Late Saturday morning we found out that it had been accepted and we are under contract. Can you say RELIEF? We can finally start going forward. We need to be out on August 18th and we really have a lot to do. We haven't made a final decision on what to do about a house in Vernal. We are currently considering getting a rental for a few months and building. I am so grateful things are beginning to fall into place, what a lesson about faith!

A few pictures in Vernal

Bountiful Baskets

2010-07-10T08:14:00.004-06:00

I'm in love! I just picked up my first Bountiful Basket and am so impressed with everything in it! I have been going through withdrawals this summer. This is one of the only summers in 16 years that we have not planted a garden. I really feel lost, like I should be tending and caring for something. I am really missing watching a garden grow and reaping the fresh veggies. We did plant peas before we knew we were going to move and the kids ate those up before they even got into the house. Speaking of eating before getting into the house, we have had a quite a few red strawberries. I only know this because I see Syd with red juice running down her chin. She washes them off in the drinking fountain and eats them before anyone else can get to them. What a smart kid!

Okay, back to Bountiful Baskets. I have been wanting to participate in this for some time now. I have just had too much going on to commit. On the 4th of July, I was talking to my sister in law Crystal, and she mentioned that she had picked up a couple of baskets and how easy it was. I immediately came home and donated. I'm so glad I did!

This is what was in my basket for $15:

green grapes
brussel sprouts
7 nectarines
6 oranges
2 small squash
2 pkg. cherry tomatoes
white asparagus
romaine lettuce
7 ears corn
6 bananas
1 cantaloupe
1 pkg blueberries

I guess I will learn how to cook brussel sprouts and try them out! The thing that appealed the most to me about a Co-Op is getting fresh produce and having a chance to try new things that I would not normally buy. You can learn more about Bountiful Baskets here. If you have one in your town, check it out!

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-05T22:03:00.005-06:00

Our 3 day weekend snuck by way too fast. I cannot believe it is already Monday evening! I guess time flies when you're having fun! Rick and I started Saturday off by riding the Tour of Riverton. Newsflash! Rick and I started and ended a race together. No breakdowns or injuries occurred, this was a first. We had a fun ride and the weather was nice and cool for a July ride.

We were able to spend Saturday afternoon with one of our favorite families, the Taylors, as Jaclyn was baptized and confirmed. In the evening, Rick and I finally got away to see the much anticipated Eclipse. I promised not to see it until he was in town and it almost killed me. I was not disappointed, loved, loved, loved it!

I loved spending the 4th of July at church. There is always something special about singing the Star Spangled Banner in a congregation. I will admit I had tears come to my eyes. We are so lucky to live in America, a land prepared for us by our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for our fore-fathers that established this great nation and for the brave men and women that have fought or are fighting for our freedoms. The freedom of religion is so special to me and it really hit home celebrating Independence Day on a Sunday.

This morning we sent Jaden away to his first scout camp. I am already missing him like crazy! He is such a great kid and I know he will have a fun time. A week just seems like a long time to not have my crazy boy around. We spent all afternoon and most of the evening at Joel and Sherry's house for their annual 4th of July Swim Party. I am pretty sure the Memmott grandchildren and great-grandchildren are all part fish. They spent so much time in the water! They should all sleep well. As usual, we had great company, great food and a great time.

One-Hundred Baby!

2010-06-30T23:14:00.005-06:00

Yippeeee.... Today I hit my 100th workout at the gym. I'm just a little excited that I reached my goal and even earned a free tee shirt. My start date was October 1st and Rick and I have been very diligent at making time to get a workout in as often as possible. I'm pretty sure that there have been many days that my working out has saved my children from being beaten to death! What a great stress relief as well as a great time to get some reading in! I'm pretty sure "my bike" at the fitness center will miss me greatly when we move. And better yet, is there a gym in Vernal?...

A friend sent me an email a while ago with this amazing quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley. I absolutely love it, maybe I will put it on something cutesy one day so I can always be reminded of it!

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived".

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley