Wish Me Luck!

26.2 beautiful miles are coming my way this weekend! We are heading down to sunny St. George for the 34th running of the best marathon ever!! (In my humble, undiversified opinion). I am excited for the journey, leery of the pain that is inevitable, determined to give it my all, and proud of the perseverance that has gotten me to this point. My training this time around has had some major road bumps. Multiple injuries and sickness have been my boon, but I suppose they are just part of life. I can smile, and put my best foot forward, even if I know that it could be better. I am grateful for the lessons I have learned along the way. It's going to be a great race! Please, wish me luck and offer a simple prayer of endurance and physical/mental strength for me Saturday morning!! Finish line, here I come!

Flipping Out

We spent family night last week out on the tramp.


The kids had a great time as their Dad taught them the correct technique to flipping.



He helped the older boys with their back flips and they were landing them in just a few minutes.




He helped our daughter land her front flips.



After, not-so-patiently waiting, our Star Wars fan finally got his turn. He can not only land a front flip, but has his aerial down as well.


And last, but definitely not least, our youngest got some hands-on help with his flips. He was pretty impressed with himself. It was a simple FHE, but one I know the kids will remember for a long time!

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

My Mom and Dad recently dropped my youngest sister off at college up at BYU-Idaho. Afterward, they headed down for a quick visit.


The kids had a great time with them. Grandpa took lots of pictures;


Grandma read lots of books;



and, of course, all the latest guns were brought out...



to be inspected and admired.


My Dad brought truckloads of fresh produce! I was so grateful and we quickly got to work...eating it and preserving the fruits and veggies. My Mom helped with salsa and peaches...we had a great day together in the kitchen. Thanks so much Mom!!

My Dad took on a couple of repair projects...some of which weren't so glamorous, but my Dad can do/fix anything and I am so grateful for his expertise!

It was a really fun visit! Thanks for everything Grandma and Grandpa!

"Surprise, Mom!"

I had a fabulous day on my birthday this year. My girlfriends took me out to lunch to Guru's in Provo. We chatted and solved the worlds' problems one at a time. It was really fun. To continue the no-cooking theme, my parents (who were in town) took me, my husband and my brother out for dinner for some tasty Italian. It was also delicious and we had a great visit together. I didn't think my day could have been any better....



until we got home. The kids were waiting in the garage with a blindfold. They led me in to another party: balloons, letters, brownies with candles, and gifts!



It was great!! They sang and I put out the fire!



They had pooled their money together and our oldest went to the store in the dark, on his scooter to pull off the surprise. It was just so thoughtful!


I love my kids!! They are the best!

Harvest Time

We have been busy over the past few weeks. It is the kind of busy that I really enjoy. I feel productive and frugal and also very tired!

We have harvested peaches, pears, plums, apricots, corn, and tomatoes. Our pantry and our freezer is now full. This year we made tomato soup...yumm!

Our youngest was a great helper (most of the time). He even took on the job of peeling the tomatoes after I blanched them. We are finally done! For now, anyway. Apples will be ready soon!

Labor Day Camping

At the beginning of this month we went on our annual Labor Day Camping Trip. We went up Springville Canyon and enjoyed the weekend with family!

It was warm in the day and cool in the night....just perfect. Our daughter was up most of the first night worrying about bears...but we slept great the second night, except for a small throwing-up incident in the tent. No, I guess, we really didn't sleep well either night.

The older boys braved it out in the back of the truck.

It was fun to sit around the fire in the evenings!

During the day the kids couldn't get enough of the little creek that was right by us. They caught a million water skippers...and one small fish.

The men folk enjoyed football talk, strategy, and wondering what "could have been."

We all enjoyed some delicious food,

including Grandpa's mouth-watering dutch oven chicken.

The kids played several fun games put on by Aunt Alison...

they were so fun and very funny!

Uncle Trevor taught the boys a few card games.

We enjoyed pop and junk food...two camping essentials...also the reason for our midnight puking adventure.

We found many bugs up the canyon but this one was the cutest by far!

We really enjoyed our camping trip with our family!

I'm Back

I wish I could say that I have been away on an exotic vacation, or that I got lost on a jungle adventure, but that would be untruthful. Our computer(s) on the other hand, have been off on a lengthy vacation and are threatening to return any moment. Some day I'm going to have enough cash flow to buy a new computer every year, automatically, just like that. Until then I will have to put up with flaky computers!!



Fall is upon us and we are busy with this season's activities! I will catch you up shortly. I don't dare do too lengthy a post in case this handy computer suddenly shuts down on me and I lose all of it...so I'm going to break it up into several posts. It's good to be back!