Goat's Milk

hang it up

2012-01-23T06:28:00.004-05:00

I got this really good idea from Stephanie! She didn't have basketball's hanging in hers though. I took my garden hanging baskets out of the shed, I got them at a yard sale, and hung them up on the front porch.

We have been asking Jared for ever to keep his balls picked up. He likes to walk home from the park and throw them in the grass. So now all he has to do is walk in and out with them hanging at the door! It can't get better then that. Unless we attach them to his hands!

The other day Megan and I were going out and she stopped to admire the new plan....

"Mom, these look real good! That was a great idea you had. Now Jared's balls are hanging right here! There is lots of room for his balls! And there is even room for a purse!"

Builtmore

2012-01-17T06:01:00.001-05:00

Jared and Zach found "funner" things to do on their day off. But the rest of us went with our good friends to see the Builtmore Estate! It is a beautiful house. I can hardly imagine what it would have been like to live there. This house had everything but an indoor basketball court. It had a bowling alley, swimming pool, exercise room, huge library and a thousand other rooms... I defiantly would not want to be one of the many house keepers! We were lucky and got to use the audio tours that day, for free! (Plus our friends got us in for free!) But the audio tour was really fun to have. I think that is what kept Megan so happy and content on the tour! It was a great day.

bAsKeTball

2012-01-14T05:36:00.000-05:00

Church basketball has started. Jared is very excited. I think he is happiest when he is playing ball. Some how we convinced Zach to play this year. He said he didn't have basketball shoes so he didn't want to play, we bought him shoes. He plays! The pictures aren't very good but I did get a few. I like the blurry pictures, it shows how fast they are moving.

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T23:45:00.000-05:00

I forgot to take the camera.... but Jared and his friend Courtney threw a New Year's party at the church. They planned the whole thing! They invited their friends and made a dance play list to play for the night. I think everyone had a good time. At the peak there were about 20 teens there! Mike and I were the chaperones. So we danced a little, ate a little, visited a little and wished we were home a little.

Jared was happy and it was nice for him to host a party for his friends. Zach wouldn't come so he and Megan stayed home with grandpa and grandma Dawson...

Rock Climbing

2011-12-26T09:25:00.002-05:00

We went rock climbing all day with our friends the Jensen's! They have rock climbing gear and invited us to go climb with them. Jared and Zach have been climbing with them before, this was my first time. I had a ton of fun. Our camera battery just happened to die before I started climbing. Zach was first up! He made it look so easy. I went up the hard way, (the way the boys went) and Mike went up the slightly easier way. Next time we will have to get him on the hard side so he can hang upside down like the rest of us.

Megan and the doll house

2011-12-25T09:03:00.000-05:00

This huge gift has been in the living-room for a few weeks. We told her it was a gift for Jared. She was very excited for Jared and kept asking him what he thought it was. He told her he thought it was a basketball hoop!

So Christmas morning we still hadn't' told her it was for her. So she is helping Jared open his big gift. When she gets the paper off her whole face lights up for Jared and she says, "I wanted that!" It was so cute. Everyone is still acting like it is Jared's. Mike asks Jared what he is going to do with it since he doesn't even have any dolls. Jared tells him it isn't for dolls it is a new stand to display all his basketballs!

Megan didn't like that idea at all. Her hair was in the way but her face got so sad when he stacked his balls in it. That is when I picked up some of the wrapping paper and said, "wait a minute this says Megan, not Jared!" So was so happy and instantly claimed the gift by taking out the balls and put all her dolls in it.

Later any time Jared would ask if he could put his balls in it she would give him a dirty look!

Christmas day

2011-12-25T08:34:00.004-05:00

I finally decided to wake the kids up! It was almost 8 and I didn't want to rush or have to leave the gift until after church. So I woke Megan and let her get the boys! It was fun watching everyone open their gifts.

Zach and Jared got yearbooks from grandmas and grandpa Wallis. I wrapped their text books and put a note on it. They thought it was just a joke and weren't very excited until I convinced them that they were getting real years books!

Jared got money and two new basketballs. One was signed by a retired Jazz player that spoke at youth conference this summer. He wondered how we came up with that gift.

Zach got a gillie suit that he has had his eyes on for a year or two.

We surprised them both by giving them their own phones! Thanks to Uncle Jason and Aunt Autumn for adding a line for them!

Megan got lots of girl stuff and a new bike!

Mike got camping stuff and I go new books! And a TV to watch while I am using my elliptical machine!

Chritsmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

This year for Christmas Eve we went to our two doors down to our friend's house! We had a yummy clam chowder and then a Christmas program. Everyone had to do some kind of performance. All but my did a magic trick of some kind. Megan made a tissue turn into three tissues. Zach made a candy bar disappear, Mike did something with stacking matches and Jared did some kind of trick. I just read a story I am working on.... After everyone in their family did their little talents we read the story of Christ's birth but everyone got to be a puppet from the story. And I have to say that really helps kids get through he story!

When we went home we did our traditional one gift to open. I had Mike this year. I got him a new Cardinal's hat. I think he liked it. Mike had Zach. He got a Steelers shirt for him. Zach was very excited for that. Jared had me and made me a very cool vase in art class. Megan had Jared and got him a new bike pump and a gift card for i tunes. Zach got Megan some Tinkerbell fairies and then at the last minute he added a movie of the Smurfs because he saw how much she loved watching the smurfs!

It was a great night!

Turtle burger

2011-12-23T07:13:00.003-05:00

Mike decided he wanted to make turtle burgers. I am not sure where he found this idea. The recipe is for hot dogs instead of little cocktail sausages. No one wanted real hot dogs... I only went for a slice of bacon. I think this is a mans hamburger.....

Court of Honor

2011-12-06T06:51:00.002-05:00

Finally! After much prodding Zach has ranked up to a first class scout! I am very excited for him. He is finally getting excited for scouts. He will rank up again in four months! He is also hoping to keep a steady progress so he can start working on his eagle by the time he is 15!

Jared is one merit badge away from starting his Eagle! He has a few projects in mind. He has hopes of being done by or around 15 too.

Jared and Zach both got loads of merit badges. I don't think we have had a court of honor in a year! Mike missed the big night because he was on a work trip....

Great job boys!

Mike and Megan

2011-12-01T09:13:00.002-05:00

Mike and Megan were entertaining each other at church. Mike was teasing Megan and wanted to draw a mustache on her.

In her best 'I know dad is doing something wrong voice,' "Mom, dad wants to draw a mustache on me..."

So of course I say, "Then you will match Big Jared!"

Light comes into her eyes, "and a beard!" Looking at Big Jared, "you have a little on your chin too!"

So she gives the pen to Mike and while she isn't looking at the pen he flips it over so no ink will get on her and he "puts" a mustache and a beard on her.

She takes the pen looking at Mike says, "now you!"

I quickly say "dad already has a mustache."
Brilliantly she replies, "then your head!"

Dancing

2011-11-30T12:06:00.003-05:00

Megan and Jared were playing computer game. Jared was supposed to dance with a girl in the game....

Jared: Should we dance with her Megan?
Megan: Yes
Jared: I am not very good at dancing.
Megan: I know! But you only have to dance with the computer girl!

Its a fight...

2011-11-29T11:58:00.001-05:00

While we were on our fishing trip Megan fell in love with Uncle Brian. I was trying to get some time with my brother but Megan did not like that idea. She did not want me any where close to her Uncle Brian! I did get to cook with him and everyone wants to be his sou chef!

Happy Thanksbirthgiving

2011-11-28T09:36:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksbirthgiving.......

That is what my brother said to me! Yes, my birthday was on Thanksgiving this year! We missed seeing our family in Tennessee but we did not miss the long car ride there and back. We were happy to stay home and enjoy the extra relaxing time.

Were went to Sarah's house for dinner. Then we came home to celebrate my birthday. Mike kept asking me if I wanted to celebrate early. (He has never said that in 15 years of marriage.) He wanted to be sure we had a real celebration for me and I think he wanted me to pick a birthday dinner that wasn't a turkey dinner. I told him we could celebrate on my birthday so he offered to make me waffles for breakfast!

Look and see

2011-11-27T11:18:00.003-05:00

I think these two girls can pass as twins! I didn't know Megan looked so much like me until my mom gave me that picture!

More marathon

2011-11-26T11:24:00.000-05:00

I finally got the pictures off our camera. All the other pictures were from Sarah and Kiyomi. I still can't believe I really did it...

All the support still puts me in awe. Sarah and Carman were great! All the before during and after surprises and support were awesome. Mike and the kids were awesome. I loved hearing Megan with her mega phone and getting home to flowers, balloons and posters! All the after texts, phone calls and notes were the icing on the cake!

Thanks everyone!

Crazy??

2011-11-24T20:12:00.003-05:00

Yes that is me.. crazy.

Sarah and I are going to go out at midnight to do some shopping! I know what most of you are thinking.... "Laura? She doesn't even stay up for New Year's!!"

Fishing trip

2011-11-20T20:14:00.001-05:00

Zachary with his fish!

Waiting for a fish...

Megan fishing with her stick!

Brian trying to catch a big one!

Jared holding one of the fish he caught!

Jared and Zachary enjoying their wadding pants!

Mike with one of his fish!

My dad working on a fish!

The weekend before my big marathon we went on a fishing trip. We drove all the way to Branson, Missouri! It was a very long drive and we had to stop for the night.

When we got there it was a ton of fun. I got to see my brother Brian and my parents! We spent most of the time fly fishing. It was the first time my family had fly fished. All the boys in our family got fly poles for their birthdays this year. So we were all ready to learn to fly fish.

We hired a guide to teach us and to help us with the best bait and best place to fish. We were not disappointed! We all had a lot of fun bringing in our fish.

Lighting Laura

2011-11-17T09:46:00.004-05:00

Almost to the finish line!

Me and Sarah in between mile 13 and 14!

Sarah surprised me with a cookie cake for her birthday party!

I did it and lived to tell the tale! It was hard and I am glad I did it. I am not sure I will ever run the Charlotte Marathon again. I will want to look for an easier one. Charlotte has a ton of hills. You just get done with one hill and you have to go up another hill. It really felt like I was running up hills for 26 miles!

Sarah, Carman, Emmalynne and Clara were the first to find me... actually I passed them in between mile 13 and 14. Sarah called me probably as I was passing them so we discovered quickly that we missed each other. So their whole family ran to catch up with me. I started walking until they caught up then we all stopped and took some pictures and Sarah loaned me her water pack since I forgot mine! After that Carman ran a mile or so with me and then we met back up with Sarah on the next street over and she ran a little ways with me. I think wew parted ways for good at mile 16! I think that was the fast two miles of the race! (Sorry about your blisters Carman)

On the mile after that I ran into my good friends that live downtown. I was so surprised and happy to see them. They thought they had missed me so they were happy to see me! Kiyomi ran the block with me and then I was on my own for the next four miles.

Charity was waiting for me at mile 20. It was so nice to see her there! My legs were killing me by then and I was ever so grateful to take her ibuprofen! I am sure that is the only way I could finish the race.... The arch in my foot relaxed shortly after that and made it bearable to run again!

The last six miles were the hardest. I knew no one would be waiting to cheer for me and those miles felt so long. All I could do was roll play how nice it would be to cross the finish line with my family and friends waiting there for me. And let me tell you it was wonderful to get to the end and see Mike waiting at the corner for me! It brought a few tears of relief and joy to to see him and know that I was almost there!

So down the street a little ways was all my crowd waiting to cheer and get me to the finish line! Sarah and Carman and Kiyomi and Alex were still there! All my family and the the whole Hansen family including their parents who came to visit were there cheering! Megan had her mega-phone and was cheering, "go mom go, go mom go, your number 1." Jared put her on his shoulders and ran down the street with me and the Hansen girls were running too! Sarah and Carman and the girls were waiting with all their signs just as I rounded the corner to the finish line! I am sure this is how heaven must feel when we return from our long run on earth and have all of our family and friends cheering and waiting for us! I hope I never forget that feeling!

I really can't say how much all the text messages and all my signs and family and friends cheering meant to me. I would never have been able to do this without all of you! Thank you so so much!

And I just want to end with a little note Kiyomi sent to me just because I don't want to forget it!

Laura,

On the way home Alex told me, "You know, I've always been impressed with Laura. You just look in her eyes and you can see she's a solid person. But now! I have a whole new respect for her! That takes strength that I didn't know she had."

We are so glad you let us celebrate with you. It was so much fun.

Congrats again!

Kiyomi (and Alex)

elf on our shelf

2011-11-02T14:18:00.003-04:00

Megan put up her little Christmas tree yesterday. After her tree went up a little Elf showed up at our house. Megan named him Jack. She named him after two of her favorite people! Jared and Zach!

So Jack is here to keep an eye on our family to be sure we are being nice and serving others during the Christmas season. Megan has loved day two of looking for Jack. She has already told all her preschool friends about him!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T13:55:00.000-04:00

For Halloween we went to a friends house. The past few years their son has trick or treated with Jared and Zach, this year they invited us first. They had a large gathering over. We warmed up by the fire pit and ate lots of healthy food before we went trick or treating! Megan loved looking at all her candy and sorting all the treats!

it's cold

2011-10-31T10:30:00.002-04:00

Our mornings have turned cold and the nights have been in the thirties! Lucky for us that is about what the winter will be like. We do get some colder weeks and cold enough for a day of snow! But this morning was cold and we haven't turned the heat on yet. Megan got cold and while I was taking Jared to seminary she got into bed with her dad! I couldn't resist getting a picture. (It was cold enough that Jared and I took the van out of the garage so we wouldn't have to scrape the light frost off the car!)

Crazy me

2011-10-30T10:03:00.000-04:00

This is the half marathon I ran on Zach's birthday. They were just waking up when I finished. I finished in two hours thirty-three minutes! Charity is my running partner and she finished shortly after me. I forced her to run the race with me. (hee hee) She was lucky enough to have her family get out of bed to cheer for her! And I was lucky enough that they cheered for me too! Having someone cheer for you really makes a big difference. I hung my poster up so I wouldn't forget that I want to keep running.

I just ran 20 miles on Saturday! It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. So I did the crazy thing and paid $100 to run in the full marathon in two weeks! I get butterflies just thinking about it.

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-29T09:26:00.000-04:00

Zachary's hand

Jared and Zach right behind Jared.

We had lots of fun and got lots of candy. I am sure a few of you can guess where Jared was when it was time to leave.... Yes, he was inside the church trading candy.

fun times

2011-10-28T09:22:00.000-04:00

Megan was invited to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Since the boys were going to be camping Megan and I decide to go. She had lots of fun. Most of her friends from school were there. And I actually enjoyed visiting with the other moms. Usually I like to hide out in my house and be unsocial.

Preschool party

2011-10-27T09:17:00.000-04:00

Megan had her Halloween party! Jared and Zach didn't have school so they came for the party. Zach is hard to get in a photo so I only have one of Jared and Megan. First all the children parade down the hall so you can get your photos then they trick or treat at the class rooms and then we eat!

Fall festival

2011-10-22T20:29:00.000-04:00

Megan with her primary teacher, Brother Jensen

It was really dark and the flash was really really bright!

Megan learning the dance steps!

While the boys were out doing scary stuff Megan and I went to the Stake Activity. It was a lot more fun than getting scared at the park. We went on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin. There was dancing and lots of food. We had hot dogs, caramel apples, cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn. My favorite part was watching Megan try to larn the dance steps.

Zippy!

2011-10-22T20:16:00.000-04:00

I know it can't be true... Zachary turned 13! It was a packed day. I started the day with a short run... 13.1 Miles. Everyone was still asleep when I crossed the finish line.

I came home to my birthday boy and was so excited to give him his gifts that I couldn't wait until dinner. We we did it after lunch which was really their breakfast. Megan got him a winter hat and of course it is a Scooby hat! Jared gave him ten dollars in pennies! Mike and I gave him a knife and a flashlight. Grandpa and grandma Dawson gave him a book he wanted and Grandpa and grandma Wallis gave him a fly rod for his fly fishing trip.

That night Mike took the boys and a friend to the amusement park for Scarowinds night!

Some of my favorite things about Zach

He always has a smile.
He gets his work done right away.
He is always quick to say sorry.
He still loves to snuggle with me.
He gives me a hug when he leaves for school.

Our home wouldn't be the same without you Zach! Happy Birthday

Teen party

2011-10-21T18:25:00.000-04:00

My neighbor and I put on our first ever teen party. I think it went well. At least the boys didn't complain. We had a fire going and plenty of food so I don't think you can go wrong. We are still at an age where boys sit on one side and girls on the other! When I first asked the boys if they wanted to have their friends over there was a lot of grumbling. Zach said something like this, "As long as you don't treat me like a baby." I told him something like this, "You know I am going to put a diaper on you and follow you around all night."

Zach isn't sure if he will have his friends over again but Jared said he would.

Ward camp out

2011-10-19T08:38:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend we went on a ward camp out. It was a lot of fun. Megan has been wanting to camp all year. This is the only time we could make all year to take her...

Zach climbed to the top of the play ground. Jared tried and tried but couldn't figure out how Jared got up there or else realized how high up it was so he never made it up.

While we were around the camp fire Megan told me I could rock her and sing You are my Sunshine until she fell asleep. So that is what I did! Patty thought it was a nice warm place so she curled up and I sang her to sleep too.

Growing up

2011-10-19T08:26:00.002-04:00

I can't believe how grown -up Megan is getting. I decided to teach her how to tie shoes. I didn't think she would catch on so fast! I taught her at the store when we were trying on shoes and by the afternoon she was a pro! The next day she went to preschool and showed her class and came home with a certificate that she can tie her shoes!

Zootastic

2011-10-19T08:08:00.003-04:00

Bonding with the goat.

Megan was trying to hide from the skunk!

Megan decided she could pet the skunk when she knew it was not going to spray her!

Megan had a preschool trip to Zootastic. It was a lot of fun. They brought most of the animals to us. Megan didn't care for the skunk until I told her is couldn't spray stink anymore! It was a cold rainy day but we had fun feeding the goats and walking in the barns. Megan didn't want to wear her coat so she has a cute red nose!

Some times

2011-10-18T20:37:00.002-04:00

First let me say I love Jared and am so proud of him. He gets up so early and is gone till after six but some mornings I don't feel like my head is attached! When I wake up at 5 or 5:30 I am inwardly groaning... I think my eyes really do roll to the back of my head. Getting up that early is really hard.

Jared is awesome!

New camera

2011-10-13T08:52:00.004-04:00

I got a new camera from Target. (My favorite place to shop.) It was on clearance and I managed to work in another 20% off! So I got it for $60.00. It was a $300 dollar camera and I checked before I bought it and it had great reviews on amazon. These are pictures from trying it out. My first thoughts are...

If you can see that kind of detail on Megan then I don't want to be in any close ups! (She is much funner to look at than me.)

Wow! I need to dust!

Panorama is fun and I need a little more practice.

G and G Dawson

2011-10-08T07:46:00.000-04:00

We are very happy to have grandpa and grandma Dawson back. They have been on a mission in Brazil. They came home in August and are making there way around to see all of their children. We are happy that we had them in our home. I am very happy to say grandpa took care of my projects in a very timely manner and I was more than happy to find more projects for him to work on!

Megan loved on both grandpa and grandma. She even got grandma to read Uncle Remus Stories to her! Megan also enjoyed going on walks with grandma. She liked picking onion grass and flowers. Jared and Zach were spoiled with two dozen doughnuts, a 5:30 A.M trip to McDonald's, (before seminary) and a family trip to eat out!

Garden

2011-10-04T13:02:00.002-04:00

With two teen age boys and Mike being in charge of all the young men at church we haven't had as much time for the garden plus it is the end of the season.

Megan just came running into the house all excited.

"Mom, mom! We aren't just growing weeds in the garden! I found some berries! Come see!"

I did go see, and yes, it is just a weed with berries!

Turning five!

2011-09-28T12:21:00.000-04:00

It is official. Megan is five! I can't believe she is five! Time goes so fast. She was very excited to turn five. I put trick candles on her brownies. It was fun for us. And even after she got the candles out we would quickly distract her and relight them. Jared and Zach thought this was the best part of the night! The last picture she is hoping the candles don't come back on!

Megan got a lot of gifts she has been wanting to get for a year. She was so excited when she opened the gift from Stephanie. If you could have heard her...

I don't even know how to write the thrilled noise that came out of her... she finally got a make-up set. She likes to tell everyone that she has more make-up than her mom. (And it is true.)

birthday brownies

2011-09-26T12:59:00.000-04:00

Megan loves to help in the kitchen. This year Zach helped Megan make her own birthday brownies! She thought they were great!

Dentist

2011-09-24T12:07:00.001-04:00

We went to the dentist appreciation day. It was a lot of fun. All the boys went down to the temple. Use girls were going to go down and met them at the zoo but the forecast said it was going to rain all afternoon. So we stayed home and went to the dentist party.

Megan and Sarah won gift cards in the drawing. Sarah's name was drawn right after I put her name in! Megan loved the bounce house and the bunnies. She was even brave and road the pony!
She was a little nervous at first. After she road the pony she said, "My first horse ride! I love riding a horse. Now I want to do it every day!" (I didn't tell her that I have always been afraid of riding horses.) It looks like Emmalynne is going to take after me...

We had a lot of fun!

Birthday party

2011-09-23T11:58:00.001-04:00

Megan was dieing to having a birthday party with her friends. Since she had already invited a small tribe of people (everyone she would see) I decided I better have a party. So we oficialy invited some of her friends over. She had a great time and all they wanted to do was play games of their own making, open gifts and have cake. So it was very easy. Plus we had some older friends over and that made it even easier for me. Everyone was happy so it worked out great.

Emmalynne came over and she even stayed the night! Her first sleep over!

Our neighbor Katie came before the party and gave Megan a gift. Katie was so excited to give Megan the gift. And Megan loved it! Anything pink is high in Megan's book of great gifts!

Grandpa goes to preschool

2011-09-22T11:18:00.000-04:00

Megan had a preschool grandparents day. We were very lucky that grandpa just happened to be in town! Megan loves her grandpa! She was so excited to have grandpa come. I don't get much grandpa time if Megan is around. She gets grandpa do do everything with her.

Grandpa do you want to watch me play a game...
grandpa do you want to snuggle with me..
grandpa watch me dance....

Every time you look for Megan you will find grandpa with her. She has him wrapped around her finger. He even sat down to have a tea party with grandpa!

Just before we went to preschool we were watching Emmalynne and Clara. Jared left some wigs out so we just had to put them on the girls. It was so cute and I was surprised that they left them on for so long. They also loved posing for pictures!

sooo funny

2011-09-12T11:39:00.002-04:00

This year for carpool Megan and I only have to do two or three days of picking up only. So we go sit about twenty minutes before school gets out so we can have a good spot in line. While we wait Megan unbuckles and plays around in the van.

While we were waiting Megan come up to the front of the car whimpering that she was bleeding. I look at her leg and she has a little spot on her shin bleeding. I put a band-aide on it and ask her what she did.

Of course she has no idea how it happened. It is a small little spot bleeding, she is fine and happy after she gets a band-aide so I don't press it.

A few days later we are on our way to get in line for carpool and Megan is talking about when she cut her leg.

" I don't know how that happened. I was just following the directions and it cut me. That was not a very nice surprise!"

"Megan, what are you talking about? What cut you?"

"That thing in the back. I was just following directions. It hurt. It was not a very nice surprise!"

"You will have to show me when we stop."

So when we get in line at the school we get out and open the back of the van and she gets the thing that cut her. I thought I was going to die laughing! She really was following the directions! She found an Epi pen that has picture directions. She put it on her shin and pushed the button! Out comes the needle...

I am almost doubled over in the parking lot telling her, "it hurt because you gave yourself a shot!"

It was so funny. I wish I had that on tape... And just so you don't think I was a bad mom we did go over the importance of asking mom what things are if you don't know what they do.

Bored?

2011-09-12T07:58:00.002-04:00

This is what happens when there are no girls around and little boys get bored! I was baby sitting the little Mermaid (Eli) while his parents went to the temple. Megan was at school so I made Charity bring Cole over to play with him. They were still bored...

Football

2011-08-31T10:56:00.003-04:00

Busy as a man can be that's our Jared!

Jared used all his older brother skills to try and get Zach to join the football team with him but he could not prevail. So Jared is doing this season solo. He gets up at 5:30 in the morning and comes home at 6:30 at night!

Jared loves being a teenager and would love it even more if he didn't have parents that enforced rules like bedtime and no basketball if grades are not good. He loves junk food and still eats us out of the house. Jared starts his day at 5:30 checking facebook and ends his day by checking facebook. Anything that involves friends is where Jared wants to be. I am pretty sure that is why he is doing seminary a year before he has too!

These are pictures from his first game. They won! As you can hopefully see Jared is number 30.

Running

2011-08-27T11:42:00.003-04:00

I started running outside (I have been doing my elliptical inside) about seven weeks ago. My friend wanted a training buddy for a marathon coming up in November. I had a momentary lapse in judgment and committed to being that buddy. So I have been training for about seven weeks. Today was the longest run I have done in my life. Fourteen miles! That is longer than a half marathon...

I ran the week I was in Utah. I can say it was so much easier to run in Utah. Everyone kept telling me if I could run in Utah at the high altitude then I could do a marathon. I just want to say if you can train in North Carolina in the sweltering heat and humidity then you might be able to run a marathon. If you can train in Utah with the altitude and with nice cool refreshing mornings in the middle of summer and no humidity you can run a marathon. I was doing my morning runs in Utah and barely breaking a sweat! I miss running there. The first run after we got home was soooo much harder and it was only three or four miles!

I am starting to like running. I do miss it when I don't run... I would really like running if I didn't get sore calf muscles, huge blisters on my toes, aching knees, head ache from the motion and if I didn't have to get sweaty and smelly. If it weren't for those things running would be a lot more enjoyable!

I do like the alone time I get even if all I can think about is the next ten miles.... and if you want to start running a recommend getting a pair of really good running shoes. It makes all the difference!

Hiking to the Doughnut

2011-08-27T11:31:00.003-04:00

On our last day there almost everyone went on a hike to The Doughnut. It was a very nice hike. It started out a little bit cool. I was glad I had my sweatshirt.

If you can't tell by the pictures I found a hiking buddy. I might have been missing Megan a little by this point in the week. So I bribed Adelyn to be my friend. After two bribes she was my side kick for the rest of the week!

It was very pretty in the mountains. We were missing Jared and Zach. We thought they would have loved climbing on the rocks and hiking with all their boy cousins. After our hike we went to eat at Five Guys.

Josh gets married

2011-08-27T11:16:00.003-04:00

The big day was on 18th! Josh and Rachelle got married in the Salt Lake City Temple! I of course thought about my parents who were sealed there when my mom was pregnant with me!

It was a beautiful day. It was just about perfect in the shade. I was glad that I didn't have to be in very many pictures. It looked like a few others were glad that they didn't have to be in very many pictures too.

After the wedding we went to Matt and Laura's house for lunch and visiting until it was time to go to the reception.

up-date

2011-08-27T11:04:00.002-04:00

I have been telling myself all week that I was going to write some new posts. Since it is the end of the week I thought I better do it before the month is over.

Last week Mike and I left the children with Aunt Sarah and went to Utah. We missed showing them off to all our family there. Jared and Zach started school that week and didn't want to miss the "best" week of school. So we left them all with Sarah.

We had a great time seeing all of our family! Mike's youngest brother was getting married, his parents just got home from their mission and we had our oldest nephew leave for a mission! It was a very busy time.

The first half of the week we didn't have to many planned activities so we drove around to all of our favorite places and were so glad that we don't have to drive in Utah all the time! Mike took a trip down memory lane while we visited his old class buildings at BYU. We ate at some of our old favorite places. And my favorite part was going to the temple! I managed to convince Mike into two days so we went to the Provo Temple and the Draper Temple! I am hoping more than ever that I get a temple that close to me!

Quilting

2011-08-04T10:58:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been in a quilting mood. I was watching Clara and Emmalynne the other day and was pinning a quilt. Clara thought it was very interesting. She stayed by my side the whole time. After we were done pinning my quilt she got her blanket out and spread it out just like mine. It was so cute!.

bath time

2011-08-03T10:47:00.002-04:00

Megan and my niece's were playing outside with the hose and a big tub. It reminded me that Megan needed a bath so we soaped everyone up. After they were done playing they were already clean and got right in their PJ's! Perfect ending to a hot day.

Flowers

2011-08-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

Well our gardens has been a little neglected this summer. And it is so hot that a lot of things seem to have turned brown. But we are still getting tomatoes and peppers. My flower gardens are going strong. These are pictures my mom took while she was here.

Splash grounds

2011-07-22T10:25:00.000-04:00

My parents are here for a visit. It is sooooo hot that the only thing to do is stay inside or get wet. So we picked the get wet. Sarah and her girls brought grandma and grandpa to the splash zone. Megan loved trying to throw water on grandma.

Sooooooo eggciting!

2011-07-20T14:01:00.003-04:00

One of the mother quail sitting on her eggs. You can see one
of the baby chicks in front of her and the head of one right behind her.

Two of the chicks!

All three chicks!

Megan and I have been raising quail since last October. We gave some of our eggs to our neighbor to put in her incubator for us. They hatched! A few weeks ago I went to get more eggs out to put in the incubator but when I went out to the cage they girl quail made a nest and was watching over her nest. She was even chasing the boy quail away from her nest. So I decided to leave them.

Katie, our neighbor said she has never had her quail hatch eggs outside that they have never nested. So I decided to leave them and see what would happen. Well a few days ago two out of the ten eggs got pecked by the boy quail so I moved the boys out of the cage. They were also messing the nest up.

Today I went out to check on the nest and there were three little baby chicks! Megan and I were so excited! It is so cute to see them in with the mother quail! We are hoping that the other five hatch!

Home again home again!

2011-07-17T13:39:00.000-04:00

Zachary working hard, bending metal.

Jared working with his metal.

Jared looking so happy to be at camp.

Zachary took archery!

Playing cards.

Jared ate all his dinner!

Jared's dinner plus two hot dogs that are missing in this picture!

Zachary working the fire!

Metal working Bros...

Mike can't believe Jared is going to eat all his food....

My campers are home! They worked hard at camp. And of course it was our hottest week yet! Jared and Zach took metal works together. What can be more fun than playing in a fire with metal! They are both hoping that they offer another metal works class next year.

Zach said the best thing about camp was the all you can drink chocolate milk! Jared didn't tell me his favorite part but I am sure it has something to do with food.

Scout camp

2011-07-10T22:51:00.003-04:00

Me with my feet kicked up for the week!

I didn't get my "going to camp" picture this time. I am sad because this is Zachary's first year at camp! Mike will be with the boys until Wednesday night. That leaves me and Megan with plenty of girl time. This year she is going to a half day of camp all week! I am very excited about this. I am not sure what I will do with myself. Well I am sure I will get the house cleaned and do the laundry tomorrow. Then maybe I can keep it clean and enjoy a peaceful house for the week!

I do hope everyone has a great week of camp!

Jason and Family!

2011-07-02T22:35:00.000-04:00

Jason came for a visit with his family! We love having family visit. We spent the day at Stone Mt. We love hiking and playing in the water there!

fourteen !!!!

2011-07-01T22:21:00.000-04:00

I am pretty sure Jared had shoes on and I didn't!

I can't believe Jared turned fourteen! I can't be that old. Jared is so much fun to have in our home. I am so blessed to have him as my son. It is so much fun watching him grow into a young man.

Here are my top five thoughts about Jared.

1. He is a hard worker. Even my neighbors are impressed with Jared.

2. He is a great brother. Megan adores him! Zach puts up with him and when you are that close in age it is a good thing.

3. Jared love's basketball. He has about ten basketballs and wishes he had more. We keep four or five in the front lawn!

4. Jared is an eating and sleeping machine. He can pack away the food and still be hungry! He starts his day between 10 and 11 and ends it as late as he can!

5. Jared still likes to play games with us! I love spending time with Jared and a game is a great way to get him to spend time with us!

Canning

2011-06-29T22:17:00.002-04:00

Canning has started! I did blackberry and blueberry Jam! Sarah came over and we did a set of blackberry jam for her! I love making jam! I don't think I will ever go back to store jam!

More beach shots.

2011-06-18T22:03:00.003-04:00

I think Megan looks so grown up in this picture.

Having fun in the pool!

Building a fairy beach house with dad!

Nothing like a deep hole.

Zachary just chilling in his beach chair hole!

We stayed at The Winds Resort Beach Club on Ocean Isle, NC.
Our room was on the third floor that looks out to the beach! It was
beautiful. I rocked Megan to sleep on the porch. It was great. The resort had three
pools, two hot tubs, shuffle board and a cat that roamed the grounds.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-17T21:56:00.001-04:00

For father's day we spent the weekend at the beach! Mike won a trip to the beach by loosing the most weight in a work weight lose challenge! So we packed up the family and enjoyed the beach!

Visitors!

2011-06-15T21:48:00.000-04:00

My sister in-law came for a quick visit! We were very excited to see her and her bunch! It is fun to see how much they have grown up. We miss living a few miles away from them...

Almost perfect

2011-06-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

A few years ago Zach got mad at me. So he took my favorite and only copy of a picture of the two of us and drew all over it. Even though it said, "I hate you" and I had devil horns and a curly mustache I couldn't throw it out. I consulted my sister in-law who is a photographer and didn't get any encouraging or inspirational advice on how to fix it. So I decided I had nothing to loose (except a curly mustache and devil horns) and took water and a Q-tip and tried to clean it up. It mostly worked!

Dad's Birthday

2011-06-08T21:08:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Mike! I tried very hard to surprise Mike with a new I-pod. He was the only one in the family without a MP3 player. Lately he has been playing with mine and was dreaming of having his own. So I bought him one. I guess my early planning back fired on me this time because he saw the bill before he got the gift. But we did surprise him with his other gifts. He wasn't expecting anything more but we did spoil him. We got him his own life vest for his kayak and a radio docking station.

Mike's reward

2011-06-02T21:31:00.000-04:00

Mike went to China right after we came home from Ireland. At work they give you a bonus if you give up your business class seat and sit coach. So Mike gave up his comfy seat and got the bonus money. After thinking about it for awhile he decided to buy kayak's with the money. They are a lot more fun than I thought they were going to be!

My dad

2011-05-28T21:23:00.003-04:00

Megan playing at the splash ground at the zoo!

Becca in the car.

Megan took this picture of the temple.
I am very jealous that it is only a mile from Julia's house.

My sister and I drove home to see my dad after he had a heart attach. After he was released to go home and not knowing when surgery would be I decided that I needed to go home to the rest of my family. I stopped in Kentucky to get Megan. We spent the day with our family there. Here are some of the pictures.

kittens

2011-05-25T13:52:00.003-04:00

Megan and I have been helping our neighbor take care of four abandoned kittens! It has been a lot of fun. And it is probably more fun because I know I don't have to find homes for them and I only have to take care of them a few times a day. Megan and the boys just love them and wish we would keep one...

I miss...

2011-05-12T13:32:00.000-04:00

This is the very last thing I discovered. The hot chocolate! It was wonderful! And I am sad that I didn't try it sooner than our last day in Ireland. I can still taste it if I think real hard. It defiantly makes my mouth water.

Kilmainham Goal

2011-05-11T13:16:00.000-04:00

This was the last tour we went on. Kilmanham Goal is a prison that opened in 1796. A lot of rebels died there. It was a sad story to hear. It is weird to think that visitors come from all over the world to go to jail... The architecture was lovey though. Our guide said the architect that designed the jail also designed one of the hotels in Dublin.

Ashford Castle

2011-05-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

This castle dates to the 12th century. It has been renovated in to a hotel. It was a lovely castle. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the gardens and fountains. In the evening they had music in the lounge. It was fun to be there and imagine what trouble the boys would get into while they explored the castle and grounds...

Clifden

2011-05-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

This was a gorgeous place to stop. This was another village I would have loved to stop and stay a week at. I just loved the small quiet villages. The beach was so amazing. We just sat and enjoyed the scenery for a hour or so. There were so many different things to look at depending on which way you turned your head. I loved hearing the ocean and sheep all at the same time!

Food!

2011-05-05T11:43:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed almost every dish we ordered. They always had great soups and I was in love with Mike's salad. Night eating at the pubs were the best place to go. It was always fun to go to a pub that had live music. I only wished that the music would start sooner since I like to go to bed early... but I managed to stay awake and enjoy the traditional music!

The Burren

2011-05-01T11:29:00.000-04:00

Mike and I took a guided walking tour of The Burren. Our guide, Tony Kirby was very knowledgeable about the area. It was beautiful. I wished we had walked further. But we learned a lot about the flora and fauna. Every time I saw a little frog I would think of Zach and wish he I could see him hopping around on the rocks trying to catch the frogs.

The oreo cow

2011-04-29T11:18:00.001-04:00

I have been looking for this cow for about twenty years. I saw it while we were driving in Ireland. I made Mike turn around and go back just so I could get a picture of this cow.

When I was a teenager coming home from a temple trip I had fallen asleep in the car. When I woke up everyone was talking about the Oreo cow. I wasn't sure if I could believe them but ever since I have looked for the cow every time I would see cows out and about....

So after twenty years I can finally say I say the Oreo cow. It is really called the Belted Galloway Cow. The Belted Galloway is a rare beef breed of cattle originating from Galloway in South West Scotland.

Driving

2011-04-29T05:07:00.003-04:00

I don’t care for the driving here. Mike seems to be at ease behind the wheel though. As a matter of fact he gets impatient with the other foreigners while driving. I think his mission days have come back to his memory and he expects everyone to use the roundabout with perfect driving precision. I think it is funny to hear him grumble about someone when we come to the roundabouts. The roads are very narrow here. It isn’t fun to pass a car in any direction. And sitting in the driver seat that is really the passenger seat is a little un-nerving.

When we first got our car in Dublin I thought I was going to die from a heart attack or get smashed by another car. I prefer to be sleeping when the car is moving. The first few days this worked very well. But I am starting to get used to the five hour time difference so I have started typing my blogs in the car to print at night. Then I don’t have to look out the window. I seem to get a head ache faster here. I am guessing it is the very narrow bumpy roads and the fast speed of the car. I don’t have time to focus on anything.

When I do look it is very pretty country. I love all the stone walls, they are pretty much everywhere. I don’t think a picture can do them justice. Parking here isn’t a problem or is a big problem. I don’t think they have parking rules or any that are enforced. I see cars parked on sidewalks, facing any direction of traffic and even just stopped in the road.

I think I will go home with irregular heart beat… every time I hear slightly overgrown brush hitting my mirror or pass oncoming traffic my heart shudders. I am so glad we have a compact car…

Mike would be a great English driver and I would be a great English gardener. I would have said walker but you would have to be insane to walk down the roads here.

The Rock of Cashel

2011-04-27T18:00:00.001-04:00

We stopped at The Rock of Cashel on Tuesday. It was a wonderful site. Its origins go back to the 4th or 5th centuries A.D. It started out as one of the king’s castles. Later a king gave it to the church to gain religious favor. It is built on a very fortified cite. They are doing work to preserve it. You can see the scaffolding in most of the pictures of the outside. It was put up a year ago and is some kind of makeshift roof. It will be there another three years until the ceiling of the chapel dries out so the mold will dry up. Then they plan to water proof it. It was freezing in that room. Our guide said it would have been colder when it was in use and would have been very uncomfortable in the winter.

We walked to Hore Abby after we were done touring the Rock of Cashel. Again it is a lovely area. The monk inhabitants came to a violent end when the Arch Bishop got rid of them….

Priory of Kells

2011-04-27T17:44:00.003-04:00

This might be my favorite site. It is a lovely setting. The ruins were magnificent. And I just loved the stream running behind the Priory. After getting to many attacks on the priory the monks decided to build a wall around their buildings so it had a feeling of being a castle. We were the only ones at the Priory for most of our time there. A couple came in when we were leaving.
We also stopped up the road at the mill. It was very picturesque.

Cliffs of Moher

2011-04-27T17:33:00.002-04:00

Cliffs of Moher or Cliffs of Insanity (the Princess Bride)

This was another highlight of the day! We took the advice we got at breakfast from another couple who had already been there. They said to skip the cliffs of Moher at the visitor’s center. (That you had to pay for.) They said to drive out as far out as you can and wind your way to the top of the cliff, walk through some fields and climb over some cattle grates until you get to the end of the Cliffs of Moher. It is called Hags Head. We managed to find this lesser know path and it was beautiful. It was so worth the short cut. It takes an hour to walk to Hags Head from the visitor’s center or about 15 minutes from the short cut. It would have been worth the hour walk though. We were the only ones there. We spent about two hours there. It really had breath taking views. Mike loved climbing all over the rocks and down the cliff.

The weather has been great. It has only rained on us at Hags Head. I am glad I brought my warm sweater to wear under my jacket.

Kilkenny and Glendalough

2011-04-27T04:12:00.003-04:00

Glendalough cemetery.

Streets of Kilkenny

Castle at Kilkenny

We have been doing a lot of walking. Monday we went to Glendalough. It was very pretty. Some of it was built in the 11 hundreds. St. Kevin started there.... There is a very old cemetery there. You can still get burried in the cemetery if you have ancestors buried there.

Next we went to Kilkenny. I liked this town better than Dublin. It was much cleaner. We paid for the castle tour. We don't have many pictures of us in Kilkenny. We were not allowed to take pictures in the castle. We did have a great time there. And we took more than enough pictures the yesterday to make up for it!

photos

2011-04-24T18:59:00.002-04:00

Check the side bar link to see all the Dublin Photo's. The link that says Family photos.

Dublin

2011-04-24T17:46:00.004-04:00

We made it to Dublin. Our flight got to Dublin at 10 AM local time. That is five hours ahead of our time zone. Mike enjoyed my jet lag. He liked snapping pictures of me trying to get a little nap in. (Anywhere I sat down I was prone to closing my eyes.) I did take about a two hour nap this afternoon. I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

Mike woke me up so we could get dinner. We walked down town and enjoyed the night life. It was very interesting. We started off with some fish and chips. We ate our fish and chips on the side of the road where we enjoyed some street musicians. We also enjoyed the drunk lady dancing to their music. I think her group of friends were getting jealous of everyone watching her dance so they started a drunken street fight. Mike had to hurry out of the way as the police car came zooming down the road. The fighters scattered very fast as the police came after them. And as soon as the police car left the street they started at it again! This time it was a little more intense and one poor bloke lay in the street for a few minutes until the police came back again. We were enjoying the next street musician when the ambulance came down the street.

So we had a very exciting dinner show!

Earlier in the day we enjoyed a visit to Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, where a man was peeing in the cathedral's garden, then we stopped by Dublin's Castle. All three were very pretty. I loved all the stained glass window's.

Air port

2011-04-23T17:31:00.002-04:00

During our six hour lay-over in Atlanta, GA we did a little geo-caching. We had to walk outside the airport for this one. We walked the whole way instead of taking the tram. It was a mile there and a mile back to our gate. We still had four hours to wait after dinner and a geo-cache.

Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

Just before we went to the airport we went to an egg hunt with grandpa and the children! Megan had fun but there were so many kids there we had a hard time finding eggs.

Peep roast

2011-04-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

It is the annual Peep roast. We had to reschedule the roast. It was supposed to be last weekend but we got a ton of rain that left our roasting area a swamp. And since Mike and I are leaving for Ireland on Saturday we had a much smaller guest list.

Grandpa is here to watch the children while we are gone so he got to have his first peep roast! He likes the roasted peeps and had to send grandma a few pictures so she could see how much he liked the peeps!

Jared and Zach made fast work of the peep roast. I didn't see them long enough to get any pictures of them. I did get a picture of their friend Tyler though.

Maybe next year I will roast myself a peep. I never seem to get one roasted for myself. (I prefer regular marshmallows.)

Geo Caching

2011-04-20T15:18:00.000-04:00

Megan and I have found a new hobby! I bought a Magellan explorist for Geo Caching. I found it for seventy-five percent off! Megan and I have been going caching l crazy. The past two morning that is the first thing she wants to go do! I enjoy getting out in the woods with her and she doesn't complain about the walk because she is busy trying to find a treasure!

In case you don't know what geo caching is Megan is holding the unit in her hand. You down load GPS coordinates to a hidden treasure. Someone else logged the coordinates at geocaching.com. All you have to do is go look it up and see if it is a hike you can do. It tells you how hard the walk is and how hard it is to find the cache and how big it is. Some are very small and do not have little toys to trade.

We are hooked. I hope to find a few in Ireland. ;)

Egg hunts

2011-04-14T20:31:00.000-04:00

Megan got two eggs hunts today. First she had a hunt at school followed by a picnic. It was very fun. Megan would stop for a picture but her eyes were always on an egg.

When we got home Stephanie got an egg hunt ready for Megan. After she was ready we decided that we needed to call in some more children. So Emmalynne, Clara and Luke came for the fun.

Picture's by Meg

2011-04-11T15:10:00.000-04:00

Megan and I went to the Children Museum today. We haven't been down town in awhile. Megan had lots of fun taking pictures of all the fish. We also spent some time building block towers. It is so much fun being with Megan. She is a ray of sunshine in my day. Megan is a people person. She is very social and has no problem getting to know anyone she sees. I don't know how she does it but she is the ray of sunshine for a lot of people. Everyone is just drawn to her! I love her and I am so blessed to spend my days home with her!

Growing up

2011-04-10T08:06:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how old Jared looks. He is going t be 14 this year! I am excited for him. The means he gets to go to youth conference this year. It is going to be huge. I think it has around 7 stakes going!

Jared has turned into an eating and sleeping teen. If you keep him well fed and get him just enough sleep he is a normal young man. If one of those is slightly off you better watch out... It isn't hard for one of those to be off either. He eats all the time! He eats dinner and then goes back to eat again or gets up late to go get some more food. He out grew me months ago. He can't wait to pass his dad. (Jared still has a 4-5 inches to go on that.)

Jared loves playing basketball. He wants to try out for the team next year. He has about 6 different basketballs. (No joking) I didn't know he like basketball so much until Jared was giving a speak during scout elections. He said something to the effect, "if I am elected we can play basketball and have some knife sharpening and ax sharpening on the sides." I thought it was pretty funny.

I am glad Zach hasn't yet reached the stage Jared is in. He is still growing but not as fast as Jared. Zach is starting to find a place for himself. He is much happier at school. He told me the other day, "you and dad picked a real good place to live, I like it here."

Zach is slowly getting into scouts. We told him we will get him a season pass to the amusement park if he can be first class by scout camp in July. We are hoping that helps him get moving.

Zach also thinks he wants to play lacrosse this next school year. I am secretly hoping he changes his mind. The gear is crazy to pay for.

Shopping

2011-04-08T15:05:00.002-04:00

Our good friend and neighbor, Stephanie, is on vacation at home for two weeks! Megan and I have been having fun taking little side trips with Stephanie! We go to lunch, work in the yard and make many trips to Lowe's with her. We made it to the craft store today. Megan had lots of fun with the feather boa's.

Swedish Massage

2011-04-05T11:49:00.002-04:00

For Valentine's I got a gift certificate to get a Swedish Massage! Today I used it. It was a whole hour.

Here are some thoughts that came to mind while I was indulging!

I can't believe I am just laying around for a whole hour.

This is really good.

Maybe Mike should go to night school and learn to do this. It could be his part time job and I can be his only client!

I wonder if she feels that knot in my back moving as much as I do.

I wonder what people do when they are ticklish and are trying to get a massage?

I shouldn't have drank four glasses of water before coming here!

I wonder how often I can spring for this kind of treatment!

Thanks for the wonderful Valentine's gift! I think she might have cured 50% of my back pain! So I better go back a few more times to get the other 50 percent. (You know that last bit takes longer to work out)

Show Time

2011-03-26T18:53:00.000-04:00

Megan and Annalise couldn't look at the camera for more than two seconds. It wasn't until the end of the show that I could get a few shots in. Megan was taking the part of Sleeping Beauty. No matter how many kisses she got I couldn't wake her up!

Megan couldn't decide if it was real or not. She kept asking me if this was real. She finally decided that it wasn't real. She said the "things" swimming with Ursula were not real, that they were puppets so it was just pretend.

At the end they had some indoor fireworks. Megan was very concerned about this. She said as she was shaking her head in disbelief, "They shouldn't be doing that inside." It was very cute. So I told her she was right, you should never do fireworks inside!

Getting Ready

2011-03-26T14:46:00.000-04:00

Getting dressed up at home was also a blast! Both of the girls loved getting their princess clothes on and hair done and make-up! We also gave them Princess Boxes! They were filled with all kinds of princess items. They were a big hit.

Girls Trip

2011-03-25T14:34:00.000-04:00

Megan and I drove to Lexington to see Aunt Julia, Annalise, Eliza and Uncle Taylor. We also went to see the Princess' on Ice!

We had a lot of fun at the mall getting crowns and playing at the play center there. The girls were so cute. They were loving all the photo taking. One little boy even decided it looked fun and posed in a picture with the girls!

Prom

2011-03-20T14:25:00.003-04:00

You are never to old for Prom! Mike took me to prom last night! It was really for the Priest and Laurel's but we went too! It was a very nice prom. And it was my favorite prom! I think everyone should go to prom after they get married. Much funner.

I did feel a little under dressed. All the girls wore very fancy dresses and there were even a few tuxes out there. Megan would have loved all the dresses. Jared and Zach would have loved all the snacks!

Mike and I danced some of our swing moves that we have been learning. We had one job of the night and it was a one hour shift of checking the parking lot for anything that shouldn't be happening there.

The night was great. (Except for the poor boy who couldn't hold his treats at the end of the night.)

Cheer me up

2011-03-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

After the bunnies went home we had to make cookies to get our minds off those cute cute bunnies!

Bunnies

2011-03-19T14:12:00.000-04:00

Our neighbor Katie brought over some bunnies for Megan to love on. It is so nice to have Katie as our neighbor. We get to see all kids of pets and never have to keep them! This is great for Megan. She loves all animals. As you can see she was in love with these bunnies!

What more can you say?

2011-03-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

The other night Jared had a couple of friends spend the night. In the morning Megan got up at her usual early time. So we went downstairs and discovered the boys all feel asleep downstairs on the couch and chairs.

One of the boys was curled in a ball on the chair and his blanket had fallen off. Megan took notice of him and discovered that a tiny bit of underwear was showing. She shakes her head and states, "We shouldn't show people our underwear!"

Later when the boys wake up Megan directs her words to Will, loud enough for the whole room...

"Wiiillll, I saw your panties while you were sleeping!"

And you can be sure that all the boys thought it was great that Will was showing off his panties!

Aunt Julia

2011-02-28T21:46:00.002-05:00

So for family home evening tonight Zach was in charge of the treat. He has been wanting me to make him an Orange Julius for some time. I made them for him tonight.

After I finished making the Orange Julius I called for everyone to get their Orange Julius. Jared and Zach were enjoying theirs but Megan had not come for hers yet.

So I asked her if she wanted her drink.

She came running, "I want an Aunt Julia!"

Megan even told Zach that he picked a great treat. And the rest of the night she talked about her "Aunt Julia" drink!

Temple Trip

2011-02-26T01:05:00.004-05:00

Today I got to take both of my sons to the Columbia South Carolina Temple! I was very excited. This was Zach's first trip. It was such a wonderful feeling to be in the temple with my family. We took some names for Carman. Mike was there doing the conformations. I was in the room with all my boys! It was great to be there serving.

When we were done I gave them a hug and told them "Now you have been to my favorite place on the earth!"

I know it is hard for them to give up their Saturday. I am so pleased that they came to the temple and we could spend it there together.

light bulb moment

2011-02-15T20:29:00.002-05:00

Megan had a light bulb moment.

We were talking about money and how it is good to save our money. I told her that dad goes to work everyday and that is how we get our money.

Megan says, "Oh! So that is how he gets me stuff!"

Maybe you had to be there but it was so funny.

Who is your Valentine

2011-02-12T20:25:00.002-05:00

I got a Valentine from my dad. It was a lovely heart necklace. I showed it to Megan.

Me: Megan, look what my daddy sent me for Valentine's

Her eye's get big

Megan: Will I get one for Valentine's?

Me: I don't know? Maybe your daddy will get you something for Valentine's!

Megan: Who's my dad?

Me: You know who you dad is.

Megan: No I don't.

Me: Yes you do. Who is your dad?

Megan: Uncle Mike?

Me: Yes, but you usually call him dad.