tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20440522888456611102024-03-13T02:28:58.903-06:00It's a Crazy Wonderful Life!This is a blog about my family and the crazy life in the Sims Household. We have 5 children, ranging from 14 down to 5, and seem to be going in all different directions sometimes. The purpose of this blog is to help keep our friends and family up to date on what is going on in our lives.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09420300188355614371noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-33838748743876512602011-04-19T22:32:00.000-06:002011-04-19T22:32:03.000-06:00Disney World Day 5-Our LAST day!!<div style="text-align: center;">So the weather on this day was BEAUTIFUL!!!! That worked our great since it was planned to be our beach day. I took all the kids in to Magic Kingdom for a bit first thing in the morning. We arrived at the park just before 9 am and headed right back to Frontier Land. We all rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad two times, followed by Splash Mountain (which Kyle hated) and then Pirates of the Caribbean. Here are a few pics from our moring out.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk998E9cW4RuhDeTOp8QATJTwWgtvJYaxycVV8KDSlh_HswJdui1m0mmnW8iWMVrhhvsYnfm1mlA9gmYFpdMVIuhj3npFifI30a3KGoorlB8dhQ8kduBeLYfoVUYfGAUfM1DyUM9UIN9cO/s1600/IMG_5707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk998E9cW4RuhDeTOp8QATJTwWgtvJYaxycVV8KDSlh_HswJdui1m0mmnW8iWMVrhhvsYnfm1mlA9gmYFpdMVIuhj3npFifI30a3KGoorlB8dhQ8kduBeLYfoVUYfGAUfM1DyUM9UIN9cO/s320/IMG_5707.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">By the time we finished those rides it was almost time to meet Mike who had gone to pick up a rental car so we could go to the beach. So we headed out to meet him and piled in the car.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It was about an hour drive to Cocoa Beach. We were all so excited for some time in the sun on the beach. Here are a few pics of the kids playing in the ocean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIXNqVUvWl06Mqa9X5JkgF2_n-_uIz6UylUfBFsNl3PgjZYXrih0FJYaztUNTs95WuZUfzniP9xhF4t6idep_bH2jjHKNKXsf_duINih3sYFuhiKmSCFrcjnol_dcqnfP4ExXSW8zCm8L/s1600/IMG_5773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNIXNqVUvWl06Mqa9X5JkgF2_n-_uIz6UylUfBFsNl3PgjZYXrih0FJYaztUNTs95WuZUfzniP9xhF4t6idep_bH2jjHKNKXsf_duINih3sYFuhiKmSCFrcjnol_dcqnfP4ExXSW8zCm8L/s320/IMG_5773.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8V2vGDv526mZDbK-er4TjqYv9H_DDojn4V1ON3-CHWVeLk_RtkaLKx6hfHrx48doD73OwiCbwsQwDMDbqJvruaVJ7QQRPKvwz8bhbR51AjcGFMRTQkj1rqL-sDSoo1BIoLujVB1qS-ZkS/s1600/IMG_5784+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8V2vGDv526mZDbK-er4TjqYv9H_DDojn4V1ON3-CHWVeLk_RtkaLKx6hfHrx48doD73OwiCbwsQwDMDbqJvruaVJ7QQRPKvwz8bhbR51AjcGFMRTQkj1rqL-sDSoo1BIoLujVB1qS-ZkS/s320/IMG_5784+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSARC-bYEW1REwZE-UfX6FGuCDXn7YunSHsE-Dx3uVhTuVsWWGQ005dFc6EIfYLi3vxWuHk4io3aGinDhVAmbA0bTLXXvzr8O8bXMVR8HewZ8iNEeUotE-f2-39F01wrRDtwS5o4-jm98/s1600/IMG_5789+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSARC-bYEW1REwZE-UfX6FGuCDXn7YunSHsE-Dx3uVhTuVsWWGQ005dFc6EIfYLi3vxWuHk4io3aGinDhVAmbA0bTLXXvzr8O8bXMVR8HewZ8iNEeUotE-f2-39F01wrRDtwS5o4-jm98/s320/IMG_5789+cropped.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After playing in the ocean for several hours, we headed over to the humongous Ron Jon shop for souvenirs and headed back to Orlando. Pretty much everyone fell asleep in the car.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="174" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmmS0UD5zBd7Q2G7fQU-RGcQMhexr6X70QkddlylSPgmOk8Bu3Bng6kAtip5-tyAe3N5RMf24ivBVkVzHjtM5SPcOmYyoJ5NxTWuShZaMbL_imPvpaJKhMw0lYKFVF5mK9AsCxcCdpcbf/s320/IMG_5843+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We grabbed some McD's on our way back into town, went to the hotel to change and headedd back to Magic Kingdom for the evening.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We were able to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Pirates of the Caribbean again and then we watched the fireworks as we headed out of the park.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We had an early morning with a 7 am flight so we hurried and got everything packed up and went to bed. It was so hard to believe our trip was over.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We woke the next morning at 4 am got everything into the car and headed off to the airport. We arrived back home in the early afternoon. Everyone was pretty tired. I walked in to my bedroom shortly after getting home and this is what I saw.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyn_10yc7rTgXiNSfyHRmT4OWePAxOisC4efAjpOFQyon88kd8N4ezMCQdvM_Dq1YUtDbXYh_1fwy8LLZa-OD_gIj3kvTgyvosBfk4jESyf-3oJExy2UEI-OB2mERObJY4n7F8rV_A1mW/s1600/IMG_5848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVyn_10yc7rTgXiNSfyHRmT4OWePAxOisC4efAjpOFQyon88kd8N4ezMCQdvM_Dq1YUtDbXYh_1fwy8LLZa-OD_gIj3kvTgyvosBfk4jESyf-3oJExy2UEI-OB2mERObJY4n7F8rV_A1mW/s320/IMG_5848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Jacob and Kyle were both crashed on the floor in my room. I thought it was pretty funny that of all the places in this house, they both chose the floor.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, we had a wonderful trip. We are already starting to plan our big trip for next year. We are hoping we can somehow save enough money to take the whole family to Hawaii. I so want the kids to see t his wonderful place that I love so much and to meet all the family we have there. So we will see what we can do.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-3063051437472816092011-04-11T21:24:00.000-06:002011-04-11T21:24:30.604-06:00Disney World Day 4- Rain Rain and More Rain!!!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi243QidWXQPfQaplWHI4NcpXA87JgDm9R469mStJ9sZczlu-7Z5rz0kMm2OZRFgM-gxmh5kC607Zbcv38J4rTxuUrxI0Vtf76HhD5kERJHalo-OFgo6r8dwWS8ZpRfTagcYSQPnkOnT2AM/s1600/IMG_5653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVKHAMKoquUgo00-4v83mo04leJakuwScJXuTHEcVyX3Z5VvlPYjQnucYoWroNDElUa8zE0FK3Qkv9i-iJ7yTtatzqH2Wof5yy5-5sJ0PMGUnjCuCCIQyrOQ-0xrO-H57ieanBsh3uE-L/s1600/IMG_5628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVKHAMKoquUgo00-4v83mo04leJakuwScJXuTHEcVyX3Z5VvlPYjQnucYoWroNDElUa8zE0FK3Qkv9i-iJ7yTtatzqH2Wof5yy5-5sJ0PMGUnjCuCCIQyrOQ-0xrO-H57ieanBsh3uE-L/s320/IMG_5628.JPG" width="320" /></a>On Day 4 our plan was to hit Disney's Animal Kingdom, but we woke up and it was pouring. So we hung out in the hotel hoping every hour that it would clear up. It didn't. At about 2 we decided to head out and brave the weather for a bit hoping we could catch the rides at this park and maybe see some animals and head back for the evening. So we headed down and caught the shuttle over to the park.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Outfitted head to knees in ponchos and some of us using umbrellas, we entered the park. I ran over to Expedition Everest to get our fast passes hoping we could come back and ride it in a little while. Mike took the kids over to wait for the Lion King show. I met them there and we went in for the show. It was really bright and fun. They sang and danced and even the kids got pulled in from the audience for part of it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5oX8_Yepe9yoxiymDauArupChMfG2kE1_4rR7FzHGV5QyvNJwWgZYm91qLwgqBd2aeEFseDpgU5n5-B9vA3U6Nwj-_DPLnd0QB1xKsoRgOrB1UDhuYdkBLj6jakr506e_Je4CgPSkipM/s1600/IMG_5630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5oX8_Yepe9yoxiymDauArupChMfG2kE1_4rR7FzHGV5QyvNJwWgZYm91qLwgqBd2aeEFseDpgU5n5-B9vA3U6Nwj-_DPLnd0QB1xKsoRgOrB1UDhuYdkBLj6jakr506e_Je4CgPSkipM/s320/IMG_5630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUHdKebAu_HT-g8V_An6Vd1xvv7yX5gRt3GiL-IgFJCSRpshhOZtqRHUmoxkG1YnILVZMESPj_r84M3kv2HHVcdhyphenhyphendyFq3xJP_y15DUxPHsUQ0550WwSp6b0CGMaczWUWPgPPi1INd-ag/s1600/IMG_5650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUHdKebAu_HT-g8V_An6Vd1xvv7yX5gRt3GiL-IgFJCSRpshhOZtqRHUmoxkG1YnILVZMESPj_r84M3kv2HHVcdhyphenhyphendyFq3xJP_y15DUxPHsUQ0550WwSp6b0CGMaczWUWPgPPi1INd-ag/s320/IMG_5650.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwO3hLJmUEqkulYL7Kb92KAE4jWls7O2x2cXjFb1-dcah0utw4Hzi16oJj5cjZAmkr1IjLqlKO-I2SKEwSzaEvgZgHkiIfvRh0sm6jvXr0zDovjsxvfQwKLT1tikl_H00SqS8buL8GXcFe/s1600/IMG_5633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwO3hLJmUEqkulYL7Kb92KAE4jWls7O2x2cXjFb1-dcah0utw4Hzi16oJj5cjZAmkr1IjLqlKO-I2SKEwSzaEvgZgHkiIfvRh0sm6jvXr0zDovjsxvfQwKLT1tikl_H00SqS8buL8GXcFe/s320/IMG_5633.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a really cute show. After the show we headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safari Ride. It was a fun ride and we got to see lots of animal despite the rain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi243QidWXQPfQaplWHI4NcpXA87JgDm9R469mStJ9sZczlu-7Z5rz0kMm2OZRFgM-gxmh5kC607Zbcv38J4rTxuUrxI0Vtf76HhD5kERJHalo-OFgo6r8dwWS8ZpRfTagcYSQPnkOnT2AM/s320/IMG_5653.JPG" width="320" /></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4mwBhyZdOkRhLgBLcWgwnhYjXq1g4n7Om-c16dFdj9-QyY64ADZkH8mYuid4f_ua3bgyTk6QnrhkcWtL3x3J119Spi-ZuAff65SDAqFQ9ENmVKcIizxrsBu-JPuovoH4FkDL6_hGsD5m/s1600/IMG_5684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4mwBhyZdOkRhLgBLcWgwnhYjXq1g4n7Om-c16dFdj9-QyY64ADZkH8mYuid4f_ua3bgyTk6QnrhkcWtL3x3J119Spi-ZuAff65SDAqFQ9ENmVKcIizxrsBu-JPuovoH4FkDL6_hGsD5m/s320/IMG_5684.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia831uJSZmYmQEoZVoSfpf3VqOAEUEUqIrfkdGTvYwQywa3-vy6yrv0SH6bbV-M-5CmyJXMG4zFgY8mItCpjCGQri0PyOtHnCc_3Odrj6JC8WVIkNvUN6v62Bsxr9fAdT8K-bS3ax0FYJj/s1600/IMG_5687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia831uJSZmYmQEoZVoSfpf3VqOAEUEUqIrfkdGTvYwQywa3-vy6yrv0SH6bbV-M-5CmyJXMG4zFgY8mItCpjCGQri0PyOtHnCc_3Odrj6JC8WVIkNvUN6v62Bsxr9fAdT8K-bS3ax0FYJj/s320/IMG_5687.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> After the safari we went over to ride the Dinosaur ride. It was awesome!!! The kids loved it so much. And since there was nobody in line when we got done, they let us ride again without even getting off the ride. I guess that is one advantage to a rainy day at the park. (It was the only one)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We were blessed (hah!) with some really heavy rain for a little while and even some thunder and lightening. We headed across the park to try and ride Expedition Everest only to find that it was closed because of the lightening. BUMMER!!! We were all looking forward to riding that one. So we headed in to watch the 3D show "It's Tough to Be a Bug" this one featured the characters from Bug's Life. It was a fun little 3d or really 4d movie. It sprayed water, scented the room, and even gave you the feeling that bugs were crawling underneath your seat. (Kyle hated that part).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">That movie is in a theatre underneath the big tree that is in the center of the park. The tree was truly amazing. It has carvings of animals all over it. I wish we would have had more time to look at it all, but the rain was getting to be too much so we decided it was time to leave. We had all had enough of the rain.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We decided to eat in the park at the Rain Forest Cafe. We have never eaten in one of those restaurants before so it was really fun to see it. Dinner was yummy (though very expensive) and when we were done we headed out into the rain to wait for the shuttle. Thankfully we had a little bit of shelter to help keep us out of the elements, but we watched the lightening and listened to the thunder that sometimes was too loud and too close.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGtMnPM08zYsdqlOwU98N___JCWgnLT013NfaDtiP2bcJFU5zFJiL5Y4oQG0RE8P1d5bNT6fnBQt_n2JK9tsevR5_WUBXjVdCfUDZyNzhUlJxu1_5VvVvRQGmja4Ua4Odtiz9929DGjr1/s1600/IMG_5702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGtMnPM08zYsdqlOwU98N___JCWgnLT013NfaDtiP2bcJFU5zFJiL5Y4oQG0RE8P1d5bNT6fnBQt_n2JK9tsevR5_WUBXjVdCfUDZyNzhUlJxu1_5VvVvRQGmja4Ua4Odtiz9929DGjr1/s320/IMG_5702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGaTzakiQv0R5x4uJAmq38cOS0cNh9Xu5uh12XeaLwZSf-w_cC_5zuEXT8oxZ3TxOYCH606Y9fwCQvHznduDiNmwJqpDOVyL3iJx8Broiin8qsqFcbPdwTt3cioQILk3bcA_0KxYlfMWN/s1600/IMG_5703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGaTzakiQv0R5x4uJAmq38cOS0cNh9Xu5uh12XeaLwZSf-w_cC_5zuEXT8oxZ3TxOYCH606Y9fwCQvHznduDiNmwJqpDOVyL3iJx8Broiin8qsqFcbPdwTt3cioQILk3bcA_0KxYlfMWN/s320/IMG_5703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We arrived back at the hotel about 7 pm and had a nice relaxing evening in the room watching television. We also made out plans for the next day.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Just ONE MORE DAY! WOW it went so fast!</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-9207336111221071782011-04-06T19:40:00.000-06:002011-04-06T19:40:06.321-06:00Disney World Day 3On day 3 our plan was to hit Magic Kingdom. When I woke the kids at 7 to get ready and head out for the bus, Kyle would not budge. I could not wake him for anything. So Mike decided to hang out in the hotel with Kyle for a bit and let him sleep. (he ended up sleeping until about 10:30) I packed our lunches and we were off. We caught the 8:30 bus and arrived at the parking and transportation depot about 9 only to find that the monorail into magic kingdom wasn't working so we had to take the ferry and there were lots of people waiting for the ferry. We managed to get on the third ferry and headed in to the park. <br />
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The plan was to hit Tomorrow Land and Fantasy Land this first day, that would leave Adventure Land, Frontier Land and Liberty Square for our second day in Magic Kingdom. So we went right to it. I ran right in a got our fast passes for Space Mountain and then we went in lone for Buzz Lightyear. The line was short and we basically walked right on. Next we rode Space Mountain. It is a favorite for everyone but Ryan. He chose to sit this one out too and waited for us at the exit. After Space Mountian, I fas tpassed Buzz Lightyear, then we headed to the Speedway. It was about a 20 minute wait, so we waited in line and enjoyed driving our own cars. This year everyone but Kyle was big enough to drive by themselves. Our next ride was the Carousel of Progress. There was no line and we needed something short to take up the little bit of time waiting for Mike and Kyle to arrive. It was an interesting ride and fun for the kids to see all of the advances we have had intechnology in the last 70 years.<br />
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We met Mike and Kyle at Buzz Lightyear and Mike took all the kids except Kaylee on again. While they rode, Kaylee and I ran over to Peter Pan to get fast passes. Have I mentioned how much I love the Fast Pass Service. While other people are waiting in 45 minute or longer lines, you walk right in. We went back and met Mike and the Kids and he took all but Ryan on Space Mountain. As they were buckled in a preparing for launch, Kyle got scared, but her was brave and stayed on the ride and LOVED it!!!<br />
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Our next little adventure was a 45 minute wait in line for Winnie the Pooh. It was our longest wait of the whole week. If I could have, I would have fast passed it, but we already had Peter Pan and couldn't get another. The ride is so cute and in the line area they had things for the kids to play with so it wasn't too bad. After Pooh Bear, we hit Snow White followed by It's a Small World. Believe it or not, we have accomplished all of this before lunch!!!!<br />
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We went to eat our lunch and then we rode Peter Pan. After Peter Pan we went to see Mickey's Philharmagic 3d show. It was a cute show and the kids really enjoyed it. We decided since we had already accomplished all of our plans for the day that we would go ahead and hit the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square this day as well. We LOVE Haunted Mansion. It is always a hit. When we came out it was a 4:00 and we noticed darkening skies and decided we needed to start heading out. I took the kids for one last ride on Buzz Lightyear using the fastpasses from earlier in the day while Mike hit the locker to retrieve our belongings. When we met up again a few minutes later near the entrance of the park he said that the area was under a tornado warning. We could tell with the darkening sky that something was definitely headed our way so we hurried to the monrail. Just as we got to the monorail station, the storm rolled in. The wind picked up like crazy and the rain came down HARD!!!! We even saw a little bit of hail! We were glad to be under the cover of the station which was filling up very quickly as more and more people came in wetter and wetter. We caught the train and headed to catch our bus. SO the weather made us cut the day a bit short, but we still accomplished all we wanted to and more! We had a GREAT day!!!!<br />
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That night we ate dinner at the hotel restaraunt and did some laundry. The wet clothes from Monday were leaving a funky musty smell in the hotel room. It cost us about $16 to do two loads of laundry, but the room smelled much better after the wet clothes were out, so I guess it was worth it.<br />
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We got the kids to bed and I spent a little bit of time planning the schedule for the next day and then it was time for us to sleep too. Another day gone by, why does vacation time always go so fast???<br />
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Here are a couple of pics of our day.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOwtGjtqngpFnHXf-nKocfGeIAHq9j3k2t3_COOgTOv5kabUzjCXBffsmO_Pqr84DuwfKsyUm5N0brRNsI_VaGjExq_tqF0yTgDtQBuri4pDOQ_syXlVzpPE1d2geMVkYDiOIJnYrS9a3/s1600/4x6magic+kingdom+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOwtGjtqngpFnHXf-nKocfGeIAHq9j3k2t3_COOgTOv5kabUzjCXBffsmO_Pqr84DuwfKsyUm5N0brRNsI_VaGjExq_tqF0yTgDtQBuri4pDOQ_syXlVzpPE1d2geMVkYDiOIJnYrS9a3/s320/4x6magic+kingdom+close+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2a4kCnQU8KfyddIB7gs4Lb_GysSMvBen4Z5prcCYC5Rof1B5k4deHuuXM2Pb49LmurMR0n2QQlbQe3tDDIS91r95vldybZ_kjIfL41WFS04_ysOVcdnSuJbTlrUW5ox6Qg3uvzkUemVq/s1600/4x6magickingdom+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2a4kCnQU8KfyddIB7gs4Lb_GysSMvBen4Z5prcCYC5Rof1B5k4deHuuXM2Pb49LmurMR0n2QQlbQe3tDDIS91r95vldybZ_kjIfL41WFS04_ysOVcdnSuJbTlrUW5ox6Qg3uvzkUemVq/s320/4x6magickingdom+family.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-436642139529809772011-04-05T08:53:00.000-06:002011-04-05T08:53:53.279-06:00Disney World Day TwoOn the agenda for day two was Hollywood Studios. We headed out and caught the 8:30 am bus to the park and were excited because it actually WAS NOT RAINING. There were clouds in the sky, but no rain and thankfully it stayed that way for the entire day.<br />
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We started off our day getting fast passes for The Tower of Terror which said to come back about 9:45. So we headed over to the Rockin Roller Coaster. Kyle was about 1/4 inch too short to ride so I got a parent swap pass and Mike took the others on the ride. Kyle and I walked around and waited for a bit until they came off the ride. Ryan decided at the last minute he didn't want to ride it. He is not a big roller coaster fan, so we met him in the gift shop. Everyone loved the ride. Then it was my turn. It was AWESOME!!! I was able to take Kaylee, Tiff and Jake back through with me so they got to ride it a second time.<br />
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After that we all went over to Tower of Terror. We all rode it and it was really fun. Next we went to the Chronicles of Narnia Exhibit. It was interesting. We went for fast passes for the Toy Story Mania ride and even though it was only 11:00 am, our return time was for 8:00 pm. YIKES!!! The line was 90 minutes long so we just fast passed it. Next we rode the great movie ride. It was a fun one even though the kids only knew a couple of the movies in it. The next thing we did was the Back Lot Tour. It was fun to see how they do some of the effects when they make movies and also fun to see some of the real props used in some of the movies we have seen.<br />
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We took a break for lunch. Once again I had packed lunches for us. We headed to the lockers and sat outside to eat.<br />
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After lunch we went to watch the Indiana Jones Show. We are all big fans of those movies and it was a really good show. Following the show we spent a little bit of time letting the kids play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. It was cool. The grass was all really tall and so were the bugs and stuff, just like if the kids had been shrunk.<br />
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After this playtime, Mike took some of the kids back to the hotel for some pool and rest time. He took Kaylee, Jacob and Kyle. Kyle was really tired. Ryan and Tiffany wanted to stay and do more stuff so we stayed. While the others swam in the hotel pool, we went to the Sounds Dangerous show, the Lights Motors Action Stunt Show which was amazing!!!!, and the American Idol Experience. I so wish that Tiff were just one year older this trip so she could have tried out for the American Idol Experience (they have an age 14 minimum). She would have blown away the competition, at least in the show we saw. It was fun, but would have been more fun if Tiffany could have performed in it. Next we went to the Muppets 3D show, ate pizza at Pizza Planet for dinner, and walked around the One Man's Dream exhibit while we waited for Mike and the Kids to come back.<br />
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Finally it was 8:00 and we could ride Toy Story Mania. That is one of my favorites in the whole park. It is so fun to ride a ride that is comepletely interactive. We all wished we could ride it again, but with the line being 100 minutes long, there was no way we were going to wait in it.<br />
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Kaylee and Tiffany wanted to ride Tower of Terror again, so they went off to that ride and the rest of us waited in line to watch Fantasmic. Mike, Kyle and Jake didn't feel like sticking around for the show, so they left and went back to the hotel. The rest of us waited for the show and it was so worth it. It was really really good!! With the show over, we rushed out of the park to catch our bus back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel just after 11 pm. So our day was over 14 hours long. It ended up being a beautiful day, NO RAIN!! And we all had a really great time.<br />
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Here are some photos from day two.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_X3JIB35caSRiLxgUNR1pNcoZelWj6fDYSOXPRXlERJp0KnVajGE2fgBAcmcJfevxo_VUX6Bflit4z60YN3gT-m3WNut4zZwFP7HACbZQuFft6bkS1RRA9Uyog4RFIKe26myO-c6pH2f/s1600/IMG_5585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_X3JIB35caSRiLxgUNR1pNcoZelWj6fDYSOXPRXlERJp0KnVajGE2fgBAcmcJfevxo_VUX6Bflit4z60YN3gT-m3WNut4zZwFP7HACbZQuFft6bkS1RRA9Uyog4RFIKe26myO-c6pH2f/s320/IMG_5585.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-40935106773141773272011-04-04T19:11:00.000-06:002011-04-04T19:11:48.671-06:00Walt Disney World Day OneSince it would be a super long post to write about the whole trip in one post, I am going to just break it down day by day.<br />
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We had a great opportunity to take a super fun family vacation this year. We knew we had enough points to fly the whole family for free so we decided we would go to some place we have never been before. And yes I said we flew the whole family for <span style="font-size: large;">FREE.</span> That's one of the perks of Mike traveling every week for the last 3 years.<br />
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So on Sunday March 27th, we piled into the Suburban and headed to the airport. Everyone was sooooooo excited for a whole week of<span style="font-size: large;"> Disney World</span>. We boarded the plane and the kids did great for the 3.5 hour flight. We arrived in Orlando at 11 pm, retrieved our luggage, and met our taxi for the ride to the grocery store then on to the hotel. I did a marathon shopping trip as we were being charged by the minute for the stop and picked up enough food for breakfast and lunch every day as well as daily snacks. <br />
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We got a great deal to stay at the Downtown Disney Holiday Inn (another perk of Mike's travels). We had two rooms connecting, it was perfect. We settled the kids in to bed as quickly as possible so we could get a good night sleep to be ready for our first day in the parks. The nice thing about staying at the Downtown Disney Hotel is that we were part of the Disney transportation line. There were pick ups from our hotel every half hour all day long and rides back to the hotel every half hour too from every one of the parks. It was really a nice feature.<br />
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Our first day was Epcot.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">It rained </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">and it rained </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">and it rained.</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE THERE!!!</span> <br />
We were grateful for our ponchos and for so many indoor attractions. We rode all of the rides and saw a couple of shows but by about 7 pm we were so done with the rain we decided to head back to the hotel. Thus we missed the big night show and didn't spend much time at all in the world showcase. We would have loved to explore the country pavillions more, but we were all too wet and getting grumpy.<br />
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Here is what we did at Epcot:<br />
-We rode Test Track is was <span style="font-size: large;">awesome!!!!</span> I would have loved to do that one again, but it closed down after we rode it because of the rain.<br />
-Next was Mission Space which we rode twice. It was really fun too.<br />
-We rode Ellen's Energy Adventure. It was different, but the kids liked this one too.<br />
-Next was Spaceship Earth.<br />
-Then we headed back to the lockers and had lunch on the floor in the locker room. It was great because it was dry and out of the wind.<br />
-Next we headed to the Lands section of the park and rode Living With The Land.<br />
-Then we saw the Circle Of Life show<br />
-Then it was over to the Seas for Nemo and Friends and the aquarium<br />
-Next we saw Michael Jackson in Captain EO<br />
-Then we headed to Journey Into Imagination With Figment and Image Works<br />
-Next we walked very quickly through the World Showcase. We watched a film in France. Kyle slept through the whole thing.<br />
-We headed back over to the Land and rode Living with the Land again while we were waiting for our fastpass time to come up so we could ride Soarin'. Living With the Land was a pretty cool ride. It was fun to see some of the innovative ways they are growing things.<br />
-Finally it was time for us to ride Soarin'. One of my favorite rides. It was awesome. I wish we could have gone on it again.<br />
-We finished off the day with dinner at Seasons, then headed out to stand in the rain to wait for our bus.<br />
-Back at the hotel, Mike and the kids hit the hot tub, and then it was time for bed. I planned out our schedule for the next day and hit the pillow for a great night of sleep.<br />
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Despite the rain, we managed to have a great day!!!! I didn't get many pictures because of all the rain, but here are a couple from Monday.<br />
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</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-92030984905762922682011-03-15T22:06:00.000-06:002011-03-15T22:06:20.717-06:00My Trip to Las VegasA little over a week ago, I got a phone call from Mike. It was about 2:00 pm on Friday March 4th afternoon. He said "Do you want to go to Vegas this weekend for Hailey's blessing?" I was shocked but of course I said "YES!". Hailey is my baby brother Jeff's brand new baby girl. I hadn't had the chance to see her other than in pictures and was so excited to get to go for the blessing.<br />
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It made for a crazy busy night though. My flight was scheduled to leave at 8 am on Saturday morning and we had Ryan's birthday party with his friends scheduled for Friday night. So I rushed around and got all my responsibilities for church on Sunday covered, did some laundry, packed and took care of Ryan's party.<br />
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I got up bright and early, before the sun actually, and headed to the airport in Denver. I boarded the plane and was on my way. I hadn't even told Jeff and Erika I was coming. I had talked to Steve who started working on some plans for all of us to get together for Saturday night. (he did this carefully so as to not let Jeff know I would be there) and I talked to Kevin who offered to let me stay at his place and pick me up from the airport. I was so excited.<br />
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My plan was to just show up on Jeff's doorstep to surprise him, but since he lives all the way across town and I didn't want to show up and him not be there, I decided to let him know I was there. I texted him and asked what he was doing, he said not much and asked what I was doing. I said "not much" and in the next text said "just sitting and visiting with Kevin and Cassie and the boys". He said "You're in Vegas?" and I said "yes." He said it made him tearful to know I was there, and that made me so happy. I know he was happy and excited I was able to make the trip. It wasn't long before he and Erika and my sweet little niece were over there too. She is so beautiful and perfect and I hogged her as much as I could.<br />
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The next morning we all went to church. It was so nice to have all of my brothers and their wives as well as my dad and his wife there. It has been a long time since we were all in church together (except for all the funerals in the last few years). Jeff pronounced a beautiful blessing on Hailey and christened her HAILEY SHIRLENE PIERCE. They named her after mom. That's very fitting since she is the first baby girl born since mom's passing (not to mention the first baby girl with the last name Pierce in our family in over 25 years) Anyway, I know that mom was looking down on us that day, she was with us in spirit and was so proud of Jeff for being able to bless his baby girl, and she was probably beaming knowing that all her boys were in church. I am sure she would like to see them there more often.<br />
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After church a few of us went back to Jeff and Erika's house for some lunch. We had a great visit. It was a beautiful day. I took some time to take a few photos of Hailey in her blessing dress. Here they are.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> She is such a cutey and such a good baby. Jeff and Erika are so lucky. She has red hair and I can't help but wonder what color her eyes will be.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Well I visited with Steve and Bree, and Kevin and Cass and all the boys a bit more and then it was time to head back home. It was a really quick two day trip, over one day and back the next, but it was so worth it to see the smile on Jeff's face when he saw that I really was there.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Many thanks to my wonderful husband for making it possible, and to his work travel that made the trip virtually free.</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-17640446335769070782011-02-25T13:17:00.000-07:002011-02-25T13:17:22.209-07:00Cub Scout Advancements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">Last night was a big night for 2 of my boys. It was our pack meeting and both boys have been working very hard to make their rank advancements. First was Jacob. He earned his Wolf Badge as well as one gold arrowpoint and 4 silver arrowpoints. Here are some photos.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihla26tE2DfFFLNoVq0OMgXKbWihLZtIX1Fc5gZ9enWpsLUJ_ZhIWhSa7vrktKI1BWZsTLjlg49WzEAsiIF7TlWCsyc3QNYi14AfPqsoiG1kFVw_fopiNzuwteHoXrf4u8OwgGcbVC7Cq6/s320/IMG_5327.JPG" width="320" /></div><br />
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhB-gIcCnwx3mX_NnNdcMK7G3nyuNKWXm2Ph9z41amsdw653KT3VnW8ZkJXwlbvBOHN7_Gmh20YSbANPwDfi1-5ToQWP95AtM9OhdoQsdhIftgYNZw17C6YsPHm8KtI0f_FF3LvVN-xxO/s1600/IMG_5336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhB-gIcCnwx3mX_NnNdcMK7G3nyuNKWXm2Ph9z41amsdw653KT3VnW8ZkJXwlbvBOHN7_Gmh20YSbANPwDfi1-5ToQWP95AtM9OhdoQsdhIftgYNZw17C6YsPHm8KtI0f_FF3LvVN-xxO/s320/IMG_5336.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYihPEspUnsPADgfu124I3xiLyOccUU7-utzKmJkrwfYLxY0HHwErTq8kw6N3FRKM7uZj7_Ob-DgaxJH2K8Ols7OL15yoFpIhYd1plaZQZfrD-dO_vF9hM-nfE9Y4dDOi1zv5D-1J0crin/s1600/IMG_5338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYihPEspUnsPADgfu124I3xiLyOccUU7-utzKmJkrwfYLxY0HHwErTq8kw6N3FRKM7uZj7_Ob-DgaxJH2K8Ols7OL15yoFpIhYd1plaZQZfrD-dO_vF9hM-nfE9Y4dDOi1zv5D-1J0crin/s320/IMG_5338.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaCfi-o-xe3W-nJPkYAIXFGClABxY_AFHeSnEM-I_8F5esA-Dmz2h-kG5oxTyvo9K44PDHCPaq1QXpkQMNFm_PRNz-_bhki1pj41RIPlMiAytxtqUFl-xsh1kY0QtmEsBIJ1JHbzpWD0A/s1600/IMG_5382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaCfi-o-xe3W-nJPkYAIXFGClABxY_AFHeSnEM-I_8F5esA-Dmz2h-kG5oxTyvo9K44PDHCPaq1QXpkQMNFm_PRNz-_bhki1pj41RIPlMiAytxtqUFl-xsh1kY0QtmEsBIJ1JHbzpWD0A/s320/IMG_5382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Ryan has been working very hard. He earned 2 Webelos Badges, (Citizen, Showman, and Scientist), his Outdoor Activity Badge, his Compass Points Emblem and all of the Compass Point pins, his Webelos Badge, the Special 20 Award, his religious emblem (the square knot), and his Arrow of Light. I am so proud of him for working so hard and going the extra mile, doing more than was necessary to advance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOQ624NeOdYfLfjr9azDKN7x1-AjFGKQ_qDjNdSgkTQk0-Sd73fKRRRUJFXfECj0R1cQ8EwGDzg4YcWvjI1-Bi400GtgOTyDf0BzY_V-ziu2hPJAiXfrnMxhI6Jl1v2iIgiyv8VWfnIqo/s1600/IMG_5343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOQ624NeOdYfLfjr9azDKN7x1-AjFGKQ_qDjNdSgkTQk0-Sd73fKRRRUJFXfECj0R1cQ8EwGDzg4YcWvjI1-Bi400GtgOTyDf0BzY_V-ziu2hPJAiXfrnMxhI6Jl1v2iIgiyv8VWfnIqo/s320/IMG_5343.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOjuA1Z0_uWD76HZuO0dG6lCD18Q0WQ27jEh9M5n0QYCS00rfA2xkJnBEW2bFGvyUHcboab9H2jn9tafoyEKr0d4cS5XDBgOd6-b_htlRekiqI2kocP4a_WJg4ma3-sYqzSkjD2kmUKQV/s1600/IMG_5367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOjuA1Z0_uWD76HZuO0dG6lCD18Q0WQ27jEh9M5n0QYCS00rfA2xkJnBEW2bFGvyUHcboab9H2jn9tafoyEKr0d4cS5XDBgOd6-b_htlRekiqI2kocP4a_WJg4ma3-sYqzSkjD2kmUKQV/s320/IMG_5367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UYOtMfX8liqGBGBOAItXABezrmt2B8jjK5RcGjQuitlTlGh3jnLxrBnfD2dJkvIdyyR-75uzEbBLoGwvncTmZi92KXWUWqAqYLIL6auGm5ph5fLn23cOKTk4UHMaiYX7aAHmNzVDzP6r/s1600/IMG_5372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8UYOtMfX8liqGBGBOAItXABezrmt2B8jjK5RcGjQuitlTlGh3jnLxrBnfD2dJkvIdyyR-75uzEbBLoGwvncTmZi92KXWUWqAqYLIL6auGm5ph5fLn23cOKTk4UHMaiYX7aAHmNzVDzP6r/s320/IMG_5372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Way to go boys I am soooooo proud!!!!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-83897358454810297492011-02-23T07:57:00.000-07:002011-02-23T07:57:34.640-07:00My oldest boy is turning 11<div style="text-align: center;">It's so hard to believe that Ryan is 11 years old today. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that they laid this little boy on my chest. Here is what he looked like just minutes after being born.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsy0DyVWtiiYGSlmHg0_krBaqhV_OIeVil0SDsKFrQS17jUZ6HszZdOtAxoMT7txEmLh3_ZWcSR80Ou4RRFIjMkMErVrL0fXRfG8Es8CvivV7OixmW3A1P0RRMNrjC7EqsTKpwY4K3h4P/s1600/baby2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsy0DyVWtiiYGSlmHg0_krBaqhV_OIeVil0SDsKFrQS17jUZ6HszZdOtAxoMT7txEmLh3_ZWcSR80Ou4RRFIjMkMErVrL0fXRfG8Es8CvivV7OixmW3A1P0RRMNrjC7EqsTKpwY4K3h4P/s320/baby2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is another when he was just a few days old.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9h96gwMiPluOhH5e-rznZob4bHvkiDHDX9_2xtDIbukCrE5_-Qf2hvt5G11J1pjpOViU1M5WbbFj56c7tPgaXZgrAuTIsd650jmUt9cveSBPKHPmH94dW9xHIz8EXHADJLxf51rNMvzD/s1600/3_9_00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9h96gwMiPluOhH5e-rznZob4bHvkiDHDX9_2xtDIbukCrE5_-Qf2hvt5G11J1pjpOViU1M5WbbFj56c7tPgaXZgrAuTIsd650jmUt9cveSBPKHPmH94dW9xHIz8EXHADJLxf51rNMvzD/s320/3_9_00.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">He has grown and changed so much and I am very proud of the young man he is becoming.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The last few months he has been working very hard to finish his Webelos. He decided to not just finish with the minimum required to get his webelos rank, but to complete ALL 20 of the webelos badges. I am so happy to say that he accomplished his goal. Many thanks to his scout leaders that helped him along the way, but he has worked very hard. This Thursday at the Blue and Gold Banquet he will not only advance his rank, but he will earn all the compass points, his square knot (religious award), and his Arrow of Light. I am so proud of him. I will post some pics from that event later this week. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, here is a couple of pictures of my boy today on his birthday! I am so proud to call him my son! Happy Birthday Ryan!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh345zanP2JVqbaKVexHvB2ghGIWYEITEYrZWTFjVQ9RAyeQL-O1rS0BZNyXLgaHfJLd8CEoCGElW6S4uJcp7w3D2jhKz9u2RLtoWy1LYsru71U1uPa05Sq7wq3dEM5jUn7KoF37hoKRE32/s1600/IMG_5319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh345zanP2JVqbaKVexHvB2ghGIWYEITEYrZWTFjVQ9RAyeQL-O1rS0BZNyXLgaHfJLd8CEoCGElW6S4uJcp7w3D2jhKz9u2RLtoWy1LYsru71U1uPa05Sq7wq3dEM5jUn7KoF37hoKRE32/s320/IMG_5319.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQ5uaHzvCVOvXJ8_eaqLb64TfyZ5PB3trGM7lo5XOLq0RgQSV5hWYug0TzVsXW8Lnxw6QePoHug6UFnO_EFvGMOhZjCV6i6fRBXx4hsYGU6bVoDnaORErpgTALl7b1tyI76nn2XqUMuAR/s1600/IMG_5321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQ5uaHzvCVOvXJ8_eaqLb64TfyZ5PB3trGM7lo5XOLq0RgQSV5hWYug0TzVsXW8Lnxw6QePoHug6UFnO_EFvGMOhZjCV6i6fRBXx4hsYGU6bVoDnaORErpgTALl7b1tyI76nn2XqUMuAR/s320/IMG_5321.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>To see how RYan has changed through the years, go to my facebook profile <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=329800&id=104759525916&saved#!/profile.php?id=689624509">here</a> for a whole bunch of pictures of him from birth to present.</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-70586124387641336522011-02-06T12:07:00.000-07:002011-02-06T12:07:15.899-07:00Ryan's Wrestling Tournament<div style="text-align: center;">Last Weekend Ryan participated in his first wrestling tournament. We are still trying to figure out if wrestling is something he is really interested in so I was glad it was a tournament that I didn't have to get him all the gear to participate in.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I am not sure if he really knew what to expect as he went in to his first match. He was pinned rather quickly. His second match however, he fought pretty hard and he pinned his opponent. He knew going in to his 3 match that it was going to be a tough one. (he was going against the guy who hadn't lost yet that day). He went in with a good attitude and fought hard. He held on through almost all 3 periods. His opponent was ahead by points, but Ryan was fighting hard to avoid the pin. He was getting very tired and was finally pinned just before the end of the 3 period. He ended up getting a third place metal for thte tournament and We were very proud of him for trying his best. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I think he could have beat the first guy if he had one of his coaches with him, (but they were all occupied with other kids when it was Ryan's turn) and if he would have known a bit more what to expect. I think he will do well in the future if he decides to continue with wrestling. As for this tournament, it was all about getting some experience and deciding if he likes it enough to stick with it. If he wrestles next year we will get him proper gear.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here are a couple of photos of him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSdp3EO9mq81x4qQJalNe3aSqlGN4xr7LHMCYzYIxxbB4t1g7QzV8dSLJP6vzQxazIkenybchX01xLD-sCFmvWygx2XI3eTVWW4iRR9d4NbxRpsu5J1MgpcYOwbXRP1rBkLfXq2i4u9Ij/s1600/IMG_5309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSdp3EO9mq81x4qQJalNe3aSqlGN4xr7LHMCYzYIxxbB4t1g7QzV8dSLJP6vzQxazIkenybchX01xLD-sCFmvWygx2XI3eTVWW4iRR9d4NbxRpsu5J1MgpcYOwbXRP1rBkLfXq2i4u9Ij/s320/IMG_5309.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSHVlo0O4hXBSP49HZTRL4h1c47yuW1mkSBbI2x60g9dyX7vVxNOJVbhDIaVu7GHl6cyoGHVit6HCWso432D8AoAhcOePpH-LBd3IMx2fcZPqmsBFKKyf5-jyRRx29qLqwDR3r_hsy3sz/s1600/IMG_5280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSHVlo0O4hXBSP49HZTRL4h1c47yuW1mkSBbI2x60g9dyX7vVxNOJVbhDIaVu7GHl6cyoGHVit6HCWso432D8AoAhcOePpH-LBd3IMx2fcZPqmsBFKKyf5-jyRRx29qLqwDR3r_hsy3sz/s320/IMG_5280.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SqMpJ5OH9vrTfJG-qM8NWjeuwGSwneN32iPGA42WMfdNqRY1DDh_ovIaOuq-bfQtdf65yC8_ZxwQAiuLr1dA_NrTvrOlWXdlLjsCghoFxsQ2_XEkAS439Vph9MkDp9-jnZ1tzaeo7n96/s1600/IMG_5302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SqMpJ5OH9vrTfJG-qM8NWjeuwGSwneN32iPGA42WMfdNqRY1DDh_ovIaOuq-bfQtdf65yC8_ZxwQAiuLr1dA_NrTvrOlWXdlLjsCghoFxsQ2_XEkAS439Vph9MkDp9-jnZ1tzaeo7n96/s320/IMG_5302.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvqNPIenQIrzUYGETGubr-FDUNj7GiWQ0Id0ZNRPJeTcOq1jQpg3sJ3QyBX0rBBzSMZt6NlXjO3Zoctrri7XD10f8IvMGDBlEyd-0ILyN340Giq2V5NTa6GI3UUC93rOG80xrK5LwNUGw/s1600/IMG_5307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvqNPIenQIrzUYGETGubr-FDUNj7GiWQ0Id0ZNRPJeTcOq1jQpg3sJ3QyBX0rBBzSMZt6NlXjO3Zoctrri7XD10f8IvMGDBlEyd-0ILyN340Giq2V5NTa6GI3UUC93rOG80xrK5LwNUGw/s320/IMG_5307.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-6156553017679070922011-01-24T14:10:00.000-07:002011-01-24T14:10:31.006-07:00Go COUGARS!!!!!!!<div style="text-align: center;">So in our family we are <span style="font-size: large;">HUGE BYU COUGARS fans</span>. Perhaps because Mike and I both attended BYU and have a tremendous love for the school itself. Perhaps because all of our children have expressed an interest to attend there. Perhaps because of what the school stands for. Perhaps it is because they do have good sports teams. Whatever the reason we LOVE BYU. I especially love BYU basketball!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We knew we would be attending the BYU vs. CSU game as soon as we saw the schedule. We managed to buy our tickets just in time as it was a <span style="font-size: large;">sold out croud for the first time since 2005</span>. That's amazing since the stadium only holds a little over 8000 fans. That seems so small when compared to the 23000 the Marriott Center holds and sells out regularly.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This has been a great year for BYU basketball. <span style="font-size: large;">Jimmer Fredette</span> is the <span style="font-size: large;">leading scoreer</span> in the NCAA and he is backed up by an outstanding team of starters and bench players. The team is ranked <span style="font-size: large;">#9 in the NCAA and #2 in the Mountain West Conference</span>. (only outdone in the MWC by SDSU ranked #6 and undefeated) BYU lost one game this season to UCLA which was a bummer, but we are hoping they can hold the losses to that one. A win over SDSU this next week would be awesome, but is going to be tough.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Anyway this past Saturday we took the whole family up to Ft. Collins to watch our amazing Cougars play against the Rams. Sorry Rams the Cougars will always have my heart. Kyle was so cute before the game, he was so excited for it to start he was practically shaking! He kept saying "when is it going to start, I can't wait!" Of course Mike and I were also quite anxious. We knew it would be a good game with two fairly evenly matched teams and we were a little nervous about how it would go. It was a great game. The Rams played them well, but the Cougars were on top the whole game. <span style="font-size: large;">Jimmer had an amazing 42 points</span>. Other players had great games too and it was so much fun to watch this team play LIVE!!! They <span style="font-size: large;">won 94-85</span> keeping alive a 9 game winning streak! I have to admit there for a little bit in the second half I was a little nervous about whether they would hold on to their lead. Thank goodness they did!!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmmF2Sp4VAh5r8yi911T1pXy65sRwPk-91YByt1ARO7Luvit95AGOMAolhmdvKF1lHBq8ocfXqoAoC6qnae8oKhbaWOUji6jhO2rchfxkX6tYgsODDouh2-VG_fIIfn3V4Ut59aFn5T0W/s1600/IMG_2766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmmF2Sp4VAh5r8yi911T1pXy65sRwPk-91YByt1ARO7Luvit95AGOMAolhmdvKF1lHBq8ocfXqoAoC6qnae8oKhbaWOUji6jhO2rchfxkX6tYgsODDouh2-VG_fIIfn3V4Ut59aFn5T0W/s320/IMG_2766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI3vDKzXZ5QMklkJ-LsQVXfhxY-RwPFZudlxjUcOCLaTwLMMb0XTpVYCFw6olMjqjxDR8FNkbX5Bgn5Ws0OsLvjhkCnyYxXGMu-bc6iYOubFpAy2yaFFApGzss9z7bYIrao9tqXcUubaa/s1600/IMG_2767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI3vDKzXZ5QMklkJ-LsQVXfhxY-RwPFZudlxjUcOCLaTwLMMb0XTpVYCFw6olMjqjxDR8FNkbX5Bgn5Ws0OsLvjhkCnyYxXGMu-bc6iYOubFpAy2yaFFApGzss9z7bYIrao9tqXcUubaa/s320/IMG_2767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBqphtE91KulRrIP6168V94diftgTfhJm15ck1vi_0wk3Figijb6r_5sKxl521NW00Ka2ZWIUKZPNUwQVVdl64XpjeZSh-FPdTDd-AHsED41MAiYYB5yX4_hXkgGyjp6esoaFOMC7mJlj/s1600/IMG_2770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBqphtE91KulRrIP6168V94diftgTfhJm15ck1vi_0wk3Figijb6r_5sKxl521NW00Ka2ZWIUKZPNUwQVVdl64XpjeZSh-FPdTDd-AHsED41MAiYYB5yX4_hXkgGyjp6esoaFOMC7mJlj/s320/IMG_2770.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAeFkKjhqNvXH4CiinRfNzI5K3JSG8I2otwmowdFHm3J0Jf70uDz0Z-RgHJ5W37Ph37KTMJXRY0Bppkcmznje-heu-sR-m4HTdydhLl6pwXZXx2BpJeZnEQrx3F9QFFKU6aO7EbdgW8Mr/s1600/IMG_2771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrAeFkKjhqNvXH4CiinRfNzI5K3JSG8I2otwmowdFHm3J0Jf70uDz0Z-RgHJ5W37Ph37KTMJXRY0Bppkcmznje-heu-sR-m4HTdydhLl6pwXZXx2BpJeZnEQrx3F9QFFKU6aO7EbdgW8Mr/s320/IMG_2771.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ozIWpbEZnB76r8CCJiibYL2iX5WkIm82JbxzAht7DJbZhNB3Hrhd4aQUwvjWASeEdUyXccuckJUu36NZak7JPCIhVAeWgCxu5s-QE4NmDxNlc7P5JHLSvURyH5O5W0wLlBHpJTb-CSHI/s1600/IMG_2768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ozIWpbEZnB76r8CCJiibYL2iX5WkIm82JbxzAht7DJbZhNB3Hrhd4aQUwvjWASeEdUyXccuckJUu36NZak7JPCIhVAeWgCxu5s-QE4NmDxNlc7P5JHLSvURyH5O5W0wLlBHpJTb-CSHI/s320/IMG_2768.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WOJUOLfkDhWDY-0IAzKgPPox5E1x_vBt8_5pgs5QyQntYyto4EAa61JcxIFTkoB8pfGpOBs3TLappc2U1mM5lDyPYSEvHxNhbdOBcQ9bY_ye8nf4Cvx5OP_sK3oTghmXy8hbuTfdagd5/s1600/IMG_2772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WOJUOLfkDhWDY-0IAzKgPPox5E1x_vBt8_5pgs5QyQntYyto4EAa61JcxIFTkoB8pfGpOBs3TLappc2U1mM5lDyPYSEvHxNhbdOBcQ9bY_ye8nf4Cvx5OP_sK3oTghmXy8hbuTfdagd5/s320/IMG_2772.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Afterwards we wated around to see if we could meet some of the players. Freshman, Kyle Collinsworth came back into the stadium to do an interview. I overheard them talking to him about the mission he is planning after this season for the church. It is so great to see these players that are willing to sacrifice those 2 years of playing sports to go on missions for the church. I think that in many cases they are blessed for that sacrifice once they return. The girls had their picture taken with Kyle and the boys all got his autograph.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxZOdq3e6WWy8RDl7DH1auXr14IzRvbvMt7zIaMLiufxEg50GQLDQvC8bumjG6ab8ih7upCh7-0AHtCuBozU_4SSwpOHY6AU7ReBJcxPxbSu_mC25sQaftOPwuDhw0JHiQGVYHPo_6QVu/s1600/IMG_2773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxZOdq3e6WWy8RDl7DH1auXr14IzRvbvMt7zIaMLiufxEg50GQLDQvC8bumjG6ab8ih7upCh7-0AHtCuBozU_4SSwpOHY6AU7ReBJcxPxbSu_mC25sQaftOPwuDhw0JHiQGVYHPo_6QVu/s320/IMG_2773.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfi3GIZ__nB6Erpkcl0q2An6Z_ATWvzDuSbwT1fS24aXj_RLXx7XOPsrHHfdgv-_PlPzOU3jLK2lU3UZ3_OVMGVxpcAefVMuYe5qhEup81TOCp0wAkweSafJqExCjuVvg9lpUk2YS92sl/s1600/IMG_2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfi3GIZ__nB6Erpkcl0q2An6Z_ATWvzDuSbwT1fS24aXj_RLXx7XOPsrHHfdgv-_PlPzOU3jLK2lU3UZ3_OVMGVxpcAefVMuYe5qhEup81TOCp0wAkweSafJqExCjuVvg9lpUk2YS92sl/s320/IMG_2776.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We waited even longer, then the coach came in and said the players were heading to the bus, so we headed outside to wait in the cold. The wait paid off as we were able to meet several of the players.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKlIQQ7mkXe5oUA81aLyJbkztVzJowWbUYnRswsaiPmmvsmkzQFukEPKdxEA3xxYcF1VpMks5pjbeZvQ1EtZvUR2HMeHjKBVHnvtFqCg-vWrRvGcUpSjdozUCOY-9Mm17PZcFgJzEfDSB/s1600/IMG_2778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKlIQQ7mkXe5oUA81aLyJbkztVzJowWbUYnRswsaiPmmvsmkzQFukEPKdxEA3xxYcF1VpMks5pjbeZvQ1EtZvUR2HMeHjKBVHnvtFqCg-vWrRvGcUpSjdozUCOY-9Mm17PZcFgJzEfDSB/s320/IMG_2778.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson Emery just broke the BYU record set by Danny Ainge in the 80's for steals. He is an awesome defender and his 3 point shots are usually dead on!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAICxDXT6v5-mmUIuRkUIvAV7jf4prAmzf3O7_suzSR9qeU7z2X-rbWheZLhq1qCWg3msbqcdRmMoKy-QZf6U4TMXyHhJtTP3orsfqJhOA0X_gyUhZ1kEVQf5plOcpPweodC7gEsW7CIjW/s1600/IMG_2779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAICxDXT6v5-mmUIuRkUIvAV7jf4prAmzf3O7_suzSR9qeU7z2X-rbWheZLhq1qCWg3msbqcdRmMoKy-QZf6U4TMXyHhJtTP3orsfqJhOA0X_gyUhZ1kEVQf5plOcpPweodC7gEsW7CIjW/s320/IMG_2779.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXUNrAmKKH13OkMTTCjSWsNW6kf1_dcuSBZjH93WfC1oO6uLH42wA4pYGpk2RVhRLTL5bjbkZOvm-7SOM_b5v8LNre6vQcX6ZA2cAEpaz8h3qPQ0NTzs2A2dWZWWzJjLkTFrzAHZL0KI3/s1600/IMG_2780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCXUNrAmKKH13OkMTTCjSWsNW6kf1_dcuSBZjH93WfC1oO6uLH42wA4pYGpk2RVhRLTL5bjbkZOvm-7SOM_b5v8LNre6vQcX6ZA2cAEpaz8h3qPQ0NTzs2A2dWZWWzJjLkTFrzAHZL0KI3/s320/IMG_2780.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Charles Abouo comes off the bench and plays a great game. </td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-SfVXuRlmO7LaU4PX8n2dilrQogHNEAepcnML8dSX3BPMNhsaK-GnrMFD1vsIILhHgyjljakLBvwxzsr_-ggDsUuhwZ2pY1d52mJZSFK0Yf2ilO_D6IaklUHDocwR993vlObRSmdoZ7q/s1600/IMG_2785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-SfVXuRlmO7LaU4PX8n2dilrQogHNEAepcnML8dSX3BPMNhsaK-GnrMFD1vsIILhHgyjljakLBvwxzsr_-ggDsUuhwZ2pY1d52mJZSFK0Yf2ilO_D6IaklUHDocwR993vlObRSmdoZ7q/s320/IMG_2785.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmer signing Jacob's shirt</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq_Q_BbUG6EhnhToz6h_SoYcQU_gaTTuUjIHtGGOF7J3Vq5TnqLsMjWdGP9sm2FrtFvMkDJiMwapidMcvL5b-3JCh_rDRnmIOX0BmenRuBLrmVBLEhGFya7D1avr_AkznwU1r0XzTi-9W/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq_Q_BbUG6EhnhToz6h_SoYcQU_gaTTuUjIHtGGOF7J3Vq5TnqLsMjWdGP9sm2FrtFvMkDJiMwapidMcvL5b-3JCh_rDRnmIOX0BmenRuBLrmVBLEhGFya7D1avr_AkznwU1r0XzTi-9W/s320/IMG_2786.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmer signing Kyle's shirt<br />
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbPCnCCOE0zfQKn0TEvr8apqxzoOTDp4gOqHdDQXdjlg7I8ZUEysvRse3Y32OR4TuXyJ1iX5KPLJta-WQbe73DU87nX6u06x-mGpJGr3yiHpjzslVfTv450mD4ny2_ARCUpIQvZX8kzm4/s1600/IMG_2784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbPCnCCOE0zfQKn0TEvr8apqxzoOTDp4gOqHdDQXdjlg7I8ZUEysvRse3Y32OR4TuXyJ1iX5KPLJta-WQbe73DU87nX6u06x-mGpJGr3yiHpjzslVfTv450mD4ny2_ARCUpIQvZX8kzm4/s320/IMG_2784.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmer signing Ryan's shirt</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXECu1Jyfbqsk2upZLhgy8oMDjH_ZS1LWKykISvjly4X02HNl9FZF5o45K2pGQig6cYztFcy7VahAvf7OHDQF5RMx9bG8RV0hL36QmLPcNC5U7IHc_90aqqPTaLFl1UELqGX5IOm7o7K-/s1600/IMG_2783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGXECu1Jyfbqsk2upZLhgy8oMDjH_ZS1LWKykISvjly4X02HNl9FZF5o45K2pGQig6cYztFcy7VahAvf7OHDQF5RMx9bG8RV0hL36QmLPcNC5U7IHc_90aqqPTaLFl1UELqGX5IOm7o7K-/s320/IMG_2783.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimmer with our whole family. It was so cool to be able to meet him.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26a9Jc0VKhyphenhyphenqegjkfSDPwIABWOV-4P6KdqGx7K7T540wnBTT31DJU_xhjAVynJK8E143HYJ9whhMuUSoJ43_AOblVPwdiXEy4qccWeEU_EULNn08b5sQoyWINwUxOSt3ryTUBgP54WdO_/s1600/IMG_2782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26a9Jc0VKhyphenhyphenqegjkfSDPwIABWOV-4P6KdqGx7K7T540wnBTT31DJU_xhjAVynJK8E143HYJ9whhMuUSoJ43_AOblVPwdiXEy4qccWeEU_EULNn08b5sQoyWINwUxOSt3ryTUBgP54WdO_/s320/IMG_2782.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids and I with Brandon Davies. Look at that smile!! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAM6ql7sZWKYynPuj8_aH4t_zkzXBPSb0C3fOQFVY8SCXHlVyx1mJ0tVt4uTQUByGElQIqlpTWFfWFoXyNL4VeqhDaD6dF5Hi9L8uu_h7iMMtXErfJn0UfvSHdijBl2aTjubTHV3PwUcIL/s1600/kay+kens+jimmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAM6ql7sZWKYynPuj8_aH4t_zkzXBPSb0C3fOQFVY8SCXHlVyx1mJ0tVt4uTQUByGElQIqlpTWFfWFoXyNL4VeqhDaD6dF5Hi9L8uu_h7iMMtXErfJn0UfvSHdijBl2aTjubTHV3PwUcIL/s320/kay+kens+jimmer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Kaylee and KEnsie were able to snag Jimmer right after he finished his media interview before leaving the court. Look how kaylee is snuggling into him. She says she is in love!! hah hah :)<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: large;">What a great night. I hope the kids will remember this one forever!!!!</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-30073515219240358992011-01-24T13:04:00.000-07:002011-01-24T13:04:57.436-07:00January update...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">It's been a couple of weeks, so I thought I would spend a few minutes and update the blog. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Early this month I took the kids in for their 6 month dental check-ups and cleanings. I am always scared as we head int to theses appointments because it seems that our boys have really bad teeth. As much we try to make sure they brush twice a day, we have over time between Ryan and Jacob had to do several crowns, a few extractions, and lots of fillings. This time however was a really good trip: only one small cavity for Jacob. Hooray!!! When you figure how many teeth that is between all five of the kids, having only one small cavity is a huge sucess.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhYJ12uqB9plbNuItNlKtGfCLOfv5-ARufBr2f3CFDONn-ANmf7F450JbmKKAaSOHfXbEI8oQHLtrVFbnzfYc36Ys3LFltVY_in1rG88cZCyf2m4qo0Elw5HvgrHUp4d_xMN4sFSIlWmt/s1600/164044_10150134969672009_767447008_7986933_1308104_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhYJ12uqB9plbNuItNlKtGfCLOfv5-ARufBr2f3CFDONn-ANmf7F450JbmKKAaSOHfXbEI8oQHLtrVFbnzfYc36Ys3LFltVY_in1rG88cZCyf2m4qo0Elw5HvgrHUp4d_xMN4sFSIlWmt/s320/164044_10150134969672009_767447008_7986933_1308104_n.jpg" width="240" /></a> Also the beginning of the month I got a <span style="font-size: large;">new neice</span>. Finally a baby girl born to one of my brothers. This is actually the first baby girl born in our family who will have the name Pierce in like 25 years. Including with Uncle Keith's family. I really didn't think it was going to ever happen. Cousin John and Lindsey have 4 boys, Kevin has 4 boys, Steve has 1 boy, I really thought there was a curse or something on the boys of our family. Somehow, Jeff broke it though, and maybe others will benefit later on and get girls too. Anyway, <span style="font-size: large;">Hailey Shirlene Pierce</span> (middle name of course after our mom) was born on January 3rd at 12:16 pm. She wighed 7 pounds 15 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">She is sooooooo <span style="font-size: large;">BEAUTIFUL</span>!!!! Congrats again to Jeff and Erika!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15ha-I2JucDfCIsnQ23RSZ2WBIycnPZCn5U_wYEYH5u1guoxdjwiY4J8TTQotT0coyKSWE-B86Zrc_08eeMidNbNlDJFRVeQds2Pj-6DOzAS6QNAdF1zh4rpNlT5NV0BTZrud5mbc43E3/s1600/jake+party+invite+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15ha-I2JucDfCIsnQ23RSZ2WBIycnPZCn5U_wYEYH5u1guoxdjwiY4J8TTQotT0coyKSWE-B86Zrc_08eeMidNbNlDJFRVeQds2Pj-6DOzAS6QNAdF1zh4rpNlT5NV0BTZrud5mbc43E3/s200/jake+party+invite+copy.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">On the 11th, we finally had <span style="font-size: large;">Jacob's birthday party</span> that had to be resceduled when we got stranded in the snow storm in Utah after the funeral. He was so excited to have so many of his friends come over to our house for a movie on the big screen in the basement. They watched Despicable Me which is a really cute animated film. I had made some really cute invites for the party (shown on left). I also bought them all movie theatre sized candy and some popcorn that I put in popcorn bags and each of them got a water bottle. It was a huge success. We also had pizza and cupcakes. The kids had a blast and Jacob really enjoyed the day.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The kids, and Mike had a day off on the 17th for Martin Luther King Junior day. It was so nice to have Mike home again for a holiday. He and I started the day by going to<span style="font-size: large;"> Home Depot</span> (one of my favorite places) and buying wood to do a bit more framing in the basement. We came home and framed the doorway into the storage room at the bottom of the stairs and completed the wall under the stairs. Now all the framing for the <span style="font-size: large;">Theatre Room</span> except the exterior wall is done. Hopefully soon we will be able to do that exterior wall, get the electrical wired and finish off that room. That would be so awesome.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After the work was done, we took the kids out to lunch and then we went <span style="font-size: large;">bowling</span>. It was so much fun. I wish I would have thought to take photos of the kids bowling. I seem to forget that a lot these days. I did catch a couple photos of our scores though. Mike ended the second game with 5 strikes in a row. unfortunately, I didn't get that score photographed before they turned off our monitors. We all had a great time, we will have to do that again soon. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp6tANDEaPaoD7ZhONLc1wmBvIGiz-0JydRn-Vm36Z25DqOsgkK-j_fDGmgVXIKqJ4rtfkUf8erBe3gT95Ou_6uESUBZk1GuRiCTKO9uMPslfPchxKLqTmZ8_16RivqbXYK0jqQEjdzRR/s1600/IMG_0540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVp6tANDEaPaoD7ZhONLc1wmBvIGiz-0JydRn-Vm36Z25DqOsgkK-j_fDGmgVXIKqJ4rtfkUf8erBe3gT95Ou_6uESUBZk1GuRiCTKO9uMPslfPchxKLqTmZ8_16RivqbXYK0jqQEjdzRR/s320/IMG_0540.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqflvlIA_ISFg3ncAsIB9ulv08VTzHMBQsw8K3dA-yZViw1i5pY7uTxNLDxGGUUSxxMf4nZVU9OPnmfo86hmufdNsshT-VRgD6cu3JmCGqdgDKxrwYGEadI4y43RwQ6Dv-gOCaAvHaB7J4/s1600/IMG_0541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqflvlIA_ISFg3ncAsIB9ulv08VTzHMBQsw8K3dA-yZViw1i5pY7uTxNLDxGGUUSxxMf4nZVU9OPnmfo86hmufdNsshT-VRgD6cu3JmCGqdgDKxrwYGEadI4y43RwQ6Dv-gOCaAvHaB7J4/s320/IMG_0541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsaEknfGYar9Gm_wavBz1zOcbJ6a7t0Oab11Bik710GiY_XVhEGxB5fGYtISSLDOKSxJCzzcTeo1r6iAqwKqa1d2kWGQBa4sSLei8UYm2re8FmC1RmtY8eH6IMNllqkba0oEkQBVZTr8p/s1600/IMG_0539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsaEknfGYar9Gm_wavBz1zOcbJ6a7t0Oab11Bik710GiY_XVhEGxB5fGYtISSLDOKSxJCzzcTeo1r6iAqwKqa1d2kWGQBa4sSLei8UYm2re8FmC1RmtY8eH6IMNllqkba0oEkQBVZTr8p/s320/IMG_0539.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> This past week, Ryan broke one of his fillings. I don't knowh ow, probably grinding his teeth at night, but it was a good size piece that came out leaving a gaping whole in his tooth. I took him back to the dentist and they elected to just extract it. Apparently it wouldn't have been there too much longer anyway. I was frustrated to be back at the dentist already after having such a good visit just a week and a half earlier, but what could we do. They pulled his tooth and he is fine.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Kyle decided this month that he is going to exercise every day. He made a list of the things he was going to do and has done it nearly every day since. Here is his list and a couple of pics of him doing his "backward Sit-ups" as he calls them. All I can say is this kids has a very strong back!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqQFEOhOEY4FvBxEDASr6wB_f91msmgktULVceq8CSIOUQbyQ3mlAV8T-H1opmEYZMPg3TRD2YUo2gbzScnWJOi0eyUxi-MTbzBJtkDdo_dPgF3XqL-dEQ3V4KLa9vSTkkI5_0FYgH_Ko/s1600/kyles+exercises.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqQFEOhOEY4FvBxEDASr6wB_f91msmgktULVceq8CSIOUQbyQ3mlAV8T-H1opmEYZMPg3TRD2YUo2gbzScnWJOi0eyUxi-MTbzBJtkDdo_dPgF3XqL-dEQ3V4KLa9vSTkkI5_0FYgH_Ko/s320/kyles+exercises.bmp" width="232" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNEcYJk9L_jr1A_Ux7jZXxn6fB9E7r3Qwsm7AHVEIo_eMj3uXgRl8SjEoLxpafNcI-coTs3wNkiY9aYaS9Lr4m8lhgJq90TdsI9fwZCKIr4OGVHhtFgWC1yUrmZKhNxscfx_52GPVwfPM/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNEcYJk9L_jr1A_Ux7jZXxn6fB9E7r3Qwsm7AHVEIo_eMj3uXgRl8SjEoLxpafNcI-coTs3wNkiY9aYaS9Lr4m8lhgJq90TdsI9fwZCKIr4OGVHhtFgWC1yUrmZKhNxscfx_52GPVwfPM/s320/IMG_0505.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiZ3JmMTtDh8J9KLqxPA7tC6OTs9MT9NU6ICOlbj3N2nVII0M1Q8tBrwOYBx7BRv2XAc2K1FTP7-BSBcpIJUrnZqMX9yC7PMYxA_DDzOgG7V0KYkk2jMntngnXDvEYMhY8c93cUwJpakh/s1600/IMG_0506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiZ3JmMTtDh8J9KLqxPA7tC6OTs9MT9NU6ICOlbj3N2nVII0M1Q8tBrwOYBx7BRv2XAc2K1FTP7-BSBcpIJUrnZqMX9yC7PMYxA_DDzOgG7V0KYkk2jMntngnXDvEYMhY8c93cUwJpakh/s320/IMG_0506.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">The other evening as I went to get Tiffany from school, I was backing out of the driveway and this is what I saw. I had to stop and take a picture to send to my dad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkBAi4I2VvqM8_Q_wmGWOsk1Rq8n3T4GXKySMf3rJrgQQ-Xbj-BVT04tWdxyMKjv4iI98WwLXXDsQJs9wKEzzVLkeZeCttdfWEaqgmkMWbdvWe1Dpv8I_jZkeHtz8HSchZ4XPO22Blojw/s1600/IMG_0542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkBAi4I2VvqM8_Q_wmGWOsk1Rq8n3T4GXKySMf3rJrgQQ-Xbj-BVT04tWdxyMKjv4iI98WwLXXDsQJs9wKEzzVLkeZeCttdfWEaqgmkMWbdvWe1Dpv8I_jZkeHtz8HSchZ4XPO22Blojw/s400/IMG_0542.JPG" width="297" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have to tell you how many fond memories are associated with a scene like this. Not only is it a beautiful site and evidence in my mind that there is a God and creator of this world, (for how else can something so beautiful come to be), but it brings back many memories of my father from my childhood. You see if ever you asked my dad what his favorite color was, he always responded "sky blue orange." To me that will always be a real color because my dad made it so. When he saw a beautiful sunset, or even a sunrise, he would point it out to us and say, "look kids, sky blue orange". I think of that everytime I blessed to see such a beautiful sight as the one above. Thank you dad!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">So, things are going well. We are all fairly healthy (though Kaylee and TIffany each missed a day of school recently for various reasons). It has been a much healthier year for us this year than last year was. (knock on wood) I sure hope it stays that way.</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-90788103048684786342011-01-02T19:15:00.002-07:002011-01-02T20:02:40.153-07:00New Year, New MeSo here it is, a new year. Many of us start the new year off with New Year's resolutions. So I have been thinking aout what things I want to do differently this next year and I sit down here and now to put those things on paper (or screen) and to make a record of what I plan to work on this year. (in no particular order)<br /><br />1) Family History. I need to be a better and more frequent blogger. This is my family history and I need to do my best to keep it up to date and current. I was really bad last year about blogging. I feel terrible about all that I have missed blogging about. It is my hope that I can somehow catch up. In addition I want to get up to date on family scrapbooks. I am up to about 2007 right now, but really would like to get all the books up to date so all I have to work on in the future is the current year.<br /><br />2) Excercise. What list of resolutions could ever be complete without this one. I want to get back into a regular exercise routine. I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds while I am at it, but the primary purpose I will be pursuing is fitness and health. I will set up a schedule for daily exercise and stick to it.<br /><br />3) Family Home Evening and Family Scripture Study. I want to be better about maintaining consistency with both of these important family activities. We will incorporate a regular time for family scripture study to make it easier to remember to do it every day. We will also include Mike when he is out of town via phone call or web cam in both.<br /><br />4) Personal devotions and church calling. I need to be better about my own prayers, scripture study and spending better time on my calling. I will set aside time every Sunday to work on my calling and send out the Relief Society recaps. I will begin and end each day with prayer and remember personal scripture study as well. I also will look for more opportunities to serve others in and out of the church. In addition, I will make a greater effort to go to the Temple more often.<br /><br />5) Home organization. I need to set up a regular schedule for my own household responsibilites to aid in organizing the home and keeping it clean on a daily basis. I will divide household chores so that I do a portion of the cleaning each day of the week and make sure that I do all I need to. I will work on dejunking the basement and anything else that needs dejunking.<br /><br />6) Chidren. I will work more with the children on their own personal chores and keeping their rooms clean. I will do better with follow up and making sure that they actually do what they are supposed to do before they are allowed to do the fun things they want to do. I will also work with them on better behavior and manners as well as being accountable for their actions. This will involve a family meeting to establish a new set of house rules and the consequences for breaking the rules to be agreed on by all members of the family.<br /><br />7) Household Budget. Ugh I hate this, but it is very necessary. I need to do better about maintaining and following the household budget. I will set up the budget and keep it up to date by accounting for spending and working within the set budgets. As well as finding ways to cut the budget so that we can save more money and pay off the few loans we have.<br /><br />8) Family Meals. I will get back into the habbit of preparing evening meals on a daily basis. I have been lazy this past year, doing quick, easy, (frozen and pre-packaged) meals for the kids when Mike has been away. But I know the importance of good home cooking and pledge to do more of it this year for the health of my family. This may include getting back on my Once a Month Cooking plan. I will also work on providing healthy snacks for the children and encouraging good eating habbits for them as well as for Mike and I.<br /><br />9) I will continue to explore my creative side by hosting classes and workshops, creating new T-shirt designs for my cafe press shop, working on new scrapbook kits and designs, designing for Cherry Lime Boutique, and whatever else I can come up with this year. <br /><br />Wow, that seems like a lot to do, but I know that if I set my mind to it, many of these goals can be accomplished very easily. I just have to set my priorities and schedule my time accordingly . <br /><br />I am looking forward to a great new year and hope that by setting down these goals for myself, I can work towards bettering myself and my family in each category in some way. Now off I go towards a new year and a new me. May 2011 be the best year yet!!!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-57204015136420647992010-12-29T22:02:00.002-07:002010-12-31T23:24:21.968-07:00Another grandpa's funeral<div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF4eNfjhJTMlrPgOSA3yqAuw5Rrwtn3xsBfbtXgpqZefXsX-S1XyZo8m53O8k2X26h7s9tfA2xSrNOLnd3fsLYc5ZNQo9bn0rxpxlkyZlMGKbEx03luix9SlGC1a6-JSqwxb9ZdXg4_D3/s1600/163484_487165414509_689624509_5725269_3663185_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxP6WRHcXM7aDbN7TyBRQ9nmVMbYyNYfSIFnf3_dmQKTdfMxWs_9JMjuBjeUNcRuK4eVMSeOv4FF1gREvjiwOPrR3F9fVOPi9EiqTwYYWlhYzV1qnQl9t1rRsuhPK6G5ymKqpLwkQ4MXD/s1600/163855_10150366224220392_878615391_16620915_7346979_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a> </div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none"><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5bYnIQZlxZsBdCsnkydY6Uo8RHRL-MJXpMboM9Om3BXyWf0MYI-GBMK7Rp9_CJDVLfTFrQDnQkgnPiOxRcHYt2jhF8qNTjeerFLX219-QmpOit04ThD-L09klxykOR_cWvPm89zZoR6l/s320/gandpa+t.jpg" width="221" height="320" n4="true" /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF4eNfjhJTMlrPgOSA3yqAuw5Rrwtn3xsBfbtXgpqZefXsX-S1XyZo8m53O8k2X26h7s9tfA2xSrNOLnd3fsLYc5ZNQo9bn0rxpxlkyZlMGKbEx03luix9SlGC1a6-JSqwxb9ZdXg4_D3/s320/163484_487165414509_689624509_5725269_3663185_n.jpg" width="320" height="213" n4="true" /><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp5bYnIQZlxZsBdCsnkydY6Uo8RHRL-MJXpMboM9Om3BXyWf0MYI-GBMK7Rp9_CJDVLfTFrQDnQkgnPiOxRcHYt2jhF8qNTjeerFLX219-QmpOit04ThD-L09klxykOR_cWvPm89zZoR6l/s1600/gandpa+t.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">Today was a tough day. It was a day that I have known was coming for some time, but it doesn't matter how long you have to prepare, you are never really adequately prepared for the funeral of someone you love.<br /><br />Several years ago, about 12 I think, my grandpa Thornock had a heart attack. He ended up having surgery and though we weren't sure if he would or not, he pulled through. He was pretty healthy for a few years after that until he had a stroke. The stroke took a lot from him. He became weak on one side and didn't get around quite as easily as he had before. Slowly he weakened, and eventually his body gave out. This past August, he was hospitalized for a pulmonary embelism (I think that's what it was). He was put on blood thinners to break up the clots in his blood. His blood was too thin though and his heart was having trouble. We knew it really was a matter of time.<br /><br />This all happened about the same time grandpa Pierce was having troubles. He too had become very feeble. He was no longer eating much and the end of September I made the trip to Hawaii to join my family for his funeral. At that time I expected to return home only to have to head to Utah for a funeral for grandpa Thornock. But grandpa surprised us and for some unknown reason, he held on. My family and I were able to visit with him at the VA hospital for a brief time in October on our way to Las Vegas for Steve's wedding. He looked pretty good,though thin, and was in pretty good spirits. I was happy to have been able to visit with him for what I knew then would most likely be the last time I would see him alive. I was right.<br /><br />In late November, I received a call saying that grandpa had become so weak they would no longer be able to do his physical therapy with him. This meant he would no longer get any exercise and spent all of his time in bed.<br /><br />On December 21st I got the call that said he was doing quite poorly and was going to be going on hospice. I knew the end was close. On the 22nd I spoke to my dad and he said it hd been a particularly tough day for grandpa. He had been yelling and screaming for help. The help he wanted was from those on the other side. The hospice crew said that he may not make it through the night.<br /><br />All of this was happening while my grandmother was in a hospital recovering from her own surgery. She had a hip replacement 2 weeks prior that was not healing so the doctor had to go in again, clean out the wound and stitch it shut. I have no idea why it wasn't stitched closed in the first place, but that is a whole different story. Anyway, grandma was in one hospital, grandpa in another. Grandma's doctors would not release her so she could go be with him on Wednesday night, so I prayed over and over again that night that grandpa would be able to hang on just a bit longer and that grandma would be well enough to be released the next morning and be able to spend some time with grandpa before he passed on. The next morning, I waited for a call. Every time the phone rang, I was afraid to answer. I was afraid it would be the call.<br /><br />The call did come in about 2:25 that afternoon. My dad called to tell me that grandpa had passed from this life just a few minutes prior. He passed peacefully while he was sleeping with family, including grandma who had been realeased from the hospital an hour earlier, at his side.<br /><br />I knew that prayers had been answered. Grandma was with him before he passed. He was waiting just for her so that they could have that last little bit of time together before he was gone.<br /><br />So I prepared my family and the following Monday we came to Utah for the Funeral. The drive was great. We were able to visit with grandma and Tami on Monday shortly after our arrival. Grandma is such a strong woman. She is doing so well. She is healing from her surgery and handling the loss of her husband as well as anyone could expect.<br /><br />Tuesady evening was the viewing. Grandpa looked great. The mortician did a great job with him. He looked so peaceful as if he was sleeping. It was a great teaching opportunity with my children and we discussed that his spirit was now in heaven and the shell of his body is left behind here on the earth. While we were looking at his body, his spirit was no longer inside it. He is in heaven. He is with my mother, and my sister, his parents and several of his siblings who have already passed on.<br /><br />During the viewing, we visited with many family members and reminisced about grandpa. It was nice to have so many people who loved him there.<br /><br />Today was the funeral. It was a beautiful service. The room was full of family and friends who knew and loved him. The opening prayer was given by uncle Doug, Talks were given by 4 of the grandchildren, one from each family. I spoke for my family. It was a difficult thing in many ways, but a blessing in others. My Aunt Georgine read the obituary, and aunt Tami gave a talk. Uncle George gave the family prayer, all present great grandchildren sang I am a Child of God, and Families Can Be Together Forever, cousin Mike sang two hymns, O My Father, and How Great Thou Art, and Tiffany closed the service by singing the hymn God Be With You Til We Meet Again (I had a proud mommy moment there, she did a great job),and my dad gave the closing prayer.<br /><br />The talks reflected on memories we each had of grandpa, the kind of man he was, and the life he led. He is a great man and he will be missed.<br /><br />One of the things that gives me comfort in dealing with this loss is that I know that my grandpa, my mother, and my sister are all together in heaven along with my grandma and grandpa Pierce and many other family members who have gone on before. Families are forever. What joy and peace these words bring. I know it to be true and will live everyday of my life that I can be worthy to return so that I too can be with them all in heaven.<br /><br />As a side note, it has been said that now grandpa is strong, healthy, and he can eat whatever he wants as he will no longer be limited by celiac disease. That in itself is a wonderful thing.<br /><br />So today we celebrated a great man and a life lived well. After the funeral service we went to the graveside service. The weather was terrible and to say that it was wet and muddy is an understatement. It was snowing a very wet snow, nearly rain and it was soooooo cold. But we listened to the 21 gun salute and watched as grandma was presented a flag as grandpa was laid to rest with full military honors. It was really cool. The prayer to dedicate his grave was given by my uncle Ken and then we all headed back to the church for a lunch provided by the wonderful sisters of the church. We visited more with family and shared stories and memories as we ate.<br /><br />After all this we headed out into the snow to our hotel, changed clothes and then went back to grandma's house to visit with her some more. We had such a nice visit, and it was really hard to leave her when the time came. It felt so weird to be leaving her all alone in her house. She is a strong woman. She is a great example, and I love her so much.<br /><br />Here is a <a href="http://leavittsmortuary.com/mobile/view.php?id=263">link</a> to grandpa's obituary.<br /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69t4hQFj07eqWQE34b7LPySVfEbvxE0PIf7BdYA5CqEWIEc2QdOmFbVReie2dZD06drmMxVlmZt1oAgAnUOgfxrR1jR6ynwW8QuXMDnN6XsGL6beiHKjR-FwUaNq8msoJ1sEpL4nurdoL/s320/IMG_0155.JPG" width="239" height="320" n4="true" /><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Z3-JCddy8KxX8jbnhZL6pwur-GhJMmrCarNFr3R26Vud3cygsWVHRIOaOfJ8kAaJIV2OkGtHWOVrC6GZX-1iH9bBPrETnaVfLUg7BBSePGlKeW7LwjLbbI_thQ7RdEczngQFd4FXLR7L/s1600/IMG_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Z3-JCddy8KxX8jbnhZL6pwur-GhJMmrCarNFr3R26Vud3cygsWVHRIOaOfJ8kAaJIV2OkGtHWOVrC6GZX-1iH9bBPrETnaVfLUg7BBSePGlKeW7LwjLbbI_thQ7RdEczngQFd4FXLR7L/s320/IMG_0154.JPG" width="320" height="239" n4="true" /></a></div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/http://www.leavittsmortuary.com/mobile/view.php?id=263"></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7W48y-br6gWy1tenwT7d4V23NJZHU8ZdzAksQ44y3m_CmO9gtHlTGd2gf8B00L485c2FOVzpo4XxNKzf6RK1Hj8hs9RaDd3MC83_9AsG2rx1LMIakPI_Bu6LeFFA8uhFkOsL96xnwSmHV/s320/162633_10150366223505392_878615391_16620910_1523855_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" n4="true" /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxP6WRHcXM7aDbN7TyBRQ9nmVMbYyNYfSIFnf3_dmQKTdfMxWs_9JMjuBjeUNcRuK4eVMSeOv4FF1gREvjiwOPrR3F9fVOPi9EiqTwYYWlhYzV1qnQl9t1rRsuhPK6G5ymKqpLwkQ4MXD/s320/163855_10150366224220392_878615391_16620915_7346979_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" n4="true" /><br /><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right; cssfloat: right" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZEJuGgHY2CXWN5Fw51wFIcIyfVhwVx-udcf2hbkpWL7_M_nIxT0TSEMkLb2sIoLfV5we-7O7Iy5O4aKXxCbRUig1vsGdHBNkbyD404ApupforYrjwMOUGipFmhxtWgfXuR6pQfJRTHz9/s1600/163710_10150366225335392_878615391_16620928_1214775_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh69t4hQFj07eqWQE34b7LPySVfEbvxE0PIf7BdYA5CqEWIEc2QdOmFbVReie2dZD06drmMxVlmZt1oAgAnUOgfxrR1jR6ynwW8QuXMDnN6XsGL6beiHKjR-FwUaNq8msoJ1sEpL4nurdoL/s1600/IMG_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKij9fV67vJCDCTXEiLHiY6-nPSBtqkK8Qn5GlV4njEdrprm9kymK8HXd1gOET2zJbeB_PLikVLAHy1ZFE2XaTX8JcooTWPhGxg92Fm-_TFCAZfrtdJYEKuwt8x8j-VOO4GPj4v2M9_ww/s320/167506_10150366224795392_878615391_16620925_29815_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" n4="true" /><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPZEJuGgHY2CXWN5Fw51wFIcIyfVhwVx-udcf2hbkpWL7_M_nIxT0TSEMkLb2sIoLfV5we-7O7Iy5O4aKXxCbRUig1vsGdHBNkbyD404ApupforYrjwMOUGipFmhxtWgfXuR6pQfJRTHz9/s320/163710_10150366225335392_878615391_16620928_1214775_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" n4="true" /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7W48y-br6gWy1tenwT7d4V23NJZHU8ZdzAksQ44y3m_CmO9gtHlTGd2gf8B00L485c2FOVzpo4XxNKzf6RK1Hj8hs9RaDd3MC83_9AsG2rx1LMIakPI_Bu6LeFFA8uhFkOsL96xnwSmHV/s1600/162633_10150366223505392_878615391_16620910_1523855_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWQrFRh-jHC0GD_2K443pmLhTOqkCNSpSa4ZGx33QNXfJqZsE84ednyU6q6obR3HS8tJbsG5BncJsHoyd47r-1yLVhdOx6anfZneaKLZqnMuaEQ0lVxFiK65v6DMVkHTyxmhETl6Nqkjy/s320/166199_10150366227655392_878615391_16620988_1137266_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" n4="true" /><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em; cssfloat: left" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKij9fV67vJCDCTXEiLHiY6-nPSBtqkK8Qn5GlV4njEdrprm9kymK8HXd1gOET2zJbeB_PLikVLAHy1ZFE2XaTX8JcooTWPhGxg92Fm-_TFCAZfrtdJYEKuwt8x8j-VOO4GPj4v2M9_ww/s1600/167506_10150366224795392_878615391_16620925_29815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right; cssfloat: right" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyWQrFRh-jHC0GD_2K443pmLhTOqkCNSpSa4ZGx33QNXfJqZsE84ednyU6q6obR3HS8tJbsG5BncJsHoyd47r-1yLVhdOx6anfZneaKLZqnMuaEQ0lVxFiK65v6DMVkHTyxmhETl6Nqkjy/s1600/166199_10150366227655392_878615391_16620988_1137266_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-87282473469891204812010-12-23T14:37:00.002-07:002010-12-23T14:37:55.479-07:00MIKE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UMMH3DfXOiI9ig5PeuV3nqJlaTzJXiSzCjvI1j6EYKUFvVZeZDzGFUIhiHk3bES8jbsU-8fE5PZtwePXtBS9GD1hgWkq0tkKWNZeRGXLbn5tbe7FcpyjWn1kC0YzzIr3J21jca7YNajE/s1600/IMG_1963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UMMH3DfXOiI9ig5PeuV3nqJlaTzJXiSzCjvI1j6EYKUFvVZeZDzGFUIhiHk3bES8jbsU-8fE5PZtwePXtBS9GD1hgWkq0tkKWNZeRGXLbn5tbe7FcpyjWn1kC0YzzIr3J21jca7YNajE/s320/IMG_1963.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mike has been traveling like crazy. He has flown enough this year to earn enough miles to fly the whole family to Orlando, Florida to go to Disney World for spring break next year, so that should tell you how much he is traveling. He has been gone most weeks from Monday through Thursday or Friday. He gave up his apartment in Oklahoma in October and brought his stuff back home when he was promoted to a new position. He is now a Regional Manager managing 10 construction sites on Army bases in the western US including Alaska and Hawaii. He loves his job, the only thing that would make it better would be if he could be home more. That could happen with this new position once the projects all get going. He enjoyed camping with the family a couple times this year in the Colorado Mountains and wishes we could have gone more. In May he had a great opportunity to buy a new motorcycle. It is a Big Dog Mastiff (a custom motorcycle). He has thoroughly enjoyed riding his bike on the weekends when he has been home and the weather has been nice. Michelle is also enjoying riding with him on occasion. He loves movie nights with the kids, date nights with his wife and BYU sports. He is enjoying the beginning of the BYU Basketball season and cheering on a winning team. GO COUGARS!!! </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhk8CyY_NtYhrvnpkdnb7MlKO6dlkYrqNh6m3TAtyLBGXy3g0DZ9sRtwyMamaR4ls7_VrTjztR9BW7rqUUkNgGH5F7uL9d6Az2c3Jo8FwAdaxJ754kr-KxHjuQ60QuqYVwzefovAD3YhB/s1600/IMG_2944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhk8CyY_NtYhrvnpkdnb7MlKO6dlkYrqNh6m3TAtyLBGXy3g0DZ9sRtwyMamaR4ls7_VrTjztR9BW7rqUUkNgGH5F7uL9d6Az2c3Jo8FwAdaxJ754kr-KxHjuQ60QuqYVwzefovAD3YhB/s320/IMG_2944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-73764433775174586252010-12-23T14:32:00.000-07:002010-12-23T14:32:43.959-07:00MICHELLE<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wpPD3oZkAIJP9Ohk8K-jxJeKw6g1FwmDYJk6U1pBxpZjboPIhcumiMlErrG88BPIx3npuQbvulikcwSPyWS6ZI60HTzEBsh3Oyd7OG2zX5UPp_dKZvihSlAzicfF9rPrT5eCBlkawBWH/s1600/IMG_1962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wpPD3oZkAIJP9Ohk8K-jxJeKw6g1FwmDYJk6U1pBxpZjboPIhcumiMlErrG88BPIx3npuQbvulikcwSPyWS6ZI60HTzEBsh3Oyd7OG2zX5UPp_dKZvihSlAzicfF9rPrT5eCBlkawBWH/s320/IMG_1962.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Michelle has had a busy year. She has traveled to Utah twice, Chicago, Nashville and Hawaii. Not all of the trips were fun and exciting as two were for funerals, but the opportunity to see family was still great. We were saddened by the loss of Michelle’s paternal grandfather in September but relieved that his suffering was finally over and Michelle enjoyed a quick trip with her dad and all her siblings to Hawaii for grandpa’s funeral. As a family we also made 2 trips to Las Vegas for two of Michelle’s brother’s weddings. Those trips were all about celebration and spending time with family. They were great. Michelle and Mike had the wonderful opportunity to go on the Stake Pioneer Trek in July. They were called to be a Ma & Pa and lead a family over the 3 day, 36 mile hike pushing a handcart full of their gear. They had 9 children assigned to them and though the experience was physically demanding, it was amazing. The kids in their family were wonderful and it made it all so much fun. Michelle still enjoys digital scrapbooking and scrapbook design. She has taught two sessions of beginning digital scrapbooking classes and will be starting another session soon. Her T-shirt shop remains active (<a href="http://cafepress.com/mlsdesigns">cafepress.com/mlsdesigns</a>) and she sells an average of about 250 shirts per month. In addition, she has recently teamed up with a friend to help with a new business venture...<a href="http://cherrylimeboutique.com/">Cherry Lime Boutique</a> making and selling hair accessories. She is loving the creative aspects of this new business and is having tons of fun with it. You can check it out at cherrylimeboutique.com. Michelle has decided to step down from the PTA after 6 years as the Vice President and will do so in February. That will be a big change for her. She plans to stay involved in the kids’ school, but on a different level. So it’s been a busy year with kid’s sports and activities, church, kids’ school stuff, and just keeping up with the family, but she is loving life and happy as can be.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here are some pics of our TREK family.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLzYJmIi8QMribo89qJkLTr_d7HeFdRJOIAnpnC4ibOqjedMC4mt40Ubu5gPeq6qjfAoNmo69eTlgrVXesRtyPCSnA0VBGqOW2d7GuWYC-ziulsFRJwlv3VLi5ciUOiWFrnzu-pRxzkiu/s1600/Trek+Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLzYJmIi8QMribo89qJkLTr_d7HeFdRJOIAnpnC4ibOqjedMC4mt40Ubu5gPeq6qjfAoNmo69eTlgrVXesRtyPCSnA0VBGqOW2d7GuWYC-ziulsFRJwlv3VLi5ciUOiWFrnzu-pRxzkiu/s320/Trek+Collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-50119466678740439382010-12-23T14:22:00.000-07:002010-12-23T14:22:04.140-07:00KYLE<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> KYLE</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxmuIYRIEl5RD3PkZXXkRfzHk9H2_qZaMth_r2Brb0XV-yNTcO53zLGQeJ4degbRbvrQVulD4bvQMwBap_1RlddNDSog8FJU5MZ82J9l1yXWCDSI0VbwCVzv1_zuxKpzHtvxadXLwZXE4/s1600/kyle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxmuIYRIEl5RD3PkZXXkRfzHk9H2_qZaMth_r2Brb0XV-yNTcO53zLGQeJ4degbRbvrQVulD4bvQMwBap_1RlddNDSog8FJU5MZ82J9l1yXWCDSI0VbwCVzv1_zuxKpzHtvxadXLwZXE4/s320/kyle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Kyle is 6½ years old. He will turn 7 in May. He is currently in first grade and absolutely loves it. He is thriving right now as he is excelling in spelling, reading, and math. He truly enjoys learning and is having so much fun with his teacher. Kyle tried out wrestling in the beginning of the year, but he didn’t really like it. Maybe next year. During the summer, Kyle was able to play T-Ball. I don’t think he enjoyed it in the beginning, but by the end of the season, he was doing pretty well. He prefers to hit a ball that is thrown to him rather than hitting it off a T. I guess he will be ready for coach pitch this next year. We found out early this year that Kyle has vocal chord nodules. This is the reason for his husky, rough voice. While it is cute to listen to, we decided to see if we could get him some help to relieve those nodules. We went to a speech therapist and there found out that Kyle doesn’t use his diaphragm when he breathes or talks. Therefore he is unable to push air through his vocal chords with enough pressure to open them all the way. So for the last few months Kyle has been seeing a speech therapist to practice breathing and speaking using his diaphragm. We are hoping that over time this will relieve the irritation that is causing the nodules and that there will be no further damage. Aside from that, he is a healthy and happy little boy. He loves to play the Wii, watch TV, and do whatever his brothers are doing. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyT4wTX9Q-p7r4beLWIRXXxUJVgKmOFt-VmraXcNivCuYTFwDhEuJwu6EC9So3AWWbWl6yU5_z2CgcfZl5sE0_-N86mzfyjXwN_hMk_bVypVRuHtiGkmijWRGwgS7XFR9UcYTH8gY2r7-/s1600/IMG_3126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyT4wTX9Q-p7r4beLWIRXXxUJVgKmOFt-VmraXcNivCuYTFwDhEuJwu6EC9So3AWWbWl6yU5_z2CgcfZl5sE0_-N86mzfyjXwN_hMk_bVypVRuHtiGkmijWRGwgS7XFR9UcYTH8gY2r7-/s320/IMG_3126.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-42185387928260145032010-12-23T14:19:00.000-07:002010-12-23T14:19:01.016-07:00JACOB<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">JACOB</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvh_qzPRMnqkPvs5mrCArTVpmS9Vmzvjt5bJPzVnVJ0flFZkTDhawSLJFZaupyl7l1jnhFdVQxNiH4DOxPMttNK8dXH058bhi32POCkVzFIYu6fpkT6UHxSm0Lxv648rMK0IXyUdFv5r/s1600/jake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvh_qzPRMnqkPvs5mrCArTVpmS9Vmzvjt5bJPzVnVJ0flFZkTDhawSLJFZaupyl7l1jnhFdVQxNiH4DOxPMttNK8dXH058bhi32POCkVzFIYu6fpkT6UHxSm0Lxv648rMK0IXyUdFv5r/s320/jake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Jacob will turn 9 years old later this month. He is a very busy and active boy and is growing faster than I can keep up with. He is now as tall as Ryan and out weighs him by a little bit. I am sure it won’t be long until I am looking up to him. Jacob had a big event in his life this year. On January 2nd he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This made him an official member of our church. Mom and Dad were so proud of his decision to be baptized and it was a very special day Jacob also wrestled in the beginning of the year, but didn’t enjoy it as much as Ryan did. He did however enjoy baseball in the summer. He has a great swing and plays awesome at first or third bases. During the season he was part of several great plays including a couple of double plays. He also had his tonsils out in the summer. After having a tonsil abscess in the spring, the swelling never went down, so we had them yanked out. He was a real trooper and made a pretty quick recovery. The hardest part for him was not being able to eat. Jake has a lot of energy and we are working really hard to help him control that energy and focus when he needs to. He is doing quite well in school and is a great friend. He likes playing with his brothers, playing the Wii, riding his bike and ripstick and rollerblading. He is learning to shoot a bow and even spent his own allowance this year to buy himself some arrows. He has been practicing his archery in the basement. He loves to be outside and hates doing homework.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSYogVXki0_rb-V2O98RxLVAo8FeOz3CnQ8KXG82vkaM4kP-HbOJ8avutJ3Tx0e2a852ntEK79gtuXx846Qedo0TcpRU-Us5Lp1LTsdAv5612YLs_0mRleoBZ3m7pzx-JH6v_fS4zTgUG/s1600/IMG_3092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDSYogVXki0_rb-V2O98RxLVAo8FeOz3CnQ8KXG82vkaM4kP-HbOJ8avutJ3Tx0e2a852ntEK79gtuXx846Qedo0TcpRU-Us5Lp1LTsdAv5612YLs_0mRleoBZ3m7pzx-JH6v_fS4zTgUG/s320/IMG_3092.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-62502610972228336102010-12-23T14:02:00.002-07:002010-12-23T14:38:16.033-07:00RYAN<div align="center"><span style="font-size: 180%;">RYAN</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_D1-m30XWSSdjcJQlJc5FvlkoWDMJKWqrWOfWVlf1Vz9Tgjg8_yI0M8-_7JXLXtHKsJnrwvNinFrmtS7X54Vhzq9Q-7guAbJtsyPrCIdLhAgEZhqjcP8_0Mk0VwK8R7KWm2y72_Mvj8cm/s1600/ryan.jpg"><span style="font-size: 180%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553986096065399298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_D1-m30XWSSdjcJQlJc5FvlkoWDMJKWqrWOfWVlf1Vz9Tgjg8_yI0M8-_7JXLXtHKsJnrwvNinFrmtS7X54Vhzq9Q-7guAbJtsyPrCIdLhAgEZhqjcP8_0Mk0VwK8R7KWm2y72_Mvj8cm/s400/ryan.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></a> Ryan, age 10½, was wrestling at the beginning of the year. Though we didn’t participate in any tournaments (because all of them were on Sunday), he did learn a lot of skills that he is using again this season. He is looking forward to next year when he can compete with the school. Ryan was voted school Historian for the Student Council for the last term of last school year. It was his job to take pictures and document school events. He enjoyed the job and did a great job. In the summer Ryan played baseball. It was great to watch him play. He is a really good hitter and can play almost any position he is asked. In the Fall, Ryan joined up for his first season of football. He had the chance to try out several different positions on the team. He played defensive end, running back, and offensive line. He scored one AMAZING touchdown by tucking his head and pushing his way through his opponents, had several great tackles, and a couple of sacks and fumble recoveries. He had great coaches and learned so much. His coaches called him a freak on the field saying he would do whatever they asked him to do. He’s very strong for his size and proved to be a great football player. His team went undefeated outscoring their opponents an amazing 114-22. He LOVED football and is looking forward to next season. He is making excellent grades in school and makes mom and dad very proud. He enjoys riding his bike and rollerblading. This summer he went roller blading with mom a lot through the park. He is super quick on his blades.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfp4HY4jKFjoK7kV_DN2HqyEn4m0fhdJo4SCbxjj8Yl7O-KW8SuT3JFh8mEDb4fyomNAZT23oG54LVUC_KX8MoSD1ZBWMVzcBBuFtOeK63rkBJpfr5u7S_JOtl0Lon8Kiu5e7pVuBnUWv/s1600/IMG_4265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfp4HY4jKFjoK7kV_DN2HqyEn4m0fhdJo4SCbxjj8Yl7O-KW8SuT3JFh8mEDb4fyomNAZT23oG54LVUC_KX8MoSD1ZBWMVzcBBuFtOeK63rkBJpfr5u7S_JOtl0Lon8Kiu5e7pVuBnUWv/s320/IMG_4265.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here is a video of his touchdown too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzxA89jnKXitAQbb7UA-bZez02hgdhcURkvXO8oMKfUcozUivKBQvzJIRheEWBpzLHRQgPXXANYWTb1s8qydg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-21596097448980959962010-12-23T14:00:00.003-07:002010-12-23T14:08:07.392-07:00TIFFANY<div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWHpYD1C-5vwaXrqumF64yZd4Vj1JMBMcKm0lNAqhe2qnNnMiOaUM6_Q0ci9_XxYsvEuu2pCObICDhj86SE-C_TQaZqQa6wurhgGqUa4QvUKvC8apiBvjEQEQoJBEFWYYvMjcPgMuvr2e/s1600/4217+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWHpYD1C-5vwaXrqumF64yZd4Vj1JMBMcKm0lNAqhe2qnNnMiOaUM6_Q0ci9_XxYsvEuu2pCObICDhj86SE-C_TQaZqQa6wurhgGqUa4QvUKvC8apiBvjEQEQoJBEFWYYvMjcPgMuvr2e/s320/4217+cropped.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 180%;">TIFFANY</span><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553985681732916530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFtJHNn-axHlQgaiRfmUEks6dklg_qEZYjaKrADkrDdNlicdsnsQQav0WE0gRY_Ab6Dnr_cSUQPTxkCaSNQ5v8dtXwwAeyXKqKCNuHEgljZyOAphP-Z6EqhvFJooMBYOYOKrIPW_Elhyphenhyphend/s400/tiffany.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> Tiffany, age 13, played on the middle school basketball team which went undefeated and became the 6th grade city champs. She followed the basketball season with Track & Field. She competed in the 100 meter, 4x100 relay, long jump and high jump. She too had a great season ending it on a high note with second place ribbons for both long jump and high jump. In May Tiffany was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at her school. She sang in the school talent show and was later asked to perform in the end of year school pride assembly. She has an awesome voice and still LOVES to sing. She will also be singing again this month in the end of term pride assembly (by invitation) and sings in the school choir. Tiffany went to volleyball camp this summer. After 2 days in the camp for her age group she was asked to move up to the 9th grade group because her skills were more on that level. She is an excellent volleyball player. She earned a spot on the 7th grade varsity team and proved to be a very valuable and versatile player. She could play outside hitter and setter interchangeably as needed and even used a jump serve in one of her games during the season. She is an awesome net player and I hope to see her playing for many years to come. She is doing great in school and loves hanging out with her friends. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-4017201083486404502010-12-23T13:56:00.004-07:002010-12-23T14:07:14.162-07:00KAYLEE<div align="center">So I am posting this to recap our year since I have been such a terrible blogger this year. It will be in parts. One post for each of the kids. (it is from our Christmas Letter)</div><div align="center"><br />
<span style="font-size: 180%;">Kaylee</span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzne_5-drFppE6cpKfUGdX3HyEvQXGw9snC0W2Qp4EbNwQKwpyKOqQTh2JWdNLIkfDzZVbyDKjxqQicGLdgyQ5rpZ9TQDFuxLQCNQ1CspAOVSrrsa_SJFxc3o7e178tD6qxNaLv1jGFDX9/s1600/kaylee+copy.jpg"><span style="font-size: 180%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553984999040911250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzne_5-drFppE6cpKfUGdX3HyEvQXGw9snC0W2Qp4EbNwQKwpyKOqQTh2JWdNLIkfDzZVbyDKjxqQicGLdgyQ5rpZ9TQDFuxLQCNQ1CspAOVSrrsa_SJFxc3o7e178tD6qxNaLv1jGFDX9/s400/kaylee+copy.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> </span></a><br />
Kaylee, age 15 had a busy year this year. In February she had a second surgery on her little finger that was broken in Sept. 2009. This was to remove her screws and scrape away scar tissue in hopes of increasing mobility. After months of physical therapy, she still has very little movement in that finger, but she has not let it hold her back. In March Kaylee earned a spot on the Varsity Track & Field team. She competed in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, the 4x200 meter relay, and long jump. She had a great season by continually beating her own personal records and her 4x200 team took second at the city meet beating a school record in the process. She finished her middle school career by receiving a Presidential Silver award for Academics. She spent the summer playing volleyball at various camps and playing in a freshman league where her team went undefeated. In July she had the chance to go to EFY in Provo Utah. She had a great time and met lots of wonderful friends from all over. She also had the chance to go on the Stake Pioneer Trek and while she faced some challenges with her assigned family, she came out saying she would go again if she could. In August she started High School and made the Freshman Volleyball team. She had a great season with her team taking third place out of 12 in their division. She learned how to jump this year and proved to be wicked as an outside hitter. She improved her skills and became a real asset to her team. She has had a great year and is adjusting pretty well to high school. The big event for her this year was turning 15 and getting her driver’s permit. Now she drives pretty much anywhere we go together. She is doing great behind the wheel and is an excellent driver. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2H0aHp-YilMaU_xSXNeUmiR4-G-uCrSuFLYeE6Dsfc5a-BUPboQy592kQLNvLy8xwuEiNc5lm7jhidstwW4CNv3fCuCk0esbTIMZdt7FN00-aQdTkd-OGsZR8TN9VPQrdi5VvbUpDj-2/s1600/IMG_4360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2H0aHp-YilMaU_xSXNeUmiR4-G-uCrSuFLYeE6Dsfc5a-BUPboQy592kQLNvLy8xwuEiNc5lm7jhidstwW4CNv3fCuCk0esbTIMZdt7FN00-aQdTkd-OGsZR8TN9VPQrdi5VvbUpDj-2/s320/IMG_4360.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center"></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-76902595229780162672010-06-11T15:54:00.000-06:002010-06-11T15:54:09.579-06:00The last 2 weeksWe have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks at the pool. The boys are truly enjoying swimming, and I am loving the sunshine. Kyle has even been jumping off the diving board. <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This past week, the girls have been doing a volleyball camp. It will continue through next week. I had the chance to talk with the coach on Tuesday. He wanted to move Tiffany from the 7th and 8th grade camp into the 9th grade camp that Kaylee is also in. He said her skills are much more advanced than the rest of the girls that were in the camp with her. (he moved 2 girls up, Tiffany is 7th grade) That made me very happy. She is doing well and so is Kaylee. He also told me that both of the girls have great skills and he would love to have them play with him in the volleyball club. The problem for us is that all the club games are on Sundays so we have chosen not to play in the club. He was very disappointed, but he said he understands. He went on to tell me that NOT playing club puts the girls at a huge disadvantage when it comes to making the teams in High School. He said that the girls that do not play club simply do not have the "connections" to make the teams in High School. That made me so angry. I think that when it comes to tryouts for the HS team, all girls she be looked at equally regardless of whether or not they play club. Skills should be evaluated and girls should make the team if their skills are good enough period. Well, I told my girls that they just have to work hard and if they want to play in HS, they will just have to prove that you don't have to play club ball to be good enough to play on the HS team.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The two older boys started baseball this week. It is so fun to watch them practice. Kyle will start T-Ball practice next week.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This week, I have been working hard to get ready for Relay for Life which is this weekend. I am really excited for the chance to walk. I have so far raised over $300 for the American Cancer Society. It feel so good just to know that in a small way I am doing something to help in the fight against cancer. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Today my kids and I have been busy making cotton candy and popcorn that will be sold at our booth at Relay. We made 135 bags of cotton candy and 75 bags of popcorn. LAst night we also made about 40 Fruity Pebbles Krispie Treats and 40 Cocoa Krispie Treats. This week I have also made some T-shirts that we will also sell there. Here are a couple of pictures of us working hard. I didn't get any pics while Kyle and JAke were working and of course since I was taking the pics there are non of me, but that's okay.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAjTcVYlnQjzy8R1GMGEoJAF8nGjJoycDfowXzf1r7-mVy1C67aZ8kcMAyjFFlkBFPW-W0qLLA9uCuOnJyWCM-jwfZaVQyHw9Fq5tGrNHb0vHv3xHBQH7_TU0yypRJyMG7dP5ZnGf2Iu_/s1600/IMG_2664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAjTcVYlnQjzy8R1GMGEoJAF8nGjJoycDfowXzf1r7-mVy1C67aZ8kcMAyjFFlkBFPW-W0qLLA9uCuOnJyWCM-jwfZaVQyHw9Fq5tGrNHb0vHv3xHBQH7_TU0yypRJyMG7dP5ZnGf2Iu_/s320/IMG_2664.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwK4Ep3WG_SfmGE52bxIIORZ8OpZWeqkyzMoe1o32vvvZwx17o7kTYxFP4ys9xYhdaA9wRisXQkLtix9JIkLHN7OrwTnOGrfwKV6Y0ZFNTNofgeJnxtleCQPx_HbwGNUKSkwaapMjdIVGl/s1600/IMG_2660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwK4Ep3WG_SfmGE52bxIIORZ8OpZWeqkyzMoe1o32vvvZwx17o7kTYxFP4ys9xYhdaA9wRisXQkLtix9JIkLHN7OrwTnOGrfwKV6Y0ZFNTNofgeJnxtleCQPx_HbwGNUKSkwaapMjdIVGl/s320/IMG_2660.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehVfwRrDEl88t9GUkYlIqImcs9FR4qal5jWCqMLKsrnh9cyYJCpuUKyFOLe2sVX3t_lRXk4LVivPvgNWWCF9PSRGEts9tz7YLgkr61WRjr4wdm_sj41w58qvSqBtro4hKCDOnP-R_BQUP/s1600/IMG_2663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehVfwRrDEl88t9GUkYlIqImcs9FR4qal5jWCqMLKsrnh9cyYJCpuUKyFOLe2sVX3t_lRXk4LVivPvgNWWCF9PSRGEts9tz7YLgkr61WRjr4wdm_sj41w58qvSqBtro4hKCDOnP-R_BQUP/s320/IMG_2663.JPG" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-79406059419486165772010-05-30T22:00:00.002-06:002010-05-30T22:18:00.783-06:00So much Time has Passed...(Again)It's amazing how quickly the time flies. So here is a quick recap of March, April, and May.<br />
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<strong>March...</strong><br />
Kaylee and a group of her friends performed a fun little dance for the Grammy Awards at Erwin. The song was called BOUNCE!!! They choreographed and practiced the dance for weeks in preparation. Then I helped them to make the costumes. It was so fun to watch them perform. Tiffany got to be a last minute fill in for one of the girls who ended up going out of town too. Bonus for Tiff!!!<br />
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We took a trip to Las Vegas for Spring Break. My brother Jeff got married to Erika. It was a beautiful sealing ceremony in the temple followed by lots of pictures and a totally fun reception. The dancing could have gone on all night I think. It was really great to see Jeff married and to know that he finally has someone to share his life with. And we are so happy to have Erika as a part of our family. It was also great to have all of my family together again. All of my siblings were there along with dad and Kay. In addition, Grandpa Pierce was here from Hawaii, Grandma & Grandpa Thornock came down from Ogden with Tami, Monica, Shandi, and Tonya. We also saw Heather and Kevin, and Yvette and her family too. It was great to see so many.<br />
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While in Vegas we took the opportunity to do a few fun things with my family. We did a hike out at Red Rock Canyon one of the days. We had a very large group. It was my whole family, Steve & Zack, Kevin's whole family and Jeff. It was a great time. We loved hiking around in the canyon, climbing on the rocks and just spending time together. We had a great time until Kyle took a dive into an agave plant and got plant spikes embedded in his leg. He had more than 12 puncture wounds in his leg and ended up in the urgent care to have one of them removed that had broken off under the skin surface. Ouch, it hurt. He was a real trooper though and with a little Novocaine, the spike was removed and he now has it in a test tube to shoe everyone. <br />
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We also had our traditional "Pierce Family Pizza Night". It was so much fun. We made lots of pizzas both deep dish and thin crust and had a real party. The pizza was so awesome, and the company was even better.<br />
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Mike and I took the kids up to the top of the Stratosphere. It was fun to look out at the whole city. Kaylee and Mike rode the big shot ride up on top. They loved it. The rest of us just watched from below. The rides up there look pretty scary.<br />
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Also in March, Jake got a tonsil infection. It apparently started as strep throat but his tonsils got infected and were HUGE!!! They are still huge today in fact, but the infection has long since been gone.<br />
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Tiffany played in the 6th grade basketball championships. Her team ended up winning the championship and went completely undefeated for the season. It was awesome. It was really great to watch her as her skills improved over the season.<br />
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Mike and I received a new calling from the Stake in March. We have been called to be Ma and Pa over a family of youth on the Pioneer TREK this summer. We are excited and nervous for this big event. We will be walking (pushing/pulling a handcart) with 6-8 youth ages 14-18 as we re-enact a portion of the handcart pioneer's trek across the country. We will be covering a 36 mile portion of the trail over 3 days and will be visiting landmarks like Martin's Cove and Rocky Ridge. It will be physically exhausting I am sure, but I am also sure that the spiritual benefits from this trip will far out-weight them. We are looking forward to it and preparing ourselves as well as we can.<br />
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<strong>April...</strong><br />
April brought with it Track season. Both girls were participating so the boys and I spent many afternoons in the stands at the track. The girls worked really hard and improved their own personal records with each meet. <br />
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Tiffany competed in the Long Jump, the High Jump, the 100 meter dash, and the 4x100 meter relay.<br />
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Kaylee competed in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, the 4x200 meter relay, and the long jump.<br />
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At the boys elementary school, I worked on the school carnival committee. There was a ton of hours involved in the planning, but the event was a HUGE success. Our silent auction produced a profit of $2500 and out overall profit for the carnival including the auction was $4600. That is the best we have ever done with one of our carnivals. The best part was that everyone had so much fun, it made all the work completely worth it.<br />
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<strong>May...</strong><br />
May brought all the final school events for the year. (much too quickly might I add) We had field day at centennial and I watched the boys play in many different events and games.<br />
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At Erwin, Tiffany participated in the school talent show. She sang Take a Bow by Rhianna. She did such a great job that she was asked to perform again at the Pride Assembly on the last day of school. For that she sang the Carrie Underwood version of "I'll Stand By You." Both of her performances were great!!!<br />
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The girls finished out their track seasons strong. Tiffany took 4th place in the 6th grade city meet in Long Jump, and her relay team took 5th place in the city meet as well. She did a great job and can be very proud of her efforts this season. Kaylee and her 4x200 meter relay team broke the school record by 3 seconds and ended up taking 2nd place at the city championship meet. She too had a great season and I hope she will continue her efforts in high school next year.<br />
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Speaking of High School, it is almost painful to admit that I will have a child in high school next year. Kaylee is now taller than me and she is such a beautiful girl. She has some really great friends and is doing so well in school. She received a Gold Presidential Academic Award for her grades this year. She almost had straight A's despite missing over 20 days of school. She stayed very organized and managed to stay on top of her school work despite 2 surgeries, swine flu, and another flu-like virus. She didn't get stressed out by the work load, but got her work done and managed to pull almost all A's for the year. She has worked really hard and I know she will do great in High School. I am so proud of all her hard work and her motivation to do well in school. She is looking forward to a very busy summer with volleyball camp, EFY in Provo, Pioneer TREK in July, and Girls camp in August in addition to volleyball open gym at the high school whenever she can.<br />
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From there I go to the opposite end of the family. In May, my baby, Kyle, turned 6 years old. The years have gone so fast and he is growing too quickly. It makes me sad to realize that he is so big now. Next school year he will be in 1st grade. He is a very smart little boy and I am so proud of him for all that he does. His teacher absolutely loved him this past year as she said he reminded her of her own son. He is looking forward to swimming at the pool this summer and playing t-ball.<br />
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Tiffany is a natural at almost anything she tries it seems. I was so proud of her over the school year. She worked very hard to improve her grades and she maintained about an A- average over the year. She also tried many new things and did well at them all. She played Volleyball for the first time and was a true asset to her team as a setter. She played basketball for the first time and improved her skills over the season to where she played very well. She did track and found that she was good at that too. She also continues in singing and is very talented there as well. I am proud of her for trying new things and not being afraid.<br />
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Jacob had a great year. He pulled really awesome grades for the year, had fun wrestling during the winter and is looking forward to playing baseball this summer. He loves to swim at the pool and ride his bike. He is still working on controlling his actions an behavior. He is a very busy boy and is constantly moving. He is also very loving and kind and makes me smile often.<br />
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Ryan finished out his fourth grade year in high fashion. He pulled an A+ on his biggest project of the year a replica of a Mesa Verde residence. He and I worked very hard on the project and he did a great job on it. He has been enjoying reading this year and has read almost the entire Fablehaven series. He has thoroughly enjoyed the series and will be looking for another book series to get into next. He pulled straight A's for the year and in addition he participated in the GT program at school which included extra work. In GT they studied the Presidents of the US this year and he learned a whole lot about many of them. He is looking forward to playing baseball again this summer followed by football in the fall.<br />
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My children continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Although we have good days and bad, days where they listen and are helpful and obedient, and days when they are stubborn and difficult. I am very proud of them overall. They are good kids. They are kind to others, and they generally make good choices. They are so smart and seem to be like sponges as they absorb sooooo mouch from the world around them. I am so grateful for each of them and the individual blessings they are in my life.<br />
<br />
Mike continues to work in Lawton, Oklahoma from Monday through Friday each week. He is working hard and hopeful that it won't be too much longer before he will be able to spend more time at home again. We so love the weekends when he is home with us. He was recently released from his calling in church as the Gospel Principles teacher and was called to be a teacher for Ryan's class in Primary. I think he is enjoying the change, at least for now.<br />
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I continue to design T-shirts for my shop, dabble a bit in digital scrapbook design, I taught a 6 week digital scrapbooking 101 course in my home in March and will teach another session starting in the Fall, I am working on some new and exciting things for my Once a Month Cooking Project, and in my spare time I try to exercise a bit by roller blading around the park. Otherwise, the kids keep me really busy and I am absolutely loving hanging out at the pool so far this summer. I am looking forward to participating once again in Relay For Life in a couple of weeks as a tribute to my mom. Life<br />
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Well, this was super long, but for the sake of family history, I am now caught up again as best as I can be. I hope that I can do better in the near future to stay up to date!!!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-23496967397321387592010-02-26T16:26:00.000-07:002010-02-26T16:26:29.797-07:00The last 2 weeksWell, I had a great weekend visit with my family in Utah. We had a really nice gathering for Grandma & Grandpa's birthdays and I had a great time reminiscing with my cousins and aunts and uncles. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take pictures through the whole thing, so I don't have very many photos. I posted them all on facebook, so sorry if this is a repeat. We had tons of food, shared many memories, and lots of laughs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp4kxKOVkhL1JkDPGiIGHhW_5zOQWhvqBqxPXbysv4sVyWHsfJn1wge5x4x8Ccbb5dx2fmbuGVOW5vqUI5l0HOhlUgeXpZCBJGQOiJ1SzaZBrP7qan30SCdI27vRaLOW_VjwUCeObNkUi/s1600-h/2-15-2010_357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFp4kxKOVkhL1JkDPGiIGHhW_5zOQWhvqBqxPXbysv4sVyWHsfJn1wge5x4x8Ccbb5dx2fmbuGVOW5vqUI5l0HOhlUgeXpZCBJGQOiJ1SzaZBrP7qan30SCdI27vRaLOW_VjwUCeObNkUi/s320/2-15-2010_357.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKXtyPqbvMmaoM6eoUhvDf97zYU9OlsY2HfnmIj1uJXVD_ttmBORM0dDezVXKFnjdmisx-pMJ8JjgGIbuh2W1g-ve0mhwwbpr_oih86NJz1eOuN6rocuTse6hJ7fBPHT4jCphyphenhyphencNZknr2/s1600-h/2-15-2010_368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKXtyPqbvMmaoM6eoUhvDf97zYU9OlsY2HfnmIj1uJXVD_ttmBORM0dDezVXKFnjdmisx-pMJ8JjgGIbuh2W1g-ve0mhwwbpr_oih86NJz1eOuN6rocuTse6hJ7fBPHT4jCphyphenhyphencNZknr2/s320/2-15-2010_368.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8GBCew14zkvezfvWyDdOzijb_MeSJkM5T82HEjQWHYhHVzsZuF4uzvtf0sHLhl5AotnrxjMFXg1kwDXAt_l2lr9DGGedAZ5aF98tL136EDiVOvKoM-oymcbMP7Pnz4GkCR9gKbKg3XcK/s1600-h/IMG_1570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8GBCew14zkvezfvWyDdOzijb_MeSJkM5T82HEjQWHYhHVzsZuF4uzvtf0sHLhl5AotnrxjMFXg1kwDXAt_l2lr9DGGedAZ5aF98tL136EDiVOvKoM-oymcbMP7Pnz4GkCR9gKbKg3XcK/s320/IMG_1570.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SP9QzPHeaENaW5tAPvUmMvRtDxFAQx9LSpE7axjJQTkH4_CAxNvk23qjNFepLlFLzsi4ogTK1AETyZzP_7HwRjQpeXiKaH98e753sY-tKJ58wcSJM0FOWhGTjBFaTn3EhjAT73TiiGWh/s1600-h/IMG_1572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SP9QzPHeaENaW5tAPvUmMvRtDxFAQx9LSpE7axjJQTkH4_CAxNvk23qjNFepLlFLzsi4ogTK1AETyZzP_7HwRjQpeXiKaH98e753sY-tKJ58wcSJM0FOWhGTjBFaTn3EhjAT73TiiGWh/s320/IMG_1572.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwOBtIS6I550YRCmC8NT3IY1bwtjAs91b-722BJsYAWC2sQebC-9IOHm1eVEDTFNc-Q5zjF6_TK6ClU6FMzsr2XLYJus9hLbG7bkj00HJ0tx24Xsd4yc-ISxdfXqg5kl4Q0UE3YabhV-a/s1600-h/IMG_1573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwOBtIS6I550YRCmC8NT3IY1bwtjAs91b-722BJsYAWC2sQebC-9IOHm1eVEDTFNc-Q5zjF6_TK6ClU6FMzsr2XLYJus9hLbG7bkj00HJ0tx24Xsd4yc-ISxdfXqg5kl4Q0UE3YabhV-a/s320/IMG_1573.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmj0MhKAVjQBzdaFzoqNVsT5_LlJFp4U7sorZJaz2imf7_QuGqz0kbnUNJAW9H4QgjXx5AAbvIw_EKRTb1EAcmZvvO6_-j9QxD_lYZyqP1UpeYtQBSVCYKF60hqkuEiVI1Cc3ls78revtu/s1600-h/IMG_1585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmj0MhKAVjQBzdaFzoqNVsT5_LlJFp4U7sorZJaz2imf7_QuGqz0kbnUNJAW9H4QgjXx5AAbvIw_EKRTb1EAcmZvvO6_-j9QxD_lYZyqP1UpeYtQBSVCYKF60hqkuEiVI1Cc3ls78revtu/s320/IMG_1585.JPG" /></a></div><br />
After that quick and busy weekend, I came home to my family, spent a few hours with Mike and then he headed off to Oklahoma for the week. I started teaching a beginning course in Digital Scrpbooking using Photoshop Elements. I will be teaching the course once a week for 6 weeks. I have had two classes so far and I think it is going really well. I just hope the people in my class get what they need out of it. Depending on how this class goes and the feedback I get from it, I am considering offering another session of the beginning class and maybe a second class that would dig in even deeper with the fun things you can do for scrapbooking in Elements. I will also start advertising more generally if I do it again and try to get a bigger class. I guess we will see how it goes. I guess the best part is that I am enjoying the process of preparing for my classes and then walking through everything with my "students". Maybe that is in my blood a bit, afterall, my dad has been teaching dentistry for around 30 years I think, and my brother teaches a couple of classes for the State College of Southern Nevada on filmography and editing (I think that's what he teaches, I should really ask him sometime to be sure).<br />
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Kaylee had a second surgery on her little finger on the 17th. I am so glad we decided to go ahead with the surgery. We were having her screws removed, and a clean up of scar tissue with the goal of improving her range of motion, which had been very limited since her first surgery in September last year. (despite weeks and weeks of physical therapy). What the surgeon found when he opened her up was that her tendon was completely tied down by the scar tissue that had formed and there was no way she ever would have gotten that motion back without the surgery. So he removed the screws (which were bigger than I ever would have expected) and released her tendon. So we are very glad we did it. Today in therapy she actually got to a 90 degree bend, and that is just 8 days after surgery, and a huge improvement. She is getting ready for track season to start on March 8th. We are hoping she is ready.<br />
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Last Thursday, Tiffany had her last regular season Basketball game. Her team won the game by just one point. It was an intense game, bu they pulled it off in the end. That leaves them undefeated for the season with a record of 8-0. The team they beat ended up 6-2. They will have the conference championships next weekend. If all goes well, they will be the city champs for 6th grade basketball. MOst of the girls on the team were also on their champion voleyball team too. So that is really cool. Then the week after the basketball championships Track season starts. Tiffany plans to run and do the long jump. We will see how that goes too.<br />
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Ryan had a birthday this week. He turned 10. I can hardly believe it. He is having his birthday party today with a few of his friends. They are playing dart tag and Wii, having pizza, and cake and ice cream. It should be fun.<br />
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Jake is enjoying school. It makes me so happy to go to parent teacher conferences and hear how well he is doing. Apparently he listens to his teacher much better than he does to me. But I guess that is good in mnay ways. <br />
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Kyle is learning to rollerblade with his brothers and is doing great. All of the boys have been spending time in the basement every day roller blading or riding their ripsticks for the last month. They are working on a "Schools on the Move"challenge where they are supposed to log all there physical activities for the month of February. IF they do a certain amount they get a free t-shirt. It is so fun to watch them get so into this challenge. It makes me happy because it gets them active in the winter when they tend to be less active normally.<br />
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Mike has had a long week away this week. He left on Sunday and will just get home tonight (Friday). We are happy to have him home for the weekend.<br />
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Well, that's it for now.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-57551681295450941372010-02-10T10:32:00.000-07:002010-02-10T10:32:24.618-07:00I'm going on a TRIP!!<div style="text-align: center;">Yes, I said <em>I </em>am going on a trip. Just me!!! I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who so understood my desire to be at the birthday party for my grandparents (gma 80 years and gpa 85 years) in Utah that even when it was determined that the whole family would not be able to go (that's a story I will get to in a minute) he made it possible for me to still go. And even better, my trip will be virtually free since he was able to use his frequent flyer miles, and car rental certificates to get me free travel and car rental.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I am sad that my family will not be able to be there for the big event. But I am so glad that I can still go. My dad and my brothers will all be up for the weekend too. So it is sure to be a fun time. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I was asked to create the invitation for the party and I did that a couple of weeks ago. Here is what it looks like.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeG72e5l9CJqTthqiDLrkCIlOUhJGHSsgbZCXSC_L_cuamniTSG-XwQCDGgHpFzviuV2GgHSqP2kWlANTQD55MQjOVfg9weYYTp2mB9YHJl9TgoM4Gije9PPMubc9b3hdJhjvrRQhgE3b/s1600-h/gma+%26+gpa+party+invite+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLeG72e5l9CJqTthqiDLrkCIlOUhJGHSsgbZCXSC_L_cuamniTSG-XwQCDGgHpFzviuV2GgHSqP2kWlANTQD55MQjOVfg9weYYTp2mB9YHJl9TgoM4Gije9PPMubc9b3hdJhjvrRQhgE3b/s400/gma+%26+gpa+party+invite+copy.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I am real happy with how it turned out. Anyway, I am heading off early on Friday morning and will get back home on Monday morning. The hard part with taking a weekend trip by myself is that Mike will get home late Thursday night and I will leave Friday, return Monday, and he will leave again Monday night. So we won't get to see much of eachother this weekend while he is home. Hopefully he will have some quality time with the kids in my absence.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Now as for why the family couldn't go on this trip. Originally our plan was for the whole family to head out for the weekend trip. We would leave Friday and return on Monday which is a school holiday. It was perfect since it is a 3 day weekend. Then came the letter from the school that Tiffany has missed 11 (yes i said ELEVEN) days of school so far this year. It said she cannot miss any more days without a doctor's note. AND, Kaylee has missed even more school. She is up to 16 days now between her surgery, swine flu, and whatever this nasty virus was they all just got over. Kaylee will also miss some school for her surgery on the 17th. So Mike and I decided we just can't take them out of school for the Friday to make the trip. It was a tough decision, but it feels right anyway. The good things coming from the decision to stay home are; the girls can go to the school dance on Friday, Kaylee can go to her friend's birthday party Friday night, Tiffany can play in the school basketball game on Saturday, Mike can go watch her play in a basketball game (he misses most of them because they are on Wednesdays while he is gone), and Ryan can get his award for a poem he wrote on Saturday. So there is good in the midst of it all.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, I am looking for a little weekend getaway and a visit with my granparents and extended family up in Ogden. I am sure it will be a nice weekend.</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044052288845661110.post-74601159920275231572010-02-08T22:30:00.000-07:002010-02-08T22:30:07.948-07:00A Little Facelift and Home OrganizationI gave my blog a little facelift today. It was time for some change!! <br />
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So, I have been working on a whole house reorganization project over the last few months. I found a great book called "House of Order Handbook- The Best Way to An Organized Life". It has some great tips in it, that are really helping me to make some changes in our home.<br />
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The biggest problem is convincing the kids to help keep things organized. I am sure it will settle in some time that if they put things away when they are done with them, the house will stay much neater eliminating the constant need to clean up. (which they hate to do of course)<br />
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One of the biggest changes I have made in my life and home is with organizing myself and my time. I made a great spreadsheet calendar for the week. I have divided my weekly household chores up so that each day I have some work to do. The nice thing about this is that if I follow my schedule for the week, I never have to spend a whole day cleaning house and when the weekend comes and Mike is home, we don't have to spend that valuable time doing housework. This has been a huge change for me and for the last 5 weeks I have poretty much followed my schedule. I simply add in any appontments for the week and print up a new calendar each week and hang it on the magnet board above my desk.<br />
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I am sure this will be an never-ending project, but it is fun to see some of it working. <br />
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Last week I cleaned out and organized the kitchen pantry. It is so wonderful to have it neat and tidy, but I have to tell you what sparked that job. We have been having a bit of trouble keeping Jacob out of the food. He is a little sneak and is constantly sneaking into the pantry and cupboards to get snacks. He is starting to pack on a few extra pounds, and we need to do something to eliminate the in between meal snacking. So we decided to buy an alarm for the pantry door. In order for this to be successful, I had to make sure all the food was in the pantry, so I had to reorganize, clean up and move extra stuff from the cupboards into the pantry. The good news is, I think it is working. I can hear anytime the pantry door is opened (the alarm is annoying too) and I can deter him from getting anything extra to eat. I hope this works, because the next step is to actually put a lock on the pantry door and I really don't want to have to do that.<br />
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Anyway, I guess I better be going. I'm not sure what the next project will be, probably organizing the food storage in the basement. Yippee!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08269106478719669402noreply@blogger.com1