All Things Summer

School starts tomorrow, TOMORROW! Everyone is excited, but it's hard to believe summer is over! Alan earned his bear badge this summer, we had 3 family reunions and a baptism/baby blessing we were able to go to in the past 4 weeks and we've had lots of cousins over this summer! I squeezed in another nursing prerequisite (A-! Hooray) and the next one begins Monday the 24th! Happy summer!

Pioneer Trek

If you ever want to have the greatest/most difficult time ever, say yes when your stake asks you to be a Ma and Pa on a Pioneer Trek! Neither George or I have callings with the youth so it was really a random opportunity we had to go on trek. We had the best 'family' with 2 girls and 5 boys as well as a "auntie" (a stake leader). We trekked with a handcart 26 miles! Before we left I worried that we would need a schedule of who would push and pull, but it was a chore to get those kids NOT to be on the handcart. We experienced a hailstorm that took out 30 tents and came with 50 mile per hour winds! It was a very building experience when our 'kids' commented that they couldn't imagine the pioneers being in that kind of weather in October and November. There were so many wonderful and spiritual experiences, but what I loved the most was that in the beginning our 'kids' would eat and hang around their friends when there was some down time, but by the end we were together all the time. I really do feel like I have 7 more children! One more thing, our oldest 'son,' Tiko, a talented Tongan athlete, called the Saturday before to say that the first USA rugby tournament game had been scheduled Wednesday afternoon when we were heading home, and since he was his team's captain, he felt that he needed to full fill this obligation and couldn't come to trek. We were devastated, but agreed that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Several hours later he called back and said he would work it out to come and his bishop would take him home early Wednesday morning. About an hour after that he called again and said he felt strongly that he needed the whole trek experience and would stay the whole time. During a devotional where we were talking about sacrifice, George asked him to share his sacrifice. You could tell he was uncomfortable, but his willingness to share touched so many of the youth. This was an experience of a lifetime! We feel so lucky to have been a part of it!

So, we were going to paint the kitchen for the 4th of July weekend! It's something that I've wanted to do for a while (since we moved in 2 years ago) so when my mom asked what we were doing and I told her that she said she wanted to take the boys and go camping. Since I am not much of a camper I thought this sounded great. And since we wouldn't have our little guys around, our plans changed. We got to spend a night in Park City, and while Alan and Benson definitely had more fun, it was sure a nice 4th for us!

Benson Learns to Ride a 2-Wheeler!

Yep, My 7-year-old son has crossed yet another threshold, he has moved on to the two-wheeled bike. There were some things that I couldn't wait for my youngest to do, but most of those things happened before I realized he would always be my youngest! So when Benson didn't want to take off his training wheels, I wasn't too disappointed (yes, I also let him suck his thumb and baby him in a lot of different ways) although Alan had shown great enthusiasm at the age of 4 and insisted we remove his training wheels. But our little cousin Tyler came to spend the night and brought his bike-that did not have training wheels. Today Tyler taught Benson how to ride a two-wheeler and George removed the training wheels from off his bike! Good job Benson! You're still growing up too fast for me!

What Happens in Vegas...

Yep, here we are gettin' lucky with the Buddah...I mean getting luck from the Buddah! My friend Kim and I had a great trip to Vegas where while we didn't see Jay we did see this beautiful statue and went to The Price is Right! As well as our hotel pool that was a mini Seven Peaks! We were gone just long enough to miss the kids and the hubbies and short enough to not miss the housework and whining (don't worry none of the above was in short supply upon my return...)!

Mother's Day Tradition

So I just read all your blogs about mother's day and some of your kids sang to you and some of your talked to missionaries and one of you did a huge tribute to her mom and some of your husbands are amazing... but mine is more... because for mother's day I am going to VEGAS with my friend Kim! Again, I hate to brag, but come on it's pretty great. We might even see Jay Leno's show. I am sooo excited about it I can almost get through all the housework and laundry and craziness around here! Happy Mother's Day!

Fire Pit!

One of my favorite things about our house is the backyard fire pit!

We have had soooo much fun having campfires in our own backyard!

There used to be a tree (that shed inedible cherries all over everything) with a circle of concrete around it, so out went the tree and we have been attempting to burn out the stump ever since! And while George is definitely the biggest fan of a family campfire, next up is the dog!

Rori loves being outside with us (or maybe she just loves the occasional bite of cheese-dog that comes her way?)!
So if you're ever interested, we'd love to have you over for some hot dog roasting with dutch oven cobbler and s'mores!