Family Pictures....Finally!!

ARISE Youth Spectacular

Ok, I am retarted at blogging. My pictures downloaded in reverse order.
Anyway, we went the the Youth Specatular tonight at Weber State. It was amazing!! For those of you who don't know, it was a performance put on by 33 stakes, which included around 3,500 youth ages 14-18. Alexa was fortunate enough to be able to be in it. They have been practicing for 6 months. Just to see the number of youth participating was breathtaking! The number of hours put in by youth, leaders, etc is impossible to imagine. This is a once in a generation opportunity and it was great to be able to witness the end result!!


This was during the Finale...powerful, spiritual moment!


Again, during the finale


Our "Counsel"'s final number. There were about 10 stakes in each council. Each council performed for about 20 minutes.

This was my favorite part. It's impossible to do it justice, but the kids were all on the right dressed as angels. As they ran through the veil (where the flags are) they changed from angels in the pre-existence to people in colorful shirts running towards a large earth on the other side of the field.....see, I told you I couldn't do it justice :)

Another song during their perfomance.

Here are a few video clips...

St. George Triathalon

Here goes nothin'! No backing out now :)



HALF MILE SWIM
I'm still smiling because I haven't got in the FREEZING cold water yet!


Yep, I'm the one in the pink hat! Can you see me? After I started swimming I seriously thought I was going to have to call over one of the kayakers over to rescue me! About 1/3 of the way into the swim I finally got into a groove and did ok. I just wanted to get the heck out of that water!


12 MILE BIKE
After the swim, I was so dizzy....did not expect that. I took forever to get started on the bike because I could not keep my balance. This was at the very end of the bike ride...up another hill. I had no idea there could be so many hills in a course! :) I am NOT a good biker!



3 MILE RUN
Oh yeah...I made it...and I wasn't even last. I was seriously worried about this. Turns out there are a lot of other beginners that do this race. Good deal. For about half of the run I ran next to a nice, slightly annoying lady that kept talking crazy to me the whole time. She kept saying things like "we can do this, we are women of steel, oh yeah, just run to that sign...ok, we're there, ok now we just need to run to ...etc...etc.



Brett, Martin, Angie, and Victoria were there to support me...they were good sports! Especially since it was Victoria's birthday.

Where do I begin?

I've been meaning to get some pictures posted forever....there always seems to be something more pressing to do. So here I sit at 11:00 pm unwinding on the computer. So what follows are months of misc pictures that I'm finally getting around to blogging! :)

APRIL FOOLS DAY DINNER

Yes, it's another holiday dinner :) ...we enjoy those around here! I had all the kids pick 3 numbers out of a bowl. We then took turns according to number order picking the utensils/dishes that I had put in a large bowl. The idea was to pick something to eat with, something to eat off, and something to drink out of. Of couse I had picked out some fun items!

Anna ended up with a spatula to eat with, a corn on the cob "trough" to eat out of, and a large soup mug to drink out of.

Ellie got a large spatula to eat with, a small plate to eat on, and a dessert dish to drink out of.

Alexa had a plate to eat on, a ice cream scoop to eat with, and a ladle to drink out of

Kamron got a casserole dish to eat out of, and a serving bowl to drink out of

...and Brett just tolerated the whole ordeal!! :) (somehow he ended up with a bowl, fork, and cup)

Some of us put our beans on the table because our dishes would not hold pasta and beans :)

Next on the list...

ALEXA MADE HONOR SOCIETY OFFICER

This was the night they were "put in office" :)

And Finally....

ELLIE'S AND ANNA'S DANCE RECITAL (last March)

Whew! Ok, that's it for this random posting of pictures! :)

Family time

Recently I went to "Time out for Women". There was a mother and daughter who gave a good presentation on trying to be a good mom....something I alway can improve on :)!
They reminded me to keep my camera handy for great "mom moments".

So, the other day, while I was busy doing house work, I noticed Ellie was reading to Kamron without being asked. They were both enjoying it, and it was a good mom moment :)

Growing up, my mom always made holidays special....good memories of mine. I hope to do the same for my kids. Thanks, mom, for your awesome example!

Valentines day dinner-red crystal light in champagne glasses, raspberry jello, and heart pizza...i'm the only one that will eat the spinach at the bottom :)

Pink heart pancakes and strawberries for breakfast!

Anna got the best present...donuts and flowers from a boy in her class. They made a great centerpiece!

Cruisin'

On top of the Myan temple in Belize (shown below)

Minitature golfing on the ship...fun to us!


LOVED the dessert selection. I had at least four a day!! Why not indulge? :)

I am going through sugar withdrawl!!

On the ship by the spa

Ready to get back on the ship after a day in Cozumel.

LOVED snorkeling in Cozumel...wished we had more time. The weather was kind of poopy.

Lunch in Cozumel...yummy!

Formal night....

We are addicted to cruises! We LOVED it! I highly recommend it :)!

Random Posting!

How great to see real reindeer in their natural habitat.....fenced up in the city park :) The joys of childhood!


Alexa and her first junior high dance (8th grade)



My favorite costume ever.....The Firework!

When my parents were here for Christmas I made them make a manger scene with the kids. Let me tell you, my dad and Brett were thrilled ! :)

My dad made the bed :)...very technical!

Kamron made a giant sheperds staff that was larger than the sheperd and looked like a candy cane :)

The finished product!! Ellie made the angel,brett made one wise man, grandma made the sheep, anna made the sheperd, alexa made the camel, and I made 2 wise men, baby Jesus, Joseph, and Mary (who baked funny in the oven)...basically what was left :)


Love these guys!!!