My Christmas Gift

I told my family that what I wanted for Christmas was everyone to go to church with me on the Sunday before Christmas...and they did!!  I couldn't take a picture of us all squished on the bench, good thing Clark had to sit with the choir, and Jordan and Ashlyn left after Sacrament meeting to go back to their ward for primary, so I didn't get a picture!  But, I have a picture in my heart!  Thanks to everyone for giving me the perfect gift!!  I don't mind not having a picture because we have had the opportunity to take several this year, so I will share a few of those!   Merry Christmas, I hope you all get the perfect gift for you and your family!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

This has been a great fall/Halloween season around my house!  I decorated
and added something new this year...potion bottles and I love them!

I especially like the bat fangs!

The weather has been beautiful and I have been out in the canyon to enjoy the color!

There have been lots of treats to eat...

and Jocelyn and I made a candy house...

Romney hosted a Witches Tea for the Derby Girls...

(but we forgot to photograph everyone!)

We went to Sundance for the Haunted Lift Ride... 

and took along these guys to make it more fun!

The kids carved their own pumpkins... Yipee!!!

And they created their own costumes!!

This has been the most fun and stress free Halloween in 26 years!  I loved helping the kids when they were little, and it is fun to see them carry on traditions, but I am happy to watch and enjoy!

Happy Halloween!  I hope you get more treats than tricks!!!

From "Phantom" to "Newsies"

We just finished a project that has been almost 30 years in the making and it can continue to change and grow!  It is our Broadway play program wall!  We saw our first play in LA many years ago!  It was "Phantom of the Opera" with Michael Crawford.  The most recent play was in NYC in June and it was "Newsies".    We always buy the program and I have been saving them up to display, "someday".  Well, someday is here!  We painted and carpeted the basement and the walls were calling out to be decorated.  After lots of framing and measuring, the pictures are hung and we love it!  Adam contributed an autographed "Wicked" program and one from "Aida" that I didn't see on Broadway.  I did realize that I forgot to buy a program this summer when we saw "Anything Goes" but I think that is the only one I am missing.  Anyway, it is fun to see something I thought of years ago finally happen!

"The Dirty Dash"

A couple of months ago, Romney and Scott invited whoever wanted to, to join them in running "The Dirty Dash".  They said it was a muddy 5k obstacle course and would be fun.  They had three friends running with them and Jordan, Ashlyn, Adam,  Merrili and I decided to join them.  Today was the day!  We filled up the suburban and drove to Soldier Hollow for the race...First, can I say, Soldier Hollow looks very different without snow!  Second, I hope that Soldier Hollow's skiing trails can recover before snow falls again!  So here we are, ready to run a 5K...

We lined up at the starting line and happened to be right at the front for our wave...they sent groups out every 20 minutes...ours was at 11:20...

The guys decided it would be good to start with a body slide, or a flip etc.

Romney and I just wanted to get up the hill without slipping in the mud!




We ran a bit and then stopped to confront obstacles....net walls to climb up and over, standing wood walls to climb over, mud holes to get through however you could, hoses spraying you etc.  It was lots of fun!  We found out that there is a cutoff for the 5k or you can keep going out to the marsh and muck of Deer Creek and run a 10k...of course, we kept going!   Clark caught up with us just before the giant slip and slide and final run to the finish line so we stopped for a picture!

After this, we headed back up the hill for the slip and slide and just before the finish line are the last two obstacles...giant mud holes...here we are working our way to the finish line!

We made it!  We ran the Dirty Dash!  And it was dirty!!  We donated our shoes to charity (they clean them up and send them where they are needed!)  I think we all threw away at least our top layer of clothes, and after a wash down in the hose, we hit the showers to scrub and clean up!  We are already talking about who and what for next year, so if you want to join in the fun, just let us know!

Save the Date

It is unofficially Official, Jordan and Ashlyn are engaged!  They don't want to tell their friends or post anything on Facebook until the ring is on her finger, but Jordan said I could post for my 5 or 6 readers!  So, now you know, just don't congratulate them on Facebook yet!  The wedding date is August 22, so write that on your calendars!  Colleen, we will be sure and sing Happy Birthday to you, too!

Hats Off To The Derby Girls

First, for my few readers who may not know what a Derby Girl is...my sisters and I and our daughters were skiing together a few years ago and decided we needed a name for our "club" and somehow we came up with Derby Girls...we get together about every month or so for some kind of fun activity...of course, we invited our Mom to join and now as we have started adding daughters-in-law and granddaughters, they join in the fun, too!

This last week was our Derby Girls' Tea.  We decided that celebrating around the Kentucky Derby was a good idea, especially since my Mom and sisters and I have all actually lived in Kentucky!  We also took a cue from the Derby and made sure we all wore hats.  

Here is a close up look at the hats...

Cheryl wins for having the best themed hat, with
an authentic pinewood DERBY car attached...

and here are the ladies wearing their hats!

Colleen set a beautiful table on her patio...

 and she has worked tirelessly planting beautiful flowers for all of us to enjoy!  She also photographed flowers and made us all bookmarks and left them on our plates...

Everyone made up one or two delicious recipes to enjoy and put on the last minute touches 

in the kitchen... 

 and then took our beautiful food outside!

It was all delicious, we ate until we were beyond full, and we
all had a great time, except for missing our Texas Derby Girl, Jessica!

I will close with this last picture of our oldest and youngest Derby Girls!

Tim's Senior Trip

Tim is graduating this year, so it was time for his Senior Trip!  For Tim's trip, we took him to Atlantis in the Bahamas.  I decided that if I was ever going to get these pictures online, it would have to be in smaller groups, so here is the first set!  In the hotel is a huge aquarium!  It is in the middle of the lobby...but if you do some exploring, you find out there are tunnels connected to it.  There are smaller tanks filled with individual kinds of fish, too.  Here are some of the cool things we saw...

Lion Fish,

Paper Fish...

Jelly Fish...

Seahorse...so cool!

and Moray Eels!

the same eels, up close!

and of course, sharks!

But our favorite, was this enormous ray...he is swimming towards us...

and then he arrives!

And here is Tim, posing in some kind of diving cap!  (At least we think that's what it is!)

That is round one!  Hope you liked the aquarium tour!

I was wondering about YOU!

I decided to update my blog before spring turned into summer and I still had winter pictures posted! I was trying to think of a post to add to the update, when I remembered something I had read. I decided it was time for a little interaction. Here is a list of "I Prompts" filled out by me...

I was...trying to think of something to post when I remembered this idea!

I am... always behind on blogging, but I love reading my friends' blogs, so I will keep trying!

I think...a lot and try to figure out what I am supposed to do with all the thoughts!

I wonder...why I am so blessed!

I wish...I could finish all the photo albums I have started!

I save...grocery bags, loose change and programs from all the plays I have seen.

I always...wash my face before I go to bed.

I can't imagine...how we ever got by without the internet and personal computers.

I believe...in second (and third, and fourth...) chances!

I promise...to keep trying to be a better daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend!

I love...my family!

Now for the interaction...you fill out the prompts and post them in my comments. Just do it right now, a quick snapshot of you, here and now! Can't wait to read them!

Pieces of Me

My sister gave out this challenge on her blog...This is my story….I decided to try it. I also decided I would do it right away so I wouldn't make excuses and read everyone else's and chicken out! So here it is. This is not an easy thing to do!

It started as a thought, I suppose. Definitely a desire of some kind. Then there was me. A little piece of those who came before. Brown eyes and a love of outdoors from Dad. Smooth skin and the joy of reading from Mom. Years pass. There is another thought, another desire, and a piece of me is born. Repeated seven times. A piece of me that loves to a be a mother but does it so much better. A little piece of my sense of humor personified into one who needs laughter to thrive. An obedient heart, working to be a peacemaker, a love of learning, a small measure of athletic ability, a need to talk, a desire to serve the Lord, trying to do my best; tiny pieces of me passed on with my DNA. Seven different pieces of me, magnified by their own uniqueness, that somehow make me complete.

Ski Days

Before winter officially turns into spring, I thought I would do one more post about my cold weather activities. I didn't get started until February, but I did manage to get in some ski days. I always have a hard time getting myself dressed and out the door to ski, but I am always glad when I do! The air is cleaner, the sky is usually bluer and it feels good to be outdoors! This year I only skied at Sundance for cross country, but it was fun each time.

Most of the time I went with one or two of my usual ski buddies, this was a hard year for all of us to connect at the same time! One day our usual group all made it!

Another day, Cheryl and I went and we braved some steep climbs for some fast downhill runs!

Clark and I also took a day for one downhill trip to Park City. The girls had sixth grade passes so we took them. The boys had to miss school for other things on other days, so they missed out. We went the morning after a good (for this winter, anyway!) snow and had new powder. That was a fun day, too. Yep, that's me sporting Tim's neon green pants! They fit better than mine on this particular day!

Finally, to wrap up the season and try something different, Cheryl and I went to Sundance for the moonlight ski at the beginning of March. The moon was slow in rising, so I was really glad Cheryl had recommended bringing headlamps! Also, it had been in the 50's during the day so we pretty much skied on ice! Hard to climb up and scary to ski down, especially with limited light! We think snowshoeing might be more of our moonlight sport, but it was good to try!

So, skiing wasn't totally lost this year, but we will hope for better snow next year. For now, I am happy to see my crocus blooming and will look forward to the warmer days!