My Friends

This was on my friend MaryAnn's blog.. it is so fun!

When did you first meet the 1st person on your list? Amy is the sister of my high school best friend, Amber. She is so fun and always has been. I think the first time I met her was at my friend's birthday party. She was the cool older sister everyone wanted to hang out with. If it wasn't at the birthday party I met her, it was when I was hanging out with Amber one day and she took me for a ride in her pinto while Ace of Base was blarring! As I think about that I can actually hear the songs! Scary!

What do you like about the third person on your list's blog? Kooliana was in the same grade in high school but in a different town. She was always so cute and happy all the time. I haven't been around her in awhile, but judging from her blog, she is a great mom and still always happy.

What do you like best about the 5th and 6th people on your list? Emily is 5th and she is wonderful. I don't think I have ever hear her say a bad thing about anyone in her life. She is expecting her first child, and everyone who knows her is thrilled because she will make such a great mom.
Britany is 6th on my list. I went to high school with her and she was always in style. It is no wonder she went to school for cosmotology. She's beautiful and a great mom to her cutie pie little boy.

What impresses you about the 11th and 22nd people on your list? The 11th person on my list is Gordon and Nicole. Gordon and Chris were friends in school. Gordon lived with Chris when he and I met, and I was always impressed by how spiritual he was. He also has the biggest smile in the world. I am impressed with Nicole just for looking so good even after having a baby. Way to go girl!
The 22nd person on my list is my mother-in-laws side of the family. They are all such sweet terrific people. Chris's grandpa passed away a few years ago, but Chris still looks up to the example this man set. Chris's grandma is awesome. She raised great kids and has a great attitude.
Oops, the 22nd person is actually Marisa. I know her because we went to school together. She was always so outgoing and friends with anyone.

What is a memory you have with the 23rd person on your list?
The 23rd person on the list was my best friend in high school. We went everywhere together and had a lot of fun. Her and Deanne were the ones who took the missionary disscussions with me. Those are of course fond memories for me. I was grateful the first time I met with the missionaries as I could have been so embarrased by my missing piece of eyebrow. Let's go back to the night before, I thought it might be easier to shave my eyebrows rather than pluck. This may have worked except that I sneezed and missed. Oops! My mom filled in the missing piece and I thought I was in the clear. Then, it rained. Yep, my missing piece came shining through. The sister missionaries were so sweet they didn't say anything until the very end, and Amber and Deanne never noticed!

Summer Time

Okay, here's a bunch of random updates about our summer.

The kids are in swim and just finished up baseball. I have never been so thankful for an activity being over as I am baseball. I'm glad they have the opportunity to play, but sometimes I wonder why I put us all through it. It is ridiculously hot outside; Ryan, no matter how many times you tell him, will always run to second after hitting the ball?; and Kiley hates to, "get all sweaty."

Swimming has been fun this year for all of us except Bryson. I decided to take a job as swim instructor. I thought it would be a great way to make a little extra money and really be a part of something the kids (mainly Kiley) really love. It worked out well, and other than having the grossest feeling hair in the world, I enjoyed doing it. Poor Bryson; however, did not like it. The combination of the heat and not being able to go to mom got to him. The crying got to me, so I quit. The kids are still in swim, I found a great replacement, and I promised I would sub anytime. Here's a picture of all of us leaving in the morning and Ryan with his tongue out as he swims.

Kiley also did a cheer camp with her friend Raynee, and she got her picture in the paper. She was so cute out there.

Picute from the paper below. Chris has been working on our yard, and it looks great. For once, we have grass. Chris and his friend, Marco, laid sod a couple of weeks ago, and it is taking root. I am amazed. We can't grow anything, so this feels like quite an accomplishment. Plus, the trees we planted earlier in the year are still alive! Hooray! I think by next year, we'll be ready to take on gardening. If anyone out there can give me some pointers, they would be greatly appreciated. I even have a plant in the bathroom that has been growing for months! I feel so Martha Stewartish.
We hope you are all having a great summer.

Family Visit

A couple of weekends ago; my dad, stepmom, grandma, and sisters came down. We haven't seen them for three years, so it was fun to see how much everyone has changed. I'm sure most of you didn't know I had sisters. Well, I have one stepsister, Ashley (Yes, you read that right), and one half-sister, Savannah. Here's a picture of the three of us. We took pictures that said Happy Father's Day Dad.
While they were here, we went to the mountains to ride 4-wheelers. Here's a picture of Chris and my dad trying to get the gas stove to light. We forgot matches, so these two crazy people decided to use jumper cables and rebar (Men are so weird). It worked we cooked great hot dogs and later found a box of matches in Chris's truck. Oh well, it made for a great memory.
I love this picture of Kiley. I took it while we were doing the Father's Day sign. She is actually pouting, but I really love the way she looks.

Here's a picture of Chris and the kids rolling down the hills at EA. It was fun except when rolling down hills, kids should try not to put feet and heads near each other. Ryan looked like a boxer for a few days. Here's Kiley, Savanna, and Ashley. Cute Girls.

Happy Birthday Kiley

Kiley turned six this week! Her party was back in May so she could invite her friends. We had a finger paint day, and it was a blast; unfortunately, I can't find those pictures. So, here's the ones from this week. Kiley had our normal birthday morning. Then, we went to the pool, so Mommy could go to work and she could do lessons. Later, Kiley went with Mommy and Nana to get pedicures, and the whole family went to see Kung Fu Panda. We came home for presents and cake. It was a lot of fun. I can't believe my baby is six! Ki is so sweet, smart, creative, and thoughtful. She is a great sister, always a leader, and the best daughter in the world. We love you Kiley!

The Wall

This may seem like a silly post, but I can't tell you how much grief this wall has cost me. Chris started this wall almost 4 months ago. He thought it would be a quick project, but it was way more work than we realized. He built it almost 2 feet high all the way around before I convinced him to let the pros do it. We hired the pros to do it, they brought about 10 guys, and it was done in 6 hours. It was amazing to watch! I am so proud of Chris though. He really worked hard, and he did a great job. I am thankful for a husband who can do anything he puts his mind to. Anyway, I love the wall. It makes me feel like my kids are safer, and neighbors are happy the dog is finally confined to the yard.

Good ol' boys!

My intro song fits this new post, turn the volume up and listen. I had to write a quick post about these three crazy boys. Ryan has two great friends, Clint and Josh. They are all so sweet, and the three of them are hilarious! They love to do things together and they get along great. I couldn't ask for better friends for my son. I hope they are always great friends growing and learning together. I am thankful for them and their wonderful families for raising such great boys!

DISNEYLAND!

My mom is wonderful! She decided to take some money and go on a once in a lifetime trip to Disneyland! It was wonderful! Here's a brief overview of our trip:

Day 1: Fly to California. Nana and I had tickets to go see Wicked; however, Ryan came down with a high fever and a bad rash that landed us at urgent care in California. Hours later we learned he had a virus called Fitz Disease or the slapped cheek disease! He was okay on Motrin. We missed Wicked, but were glad Ryan was seen.

Day 2: Disneyland! I can't tell you all how much fun we had. The kids loved it. We got to eat breakfast with Minnie and Friends and it was definitely a highlight. Kiley loved Minnie Mouse, and for the rest of the trip asked that we refer to her as Minnie! Ryan loved all the characters, except Captain Hook, but he especially loved seeing Tiger and Mickey Mouse! Later, during one of the shows, Ryan was chosen to be the Beast and dance with Belle! I was so excited! He makes a perfect prince. Bryson was a perfect baby all day. He loved the rides and was just happy to be carried all day!

Day 3: We went to California Adventure. It had some great rides. I'm not big on the whole ride thing, but I loved some of them. Chris was crazy and rode this giant ride that drops you! The kids loved the Pixar games and shows and Ryan went Crazy for Playhouse Disney!

Day 4: We decided to try Sea World. It was fun, but I wouldn't do it again. It was too much for one trip. Everyone was exhausted, but it was cool to see Shamu and feed the dolphins. We went out for dinner, and went to the beach! It was 9pm and we went to the beach, but Kiley wouldn't leave California without seeing the ocean! This beach was beautiful and the cool part was that we had the whole thing to ourselves. Ki and Ryan loved it, Bryson not so much. It was beautiful and it always reminds we of how amazing Heavenly Father is to create such wonderful things!

Day 5: We flew home. It was a wonderful trip! Thanks Nana for taking us! We love you!