Logan is 17

My oldest continues to grow.....surprising! This month he turned 17. I truly can't believe he is in the thick of the teenage years. He loves life, friends, girls, driving, girls, music, his car, and of course SOCCER. He is such a great boy who we love so much. It is hard to believe in 2 years he will be leaving this nest and heading out into the real world. I hope every day that I have taught him what he needs to know to be a successful and wonderful young man. He is such a great example in our home and his humor always keeps us laughing. Even though he seems to be absent on many occasions, I am so grateful when he is home and when we have great "talks" late in the evening after returning home from a night out. I remember being 17 and truly it is a magical and fun time in life. Happy late birthday son. I sure do love you.

July 4th

My boys are growing up so quickly. Getting my kids to go to a parade is getting more and more difficult. I still fight them as it is very nostalgic to me and it means "family time". So....for the Provo parade, Logan and his friend Ryan went down to Provo the night before the parade to stake out some spots. There was NOTHING. They found a spot on another side street but was told that they couldn't spend the night on that street and would have to come back in the morning at 5:00 am. They went to someone they worked for who lived close by and asked if they could camp on his lawn overnight. He said sure and they managed to get a spot close to the one they wanted the next day. It was so crazy at what went into it, but in the end we watched the parade in comfort and enjoyed all the festivities. We then headed over to the annual Hale BBQ/water and candy drop. This is a tradition that my family has done every July 4th since I was a small kid. We have a BBQ first then my uncles go to the second floor window and dress up for whatever is in the news for the year (this year they were Tiger Woods) :) As they improv, they throw out candy/water randomly to the kids below. It sounds stupid but very fun for the kids. After the candy drop is over, everyone runs around and begins the WATER FIGHT. It is huge and no one is given a free pass. We all leave SOAKED. It was a fun day followed by fireworks at our annual neighborhoos "culdesac of fire". I am so grateful for the freedom we have here in America and that we can celebrate it with family and friends every year!

Happy 18th Anniversary to me

My cute husband took me on an "overnighter" for our 18th wedding anniversary. We went out to eat, stayed in a beautiful hotel, went to a movie, and I got a new wedding ring. I have wanted something else for a while now, and I was so excited to get one this year!

I sure love my husband putting up with me all these years and I love spending every minute with him. Thanks for the last 18 and looking forward to the next 50!

I love you!

State champs!

I know this post is two months old, but I had to blog about Lehi High School soccer taking state in soccer this year! It was amazing to see such talent work together to get the title this year. Little ol' Lehi did it! Logan was privileged because he was asked to dress varsity for the championships. Even though he didn't get any playing time, he was able to practice with the team and sit on the side cheering them on! He can taste it for next year and we're hoping he will get that varsity time he has wanted for a couple years now! Way to go Lehi. You deserve it!

Miss Utah 2010

I am finally posting pics from Miss Utah this year. It was so much fun. I never think I can love my new girls as much as the ones from last year, but every year I do! I had four amazing, beautiful, and talented young women! I had Tara Lemon, Erica Smith, Rachelle Harrison, and Bridgette Sulser. They got along so well and I was sure they were best friends before they even got there. I felt so blessed to have been able to get to know these girls and to once again make some wonderful friendships. I can't believe the talent these girls have! They all did wonderful and I was so proud of them. I loved every minute with my dear friend Jenny. We look forward to it every year and once again it was everything and more! Thanks Jenny for a great time! It took some time to get back in the swing of things. I miss it already.

Garrett is now 10

I do love my sweet youngest who actually turned 10 a month ago but haven't blogged about it yet. My baby is in double digits. How is this possible.. I remember his birth like it was yesterday. It was such a hot couple of days. He was ready to come and luckily I was induced just a couple of days early. It was a good thing because I was admitted at 7:00 and had him at 1:00 in the afternoon where he came into this lovely word weighing 9 pounds 1 ounce. He was so chunky and pink as could be. With him being born so close to summer, I was anxious to get back in shape and out and about with him. We hit the Lehi parade only 3 weeks later.

Here are some things I love about Garrett:

His big blue eyes (we don't know where he came from :) )
His white hair
Tender and very large heart
Very contagious laugh
Desire to learn as much as he can
Quite the comic
Excellent at Math
Loved by all the girls :)
How he still snuggles his mom each night
Wants to do what is right and doesn't enjoy when he disappoints others.
Can hear him always singing something
Is the expert at Word Searches
Has a natural talent at the drums (Thanks Dad)
Is one incredible soccer player

I love you Garrett. You are very well rounded and I am grateful you are part of our family. You are quirky and sweet all at the same time.

Garrett chose to have a "soccer" birthday party. I know that is so original in our family. I am sure I have made atleast 3 or 4 soccer ball cakes so I was a pro by now. He invited most of his soccer team plus some friends from school. The kids enjoyed playing in the water, having a water balloon fight, playing a soccer game in the road, hitting a soccer ball pinata, and eating cake and cupcakes. He is grown up and teaches me something new each day.

Sandhollow

We just returned from a fantastic/hot trip to Sandhollow. It is called "mini Lake Powell" and felt it with 106 degree weather each day. Luckily we had waverunners on the lake to keep up cool. The boys loved digging and playing in the mud. The entertained themselves for hours building forts and sandcastles. Logan and Garrett both got up on the knee boards and they even enjoyed some snorkeling. I enjoyed sitting under the umbrella digging my feet in the sand. We planned on hiking the Subway, but all the passes were taken so we chose to stay back and enjoy the lake. I am just very very thankful for the generator that we had to keep our trailer cool in the morning and in the late afternoon. All in all it was another great trip to remember for years to come. Thanks Logan for being a trooper without any of your friends there.