Family Pictures

I have a friend who is a photographer. She is so good so I asked her if she would do our family photos this year. Here's a sampling! We went to a park here in town and the leaves were so pretty. I really liked how they turned out.
If only they got along so well all of the time!

I thought that the color of Emily's sweater looked so pretty with the leaves.

Father and son! These guys really have a good time together. They're always doing guy things together.

My girls are so darling! (I do admit that I'm a bit prejudiced of course.)

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I'll be sending out a different one in my Christmas cards this year, but I just had to show everyone a few of the other pics taken.

Surprise!

Well, I've finally accomplished it! I'm FORTY!!! I'm still not quite sure how I feel about that, but I had a great time with my birthday last weekend. Colby told me that he had planned a surprise outing for Friday night. Imagine my surprise when he turns into the church parking lot and tells me that he needs my help to set up some tables for a friend's family party. I (being oh so gullible) totally believe him and walk into the darkened church wondering why there doesn't seem to be anyone there. Imagine my shock when the lights flipped on and there were all my friends and my family yelling "SURPRISE!" It was so much fun and looking back I can't believe that I didn't have a clue! My best friend Kathy, mom and Colby were in cahoots and they really made this birthday one for the books.


These are my cute girls with a whole bunch of their friends and neighbors. They thought that it was fun that they could have their own "kids only" table.

Kathy had organized this thing. She had everyone bring soups, bread, desserts...Very yummy!

Here is me with my best friend, Kathy. I'm so going to get her when she turns 50!

One of my other friends gave me a scarf pattern and the yarn. I loved the pattern so much that I started knitting it that night. I finished it today. It think it turned out so cute. I love the ruffles! I'm glad that it's finally getting chilly enough that I can wear it. Fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons.

Very fun week. I'm having a friend come to visit this weekend so the party gets to continue! Did I tell you how much fun I think birthdays are?

Hello!

I know, it's been a while. We've just been busy with everyday things. Today is Sunday and I'm getting ready for the week. I love having these last beautiful days of summer. It's still warm during the day, but the nights are cooler. We had a backyard cookout with our firepit last night. The moon was so bright we really didn't need a flashlight.

The kids are busy with school activities. Kaelyn is doing marching band again. She is still playing the tenor drums. She absolutely loves it. She is in her first year at Ogden High, but the transition hasn't been bad and I think that's because she had all of her band friends.

Taylor started junior high this year. I won't say she loves it as much as Kaelyn does, but she's doing pretty well. Davis is in 8th grade and loving it. He keeps calling Taylor a "sevie". I think he likes not being the low man on the totem pole! Emily is my last one in elementary school. She's in 5th this year and loves her teacher. I love that we're back in the school routine. I'm still busy getting ready for work, but at least I don't have to worry about them being home alone. Summer is definitely harder when you're a working mom!

Yellowstone Vacation.

Well, we just got back last Saturday from our summer vacation. This year we decided to go to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. It was so much fun and soooo pretty! We really had a good time. We've decided that we need to see more of the beautiful national parks! We're thinking of going to the Grand Canyon next year. I can't believe that I've never been there.

Anyway, this is Emily at Jenny Lake in the Grand Tetons. That was our best weather day. I would love to go back there just Colby and I and do a long weekend staying at Jenny Lake Lodge. It's kind of pricey, but you would be right on the lake. So beautiful. I love Emily's hat. This is a new pattern that I got. I'm going to make one for me next. :-)

Here's Taylor at Jenny Lake. You can kind of see one of the Tetons in the backround.

Here's Kaelyn at the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone". It's a canyon that the river flows through after going over the falls. So pretty. A very cold day though. This was one of the few moments that the sun was out. Most of the day it was 33 degrees and spitting snow! Good thing I made everyone bring jackets and hats!

Here's Davis at Mammoth Hot Springs. That is a very interesting place. The hot springs turn the rocks all kinds of weird colors. It smells very sulphur-y. Kind of stinky, but still neat.

I'm not sure what river this is. It's by the Northeast entrance. The scenery was so spectacular and we saw all kinds of animals including grizzlies, black bears, a wolf, elk and bison! Very fun. We were sooo cold in this picture.

Anyway, we had a very fun time. I can't wait until next summer and the next vacation!

New Cabinet!

I finally have a craft cabinet! Colby built this for me. It was kind of fun to pick out the colors, trim and knobs. I think he did a great job. It has room for all of my yarn, books, knitting tools, etc.. as well as my sewing machine and sewing stuff. I have to admit that the knitting stuff far outweighs the sewing stuff. ;-)

I've had this stuff scattered around my house in piles for years. Yay! I'm sure he's going to be happier now that it isn't on, in and under every surface. Now I'm feeling inspired to start working on projects again....

Random...

It's been a busy, but good few months. I finally have enough work. Yay! I'm starting a new office up in Brigham City tomorrow and I found an office literally 2 minutes from my house for Mondays. Colby is getting certified in disaster cleanup and is going to work for a friend who is trying to get that going as a new business. It gets him out of the house and that is great for him.

The kids are busy. Davis just started baseball at his jr high this week. Kaelyn just finished winter drumline last week. Aaagh! I thought that it was supposed to get a little easier as the kids get older, but no! It's good that Colby has a little more flexibility in his schedule than I do as there is much running around to be done. They love it though! We're going to look into getting Taylor and Emily into tennis lessons for the summer. They are very excited. They are so cute! ;-) I need to post some pictures, but I'm in between patients right now at work and I don't have my camera with me. (Don't worry, I'm off the clock!! )

Anyway, that's what's going here....

Jazz Fun

Colby and I got to go to a Jazz game on Friday night. That was very fun. I've never been to one before. It's quite the show! Colby's brother got the tickets from work and we had pretty good seats. No nosebleed section for us! That was a fun night out. We haven't been out on a date in a while so that was good.

Last night I got to have a girls night with my friend Kelly. I went to her house and we watched movies and had pizza, popcorn and all kinds of treats. It was so relaxing to get out by myself and have girl talk and fun!

Kaelyn played in sacrament meeting today. She did such a good job. She played an arrangement of a couple of hymns. Michael Hicks does such a good job. His arrangements of hymns are just outstanding.

Not much else going on with us right now. Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!