Excuse me I wasn't finished with Summer yet.

We had such a great summer this year and crammed so much into it. Here is a small glimpse of some of the things we did. A family triathlon which was a blast.
Our yard looked so gorgeous this summer. Hard work really does pay off.
Flew up to Denver with my sweet Indiana friend Joan and her daughter to be there for our friend Keri who had lost her daughter.
Love driving by seeing Dave on the billboard.

My 20 year highschool reunion was a blast.
Dave did the spudman so we all went up to Idaho to visit our darling friends the Pedersen's.

So Dave did a couple of Triathlons this summer with his brothers, I don't think I have enough room to post even half the pictures from them. But they all improved this year and had a lot of fun doing them.
I think I am getting old because I could only do the roller coaster twice this year at Lagoon. Luckily the kids are old enough they can go on it by themselves.

Love, love, love hanging out at Cherry Hill with the Dodenbier's. (Lexie wouldn't get out of the Lazy River to be in the picture)
We hosted couples bunko again this year which is such a great tradition.
We love hanging out with the Miller's in Park City
My sister, Mom and us cheering Dave on at the Ogden Marathon.
Matthew had another great soccer team this year and scored more goals than ever.
Threw a fun surprise party for Lexie's 13th birthday party. She had no idea.
We spent the 4th of July weekend in Kaysville having so much fun with family.
Love going on early morning runs with my sister. Wish she lived closer by so we could go everyday.
Sisters and Mom weekend - making christmas gifts. We love spending time together.

Memorial Day - Matthew's Birthday

Memorial day was a day full of fun family tradition. Since we moved back to Utah 3 years ago it has been so fun starting new traditions. For Memorial Day we love getting together. We go down the night before and stay and my sister's house then get up way early and go run a 5K. This year Lexie walked it with my mom who is 81 which was perfect. I have to say that I have the best family ever! Thank goodness we were able to move back so we can do all these fun things together.
After wards they provide a breakfast which is always so yummy!. My niece said it perfectly "I love that no one has to clean up afterwards." Well said Chris. It is just fun to sit down and talk about what everyone is up to. They always do a nice program along with bag pipers playing while we eat. I love the little home town feeling that my kids get to experience.
My darling sister is always such an inspiration to me. She is so positive and always pushes me to try new things. I seriously want to be her when I grow up.
We all went to the cemetery where my Dad and brother are buried. My mom had a fun surprise for all of us. She had written a story about her being in the war and submitted it to a dutch newspaper which got published! We all got a copy of it.
Since it was Matthew's birthday we went to Bookdock's for a fun filled afternoon. What a great place! Dave described it as a kid's Las Vegas.

The mini golf was a ton of fun. Of course Matthew won.
We all loved the go-carts. It makes me want to go and buy one and drive it all around the neighborhood all day.
I opt'd out of the water boats because everyone was getting soaked and that did not really thrill me.
As we were leaving Matthew told us it was the best birthday ever. I guess we can just bag the party then on Wednesday. Matthew won so many tickets that he bought a little pool table with it.
We ended the night at AppleBee's with of course Jeff, Jana and kids. One of these days I need to put together a collage of us and all the places we have eaten with them. We love hanging out with them and their kids!

Dave's Birthday

I totally surprised Dave this year for his birthday. We made him a nice breakfast then blindfolded him and drove all over Logan. We ended up at the Logan airport where I had arranged for a flying lesson. He was totally shocked and so excited. The kids got to fly in the back and Dave did the lift off and flew all around Logan. It couldn't have been more perfect.Dave, the kids and instructor walking to the plane.
We ended the day with a fancy dinner at Elements. The kids actually loved their food, it was such a fun way to celebrate Dave's birthday.

Are You Kidding Me?

Dave continues to amaze me. He just ran the Ogden Marathon and did fabulously! He was a little sore after but other than that he accomplished an amazing goal and made us all so proud to call Dad. Matthew also ran a Kid's K which he loved and did well at. I think he has running in his gene's too.
I kid you not there were around 500 kids that ran this kid's K. Thank goodness he did not wear his green shirt so I could tell where he was.
My darling sister and Mom came to support Dave as he crossed the finish line. What inspiration it is to see all those people coming in. My sweet family all met at my mom's home afterward for a congratulatory lunch in Dave's honor. After all this is a HUGE accomplishment. (Lexie was at a YW pre-camp overnighter so she was not with us)

Mother's Day was sweet!

Dave had to work on Mother's day so we celebrated on Saturday. Jeff, Jana and kids all came up for the weekend. It was so fun being with them and all going to Hamilton's for their Mother's Day breakfast. It would have all been totally perfect if Matthew wasn't being a pill as you can see from the picture. He did not want to eat anything. We all loved the crepes, bacon, fruit, omlettes - okay you get the picture. Jana and I went shopping afterwards and then Dave made a yummo ribs and potato dinner for all of us. How did I get so lucky? Everyday I am truly thankful and humbled for all I have and especially for the blessing of being a wife and mother to two of the greatest kids ever.
I don't know what got into Matthew but it better not happen again next year.

What we have been up to.

Now that winter is finally over it seems like time has flown by. We survived another long, cold Logan winter. Every year Dave and I say "Let's move to St. George." One thing is for sure, we definitely would not want to retire up here.

To kick off Spring I went to St. George for a girl's weekend. We had so much fun eating, talking, getting pedi's, shopping and eating some more. It just wasn't long enough. What I would'nt give to be neighbors with these darling girls again.

For Spring break we took the kids to Maui. Since were flying out on Sunday I talked Dave into the Little America Easter Brunch. We had to tell the kids this was a once in a life time opportunity since it was on Sunday - but man did we love it.

So we went from this to.......

This

Fall is really here

Fall is already off to a great start! I usually don't love the Fall because I know winter is right behind it but this year I am actually enjoying it. We just got back from the Aspen Grove marriage retreat which is always so fun. The speaker this year was just exceptional - I don't think I have cried and laughed so hard in a long time. This is our 3rd year doing it and I said to Dave "We can't afford NOT to do this." We love hanging out with Jeff/Jana and Colter and Jen. We do the extended night and all of us bring our kids up for that. It is definitely a tradition we all love. The mountain was simply gorgeous with all it's color as you can see. Of course the picture does not do it justice.




Dave, 5 of this brothers and one nephew all did the OLYMPIC Bear Lake Brawl. I was so proud of him since he has trained really hard for this. They all had a great time as did the rest of us.

SUMMER _ NEVER a dull moment

Summer just flies by way too fast. Since our yard was all put in this year we were finally able to just go have fun and enjoy the warm weather. Here is what we have been up to. We had two family weddings, and 3 baby blessings this summer. Lexie was able to go to girls camp this year but got a little homesick and soaked. It rained the whole time. Lexie wanted her birthday party at the Aquatic Center again this year which was a lot of fun. We finally gave in and got her a dog for her birthday. Her name is Bella and she is 1/2 Westie and 1/2 Toy Poodle. We celebrated the 4th of July with my sister and her family in Layton. On our way to St. George and Las Vegas we stopped to see the Oquirah Temple which was so such a treat to do with our kids. We had a blast in St. George visiting with friends and family. Las Vegas was fun too but maybe not with kid next time. Dave, 5 brothers and one sister-in-law did the Logan triatholon again this year. It was so fun having them all come to our home after for breakfast. We went to Lagoon with some family and Dave, Matthew and Uncle Mark did the Sky Coaster. I finally got the kids on the Colossus this year which was very exciting for me. (I love that ride) The kids did a Kid's camp this summer to make money to buy Rock Band. They earned their goal and had a lot of fun doing it.