Beatin' the Heat

Sorry - no pictures...

On Wednesday we went to Queen Creek to spend time with Lori and Jessica. The kids were so excited as Lori has a pool in her back yard.

Since it was late when we got to Lori's, and a storm was coming in, we didn't let them swim. Ryan could hardly stand himself. He slept in Tucker's room, and as Lori was helping him to bed, he asked if he could swim in the morning. She laughed and told him yes.

Thursday morning came and both of my kids were up by 7am. We got them breakfast, and they were in the pool. They stayed in the pool all day. I made sandwiches at noon, by the pool. Ryan was so hungry that he ate TWO. I was SUCH a good mom that day, that I didn't get them a drink ALL day. It didn't even cross my mind to have them drinking.

Sydney ended up in the house by late afternoon, and she had a fever and chills, and her eyes were bright red by night. I felt terrible.

Happy Birthday Syd

For Sydney's birthday we had all of the family over to Kati's house for dinner. My brother Ben wasn't able to come, so the kids and I met him for lunch. We also met my mom and dad there too. It was a nice lunch together.

Ben also came with us to several stores. I looked and looked for a pinata. I couldn't find one that was less than $15. I am cheap, so I did what cheap people do. I bought a $2 gift bag and filled it with candy. I then wrapped it in packing tape and secured the edges with duct tape.

I got laughed at for my invention, but you know - the kids loved beating the heck out of the bag, and I think it lasted longer than a regular pinata. Plus, I saved $13 in the process. Go me. I don't have pictures of it, just video, and I don't know how to upload that, so you will all just have to visualize.

Kati made Sydney's cake. It turned out very cute.

I had someone take pictures, and this is literally one of the best ones. In the pic - Tre', Boston, Kati, Taya and Sydney

Taya and Syd had matching pajamas...too fun.

I can't believe my baby is 6!

A few things I love about her:

- She loves to dance. When music comes on, she can't contain herself. Her little body just moves.
- She loves singing.
- She loves helping me in the kitchen.
- She is very tender, and is very considerate. (She gets that from me - he he)
- She loves babies. She's going to be a great mother.
- She is a great sister, even though she LOVES to tease her brother. (She gets that from her dad)

Happy Birthday Sydney. We sure love you.

Are we there yet?

Today Brett took flight in the friendly skies and landed in Bristol, England. He is there for 2 weeks, so I decided that I didn't need to stay home with the kids by myself all that time.

What's a girl to do you ask? Well, I went home.

Today was a VERY long day. We took Brett to Salt Lake City to the airport, then we traveled to Phoenix where we stayed with my baby sister Kati. We ended up leaving the house (after the airport) at 10:30 am, and let me tell you - I don't want to ever do that again. Sydney asked me a bazillion times how long it was going to take us, and Ryan kept asking if I would just set a timer. Well, if I knew exactly how long it was from my house to Phoenix, I would have brought a timer. But I didn't. The way I time things on road trips is like this -

Kids: Mom, how much longer?
Me: 2 more movies - pick some good ones.

Winds of Change

For several years now we have been given Lagoon tickets, courtesy of Novell. To be honest, I'm not sure how many years we have gone, but this I do know - my life is changing.

We started going to Lagoon with diaper bag in hand, pushing a stroller, having to work around nap time, etc.

Yesterday I took the kids and our stay was MUCH different. We got there shortly after they opened at 11am, and left at 10pm last night. The kids had a blast!



Since Brett is at scout camp, we had an extra ticket. We decided to take our friend Evan. I am always amazed at how well Evan and Ryan get along. When Ryan was in the hospital going through chemotherapy, Evan's parents, our friends, Ben and Emily, shaved his head since Ryan was going to lose his hair. I'm not sure if this is what started the bond between these two, but I hope it last for a lifetime. Since we shaved Ryan's hair into a Mohawk for the summer, Ben shaved Evan's hair for this trip. I think they both love their hair.



Thank heaven we had Evan. The kids aren't quite as daring as he is, so they went on several rides that they probably wouldn't have gone on otherwise.



Speaking of rides they wouldn't have gone on, this one makes me laugh so hard.


I wouldn't go on it because I didn't want to puke, so I let them all go together. Ryan's wasn't quite sure of the ride once he got to the front of the line, but I assured him it would be ok. Well, a few minutes into the ride I got a little closer and Sydney caught my eye. She immediately started crying and telling me that she wanted off. I just started to laugh because when I was a teenager, I was on a ride called the Octopus. We got a little way into the ride and my sister Lori said "What if they stop us and we can't get down." Well, just then they stopped the ride. I started screaming, and continued to scream asking to be let off all the while the man operating the thing, along with my mom and sister, were laughing their heads off. I knew that it would be a while before Sydney would be able to get off.

Ryan was officially scared to death and so was Sydney. Ryan wanted the guy to lock his thing into position so that he didn't spin.

Not spinning would have been fine if it was similar to the ferris wheel that was at California Adventure. It wasn' t the same though, and Ryan got stuck in this position:

UPSIDE DOWN - for about 5 minutes - NO LIE

I took a picture of Sydney when she got off the ride...I'm pretty sure this is what I looked like. I got a nice slap on the arm from her, and she landed herself in Time Out, but that's beside the point.



After the drama was over, we rode a few more rides and saw these little guys inside Lagoon A Beach. I'm just glad they waited to come out AFTER we spent 3 hours in there! Beautiful, yet creepy animals.

Not the Same

Yesterday Brett left for scout camp.

He will be gone all week.

Our lives are not the same without him.

Life's Stories

CBS has a program where one of their news men opens up a phone book and points to a person. He then calls that person and gets to know them and tells their story on the air.

I have been thinking a lot about how everyone has a story. Experiences that are had during your early years very often shape the person you become. Sometimes your experiences drive you to change and overcome challenges in your life. Other times you might just succumb to those challenges and your path becomes a long winding road.

I often wonder what it is that I am supposed to learn through the experiences I have. More than this, I wonder who it is that I am supposed to touch through the lessons I have learned in life. Am I doing the right things? Do I reach out to those around me who could benefit from my life? Am I actually learning something and applying these lessons to my life, and shaping my very own character?

I have a story. Many details remain inside my own thoughts and return through memories.

Good

and

Bad.


It is easier that way.

Less judgment.

More empathy.

Tour de Donut

This year Brett rode in the Tour de Donut in American Fork. The race is a 'roughly' 21 mile course, consisting of 3 - 7 mile loops. The idea is that you ride a loop, eat as many donuts as you can, ride another loop, eat again, then finish strong. For every donut you eat, you get 3 minutes taken off of your time. Brett ended up eating 2 and 3/4 donuts (the 3/4th donut had a hair in it...mmm).

Before the Race

First Lap

Out for the 3rd Lap - riding with a friend from work

The man who won, ate 28 donuts!! SICK!! I had to take a picture of him because I've never seen anything like it.

While it sounds disgusting, and it actually can be, this was a very fun event, and one the whole family can enjoy.

Stadium of Fire

After a great day relaxing at the Berger's house, we took the kids to BYU to watch the fireworks outside of the Stadium of Fire. The performers this year were SheDaisy, and the Jonas Brothers, among other local dancers, etc.

We loaded our bikes onto the van and parked by the law building at BYU. As we were taking the bikes off of the van 4 Air Force jets flew by. We thought they would fly by at 8pm so we hung out at Brett's parents for a while so we could see them, but they didn't come so we went ahead and went on to Provo.

We took our blanket, and backpack with snacks, and rode to the stadium to find a seat on the lawn. We weren't there 10 minutes and a couple of women walked in front of us handing out tickets. One of the women said she was looking for a group of 4. I raised my hand and she walked over and handed me 4 tickets to get inside.

The kids were THRILLED!

We didn't plan on going inside, so everything we had with us had to be taken back to the car. Brett took a ticket, and our stuff, and I took the kids inside to find our seats. It took us several minutes to find our seats as the man in orange hadn't a clue where we needed to be. I finally found another woman that knew the stadium better and we found our seats. Once we got settled the man next to me told me that I would have to move. I asked him why and he said that I was in someone's seat that had gone to the restroom. I told him that my ticket said that I was supposed to be there and he said - well, then I guess they will have to move. Shortly after, the young men came back and they were a little peeved that we had showed up.

We enjoyed the rest of the show listening to the Jonas Brothers, and then seeing a spectacular firework display. We didn't have our camera with us, so I'm going to steal pictures off of a friend's blog (Thanks Keith :)



After part of the fireworks were displayed, we were able to participate in a ceremony that retired this flag. It was a very emotional ceremony, and I am very proud to be an American. So many have fought for our freedoms and I am so grateful. We have a friend that serves in the Army and he was able to help carry the flag in.


Once the flag was brought into the stadium, it was laid in this cauldron and burned. Sydney was so concerned that the flag was being burned. She worried that if the flag was being burned, then we wouldn't live in America anymore. She shed a few tears, and it really made me think about how important it is to recognize all that we have.


I am grateful to the woman that gave us those tickets. It made the kids' night and we had an unforgettable experience.

One Mile and Counting.

Ryan ran his 1st One Mile race on Saturday. I was SO proud of him. He will be 9 in August and I was thrilled that he had the desire to run at such a young age.



The course was not marked well and there were people running all over the place. Towards the end I could tell that Ryan was getting tired so I joined him for a few minutes.


Ryan finished the race in 11 minutes 30 seconds. He says that this isn't his last race. I will be supporting him in his next one too.