Vacation - The First Leg - St Johns, AZ

Our trip started Saturday the 19th. We all piled into the minivan with plenty of snacks and movies and headed south. The kids were remarkably good for most of the trip. They read, played games, watched movies and listened to music. In fact I don't think I can even count how many times Will & Barry made us listen to "Pork & Beans" by Weezer. Our good luck ran out about an hour outside of St Johns 7 1/2 hours was enough they were done so Cord started rapping and then the kids REALLY were done :)



Cord took Cole and Sullivan (a cousin) to a canyon about 1/2 hour out of town where there's a ton of Indian rock art. They had a great time. One of Cord's favorite things to do is hike. I'm so glad Cole loves it too and that they can do together.

Grandpa took the kids up to they park where they played Wiffle ball and played on the swings. We also swam everyday and Cole overcame his fears and did a flip off of the high dive!

What a sweet grandpa!

We also found our way to Round Valley where we saw Travis (Cords brother) & Amy's new house. It's beautiful. Here are a few pictures from our visit with them. Can you tell Alli just loves her cousin Stella?

Travis & Amy

Just look at this amazing sunset! It seemed to last forever changing colors and intensity -- it was beautiful!

We had such a nice time with Cord's parents. I'm so glad we were able to spend a few days with them before all the family reunions started. I love this picture of them -- the boxing glove is sooo funny!

Look at these kooky girls taking pictures at the movies! Britney, Shauna & I went to see Mama Mia! last night. We had a great time laughing and singing and agreed that our husbands would have hated the movie. It's nice to have friends to see a chick flick with!

Cord's Birthday Part 2

So, most of you know what a character Lily is. She just really cracks me up! I just had to post this poem/song she wrote Sunday for Cord's birthday. I think it is soooooo funny. I can't believe how creative she is.

"There is a crazy dude his name is Cord-yeah
He likes to play baseball and he also loves the Lord-yeah
He's really that crazy and he's not that lazy
I'm talking about Cord-yeah
I'm talking about Cord-yeah

mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm

He loves key lime pie and I'm not lying about the guy-yeah
He loves to dance and thinks he's a fancy pants
I'm talking about Cord-yeah
and I love him so much-yeah
I'm talking about Cord-yeah

mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm"

Happy Birthday Cord!

Yesterday was Cord's birthday, he turned 37 and lucky him -- he got to spend it in a minivan (for nine hours) listening to the joyful harmony of our children.

So today we celebrated. We made one of his favorite dishes (pasta with grilled chicken and lots of vegies -- many from our garden and a Cesar dressing) for dinner and that perennial favorite Texas sheet cake. We are also going to head over to Cold Stone tomorrow -- the kids know how much he loves ice cream and want to take him there for their gift.

Here are a few of the many things we love about Cordy:

• Cord loves his kids more than anything
• He thinks he can dance
• He loves baseball
• He loves Heidi almost as much as the kids :)
• Cord is a great cook
• Cord likes to watch sports with the sound off so he doesn't have to hear the "idiot announcers"
• He is a very hard worker and a bit of a perfectionist
• Cord can make me laugh like no one else
• He cuts his own hair
• He puts the kids to bed every night
  
• Even though he thinks he can -- he can't do an impression of Shaggy
• Cord has a strong testimony and leads his family with love.
• He does the grocery shopping
• Because he does the shopping we have at least 4-5 kinds of ice cream in our frig at all times
• He is not a fan of Bronco Mendenhall but still likes BYU football
• Cord plays fantasy baseball, football & basketball
• He loves Mexican and Korean food
• Cord gives service and tells me I'm beautiful everyday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORD/DAD!

We're Back!

We've been on vacation and I was so glad to sleep in my own bed after 9 nights elsewhere. We had the most amazing time visiting with family in Arizona. We were in St Johns then Mesa then Greer and then back to St Johns. I have so much to post but first I need to so some serious laundry before I can indulge in blogging. I did however want to post a few pictures of the garden. Our friends the Erickson's took care of the garden while we were gone and as you can see it thrived in our absence.

The butternut squash is growing out of our boxes! There are several tiny squash and lots of bloom of squash to come!



The tomatoes are now taller than the boys. I cant wait until they are all red. We ate all the ripe ones we could find this morning.

Purple peppers


Tomatillos


When we left out broccoli was a mere 4 inches big! And a little over a week later -- look!
I love having a vegetable garden it so fun to see the kids reaction to our growing garden.

While we were gone our garden was not the only thing to grow. Some maggots started growing in Cole's bug collection he started before we left. But don't worry I'm not posting any pictures of that!

Tagged

Heather tagged me and I'm tagging you -- Here are my answers. If you have a blog post yours or post them as a comment. Have fun!

Two names you go by:
1. Mom
2. Heidi

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. My favorite earings
2. Flip Flops

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To go to the quilt store
2. More sleep

Two people who will fill his out:
1. Shauna
2. Brenda

Two things you did last night:
1. Watched "So you think you can dance?"
2. Cleaned the kitchen -- I even did them at the same time!

Two things you ate yesterday:
1. Watermelon
2. Hamburger

The Last Two people you talked to:
1. Cord
2. Cathie

Two things your are doing today (or did):
1. Taking the kids to Seven Peaks
2. Going to Quilt Group

Two longest car rides:
1. Fairfield CA to Jacob Lake AZ
2. Fairfield CA to Rexburg ID

Two favorite beverages:
1. Diet Coke w/ lime
2. Diet Pepsi w/ lime

Night Games

Last night Cole had his "friends" party. The boys all met here at 8:30 and we opened presents and had cupcakes. They were homemade Hostess like cupcakes that were so good. I'll post the recipe later. Anyway they boys were pretty reved up for night games. I thought 7 seven year old girls could giggle :) Here are a few pictures of them being silly before they left.

This is the best picture of the night -- Cord driving off to a park to play capture the flag & other games in the dark. They got home about 10:30 and from all reports they had a blast.

Cole's Birthday

July is a busy birthday month for us Cord's birthday is in two weeks! Here are some photos of our celebration yesterday. Cole decided on pizza for his birthday dinner and he wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I made a new (to me) recipe from Martha & it turned out pretty good. Alli added the candy "C". He loved opening the presents -- thanks for the gifts grandma & grandpa's!






Tonight Cole is having his "friends" party. Cord is going to take the boys to a park to play night games. I'm sure we will have an update tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole is 10 today! I can hardly believe it. Here are a few picture of Cole from this year and some of the many things we love about him. Happy Birthday Cole!

• Cole has the most amazing eyes
• He is very inquisitive
• He loves to collect bugs
• He is a great baseball player
• He is a great football player
• His favorite primary song is Love is Spoken Here -- we get to sing it a lot at FHE
• Cole loves mud and the irrigation ditch
• He can hike and can even keep up with his old man
• He is an early riser
• He is very aware of others feelings
• He loves to wrestle with his brothers (and dad)
• Cole likes to tell stories and includes lots of details
• He has the best laugh!
• He doesn't like cheese or to read -- but I'm working on him
• Cole loves to sleep on the floor.
• He loves to be outside and is usually wandering the neighborhood with Harrison, Jake or Jordan.
• He will still give his mom a hug and a kiss (I hope he never stops)

We LOVE you Cole and are so glad you are part of our family! Happy Birthday!

Catching Up -- Lagoon

Cord's company takes all the employees and their families to Lagoon every summer. This year was a lot of fun. Barry and Will were old enough that they lasted much longer than they did last year. As you can see Will was thrilled with the train ride -- I think we got up to 2 miles per hour.



I lost count of how many times I watched these whales go around and around...



Now that Keegan is an employee too he got to come with us. Here are a few pictures of Keeg taking Cole and Lily on the Wild Mouse roller coaster and the giant swings. Cole was a champ and went on the Colossus and the big wooden roller coaster with me. I wasn't brave enough to go on Wicked but Cord and Keegan did.

We all went on Rattlesnake Rapids ride and I had to cover Will as we went under the waterfall and ended up being completely soaked from head to toe. Later we went on the log ride and after going down the big drop Will yelled out "I AM SCARED" and then started laughing really hard. We can't wait for next year and hopefully Alli can come with us (she was at girls camp)



We had a great day !

Catch Up -- Lily's Birhday Party

Lily had a great birthday full of fun. She played all day with friends (you can see she still has make-up on), had her favorite dinner on the "you are special" plate and then opened presents from the family. Thank you to everyone for the gifts she loved them all!


For her "friends" party Lily had all of her "pals" over for a baking party. We sent out invitations that looked like recipe cards and I made apron for the girls. When everyone arrived we played games, busted open a piñata and decorated cupcakes. They had a great time!

No Camera

Alli took my camera to girls camp this week and So I have been taking pictures with hers. The problem is that she also took the cord that connect the camera to the computer so I can't post the pictures of our trip to Lagoon yesterday or Lily's party today. But I was looking at the EW website and checked out their lists for the "new classics". I was surprised by what they said were the top ten in books, movies, music and TV. For example the top 10 TV shows since 1983 are...
1. The Simpsons, Fox, 1989-present
2 The Sopranos, HBO (1999-2007)
3 Seinfeld, NBC (1989-98)
4 The X-Files, Fox (1993-2002)
5 Sex and the City, HBO (1998-2004)
6 Survivor, CBS (2000-present)
7 The Cosby Show, NBC (1984-92)
8 Lost, ABC (2004-present)
9 Friends, NBC (1994-2004)
10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The WB (1997-2001); UPN (2001-03)

Now I liked the X-Files but really #4? And the Simpsons? I thought the office would be near the top ten but they are at #61. One funny note -- The Daily Show #14 beating out Oprah at #15 and Beavis & Butt-head are ranked #38 and Everybody Loves Raymond is #71. Check out the list here

Happy Birthday Lily Lugnut!

Today is Lily's birthday! So here are a few pictures of her from this past year and a few things I love about her:

• Her smile lights up a room
• At the end of an e-mail to her grandma she signed off "love Lily who is a freak"
• She sings all the time
• She is quick to apologize and forgive
• She loves to listen to music (loudly)
• She writes love notes to her parents
• She loves primary
• She is kind
• She likes to hug and rub your arm
• She can ride her bike around the block very fast
• She can bust out a cheer like no ones business
• She can dance!
• She is very sensitive and can tell when I'm sad and does what she can to make me happy.
• She loves the color pink
• She is full of energy and joy -- so she can't sit still

Lily is such a fun girl to have in our family. We all love her so much and wish her the happiest 7th birthday ever!

All About Me (flickr style)

The mosaic represents my answers:
1. Heidi 2. Mexican Food 3. Armijo High School 4. Red 5.Clint Eastwood 6. Diet Coke w/lime 7.Scotland 8. Chocolate Cake 9. A better quilter 10. My Family! 11.Happy 12.Udall


Here is how you can play too:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name. (kid version: favorite animal?)