Captain White

It was so fun celebrating Bj's promotion today!! He has been a firefighter, paramedic, engineer, and a smattering of other specialties like SWAT medic, search and rescue, dog handler, among some, and has finally reached his career goal of Captain. 

During today's ceremony we applauded many advancements in rank, but none so boisterously as that of Captain White!

So proud of you B!

 

 

 

Pioneer Day/Antelope fire

July 22, 2016

Pioneer day in Utah is a pretty big deal.  We spent the day in bountiful swimming and going to the parade.  It was pushing 90 degrees and we were ill prepared, but enjoyed it nonetheless.  Everyone's favorite part of the parade was when we saw Ella on a float! She looked so cute as she went by, waving like a princess!  Later that night we went to grandmas and watched fireworks on the hill overlooking the salt lake and antelope island.  It was extra cool because the island had a show of it's own, au-natural.  It turns out the mountain was on fire! It was actually a pretty cool backdrop to the man-made explosives that were going off all around us.  

Crash

July 4, 2016

Story coming soon...

St.George & Breaking Dawn

(ok, I just like posting with pictures and I just realized that Breaking Dawn has no references to chess as the cover would suggest...unless I'm not that deep. The other picture is of the hotel we stayed at)

What a great way to read a book! Michelle had the great idea of going out of town to read Breaking Dawn. So we made plans to go to St. George and read, read, read. We got there Friday, shopped a bit, ate dinner at the pizza factory (oh, how I love those twisty breadsticks!) went back to the hotel and read by the pool till dark, then read in the room till way too early in the morning. Saturday we got pedicures then lounged by the pool all day. We had Nielsens frozen custard for dinner then went to see Les Miserables at Tuacahn (Fabulouso!) then went back to the hotel and read some more. Sunday, we read till checkout, then went to a local park and finished the book and started our 8 hour ride home. (who knew going through zions would take so long.... if they didn't have all those cute little shops it could have only been a 5-6 hour drive! But we were in a convertible...who cares how long it took!?!)

I missed my family while I was gone but was informed of how much fun they had. (Even though they knocked a shelf off my new wall!) Thanks to my awesome hubby for being so willing to let me have a selfish weekend away.

Click here if you want to read my Breaking Dawn review (don't click if you haven't read it!) Enjoy!

Cinema at the Park, Sky Diving and Sunday

Herriman is such a great place to live! On Friday night, my kiddies and I, along with the Shirley fam, went to Butterfield park to watch Cars. It was a lot of fun! And FREE! They had a huge blow up movie screen and a fantastic sound system and a little concession stand (of course...) We showed up at 8:45, laid down our blankets, had someone in camping chairs plop down in front of us, moved our blankets to a closer opening and relaxed for a fun night at the park. With popcorn, pretzles and fortune cookies, the kids were really entertained and wanted to stay for August Rush that was playing after, but Cars didn't finish till 11:00... If you can imagine what saturday would have been like had we stayed for another 2 hours!

Saturday, BJ, his Uncle and 2 cousins, headed to the Ogden air strip to experience free flight. Apparently IFLY wasn't enough, BJ needed the real schabang. He loved every second of it and will try and convince anyone to join him on his next excursion (which because of the expense won't be till next year, but if you're interested...). Pictures to follow.


Sunday was Stacie's Birthday and her Daughter was blessed in her ward. (Stacie is BJ's second to youngest sister) Baby Malia was blessed by Grandpa Joe, who did a marvelous job, then later we had a birthday dinner for Stacie at the White house. Dinner was delicious! When I got home I got a visit from michelle who informed me that I missed out on some changes in our home ward. We got a new bishop! Bishop Merrill has been the Bishop of this ward for about 5 years and has done amazing things. He is fun, energetic, sympathetic, and extremely spiritual. I will miss having him as the father of our ward. The new Bishop, Bishop Brown, I got to know briefly as a counselor to Bishop Merrill and am excited to support him as the new Bishop. (Wow, I just said Bishop a lot in one sentence!) I have some great pictures on my other computer of Bishop Merrill, and his counselors during a ward activity that I will have to find and post. They involve dresses, scooters and pie. Stay tuned!

Little Fishies

Swimming lessons are so much fun! I love watching the kids learn techniques to help them become more comfortable in water. We have been taking at Schinsels Swim School since AJ was 3 (I think???) AJ has been extremely comfortable since birth, Ashlyn just this year, and I wish I put Carson and I in the mom and tot class, he LOVES water! Check out our cute fishies:

Oh, and this is carson as I found him about a week ago...
He thinks you shouldn't get any clothes wet and refuses
to wear a swimsuit.

I missed you!

It seems like forever!!! Life kind of took over the blogging for a while, and now I have settled back down (a bit) and want to post an update! Since Carson's birthday, I have decided I am going to paint my house. I have chosen the colors, and started the projects. The kitchen and family room are 1/2 way done and due to upcoming celebrations probably won't get finished until 2009... Watch for pictures!

Last Thursday, we, along with my mom & Rich, Carrie & kids (my brother's family) went to my Aunt and Uncle, Carolyn and Mark Zaugg's, Cabin in the Uintah Mountains. It is gorgeous there! I went there quite a bit as a kid/teen, and once last January (brrr...) and was so excited to go again. Here are some fun pictures of the event (which I am going to scrap after I click "Publish Post"...check out my scrapbook blog to see if I really do it!...I DID!!! Click here to see the pages I did.)

Aj learning to shoot a bow

Defenders of the universe, Camden and AJ

Cutie Calla
Kaylee and Ashlyn, B.F.F. (or B.C.F.)

Dandelions for Carson

Ash, Kaylee, Carson, Aj & Camden

Ashlyn on the Zip Line!!! FINALLY!!!

Thanks Mark and Care!!! More memories to add to my heart!

Who knew?

My neighbor Catherine called me yesterday and told me that it was "Huntsman Day" (The Huntsmans pay for all admissions) at the "This is the Place Park" I thought it was just a monument.

Boy was I wrong.

What a fun day we had yesterday. We got to pet a Ox, ride a train, learn and participate in various "Pioneer" activities, eat ice cream, shop, pull hand carts, and watched a waste of time "Magic" show that only benefited us by an amazing view of the salt lake valley, and a slightly pinker complexion. There are a ton of other things that we didn't have time to do: Petting zoo, wagon rides, playground, and tons of other activities. We will definitely go back, and to those of you (who are not opposed to the accross from the zoo location of FOREVER AWAY) who haven't been, GO!!! A family membership is only $50. Daily admission is $6-$8.


This is the "Brigham Young Farm House" That Ashlyn wanted me to buy to live in...."It's PINK mom!"

Thanks for the tip Catherine, It was the perfect day!

Kindergarten Kid

Today was AJ's kindergarten program. It was so cute! His teacher, Mrs. Tipton, is totally amazing. He loves her, and so do I! He has grown so much this past year and a lot of that is due to such a great teacher who really cares about him. He will miss her but is super excited to be a first grader. Tomorrow is his last day as a Kindergartener. Here are a few clips of his program.

THANKS MRS. TIPTON!!!

(They had a fashion show, the kids chose their favorite thing to wear and handed in a description that Mrs. Tipton read. Then they sang three adorable songs followed by a slide show of the kids through the year. SO SO SO FUN!!!)

What a Week!

Wednesday was the Kindergarten Field trip to the zoo. I decided last minute to go (mostly because AJ was begging for me to...how long is that gonna last, right?!).

Thursday we had to run something to the Firestation for BJ and took Madi and Lauren who got the semi/grand tour (the grand tour couldn't happen at that station, but he's since moved, so who's in for a trip to West Valley?!!!)
Friday was AJ's Kindergarten Field Day. They went to the park to the south of the school and played games in groups. I went and took a few pictures and we all ended up drenched from a cloudburst. It was lots of fun.
Saturday, Ashlyn had her first dance recital. And probably her last! If you take this picture and add music to it, you would be watching her performance. At least she looked cute!!! Her grandparents (White and Castleberry) came to watch her stand.
AJ didn't go to the recital. His buddy Jarren had a serious dental issue and had to miss the field trip on Wednesday. So, Saturday, his mom orchestrated a "Make up-Field Trip day" and invited AJ to go with. So, while AJ was at the ZOO, Ashlyn set up a picnic for she and Carson on the tramp! (And then Ash and I spent the rest of the day at a Baby Shower for Stacie!)
Oh, and we took AJ and Carson to the insta-care on Sunday to find out they don't have Strep.
Now, I'm off to see my baby brother get set apart as a Missionary! (more on that later!)

"Carnival"

For way too long, AJ and Ashlyn (mostly AJ) would get up in the middle of the night and do the typical "I need a drink" or "I need to go potty" when they really heard something, got scared, and just needed a little comfort... Well, when I am woken up at 2am, I am not comforting. So instead of adding grief to their fear, we came up with a chart. A basic grid of 15 squares (stamped cute with playful flourish stamps of course!) was crossed off one by one, each time they stayed in bed all night. They decided that when they filled out the chart they would get a backyard carnival. It took 3 months to stay in bed all night for 15 days. But somehow it became a habit and they are finally done waking me up!!!

So, yesterday, knowing the forcast for the rest of the week, we threw together our "Carnival". AJ helped me make invitations, then he and Ashlyn took them around to their friends in the neighborhood, and asked me to call a few of their friends that lived beyond their walking distance. At 3:30 they started showing up. We had out the slip n slide, a kiddie pool, watermelon, a cooler of water, a bubble machine that I forgot to put out until after just about everyone was gone, the tramp, the swingset, and the highlight of the party... Cotton Candy. It only makes one at a time, so I showed the other moms how to do it so they could help out. It took about 2 hours to get every kid some cotton candy. But to them it was worth the wait.

In attendance: 12 adults & 29 children. (2 kids were older than 7)

What a Show!

I just want to say thank you to all of you who came to my party tonight! It was a lot of fun. I was a bit lame with my choice of food (cheesecake with a swimsuit party??? You're right-Duh!) but am thankful for those of you who sacrificed a weeks worth of calories to spare my short-sighted feelings. I must say, I was a bit surprised that my favorite item of the night ended up being a skirt! I was totally expecting to end up wanting another suit, but fell in love with the
"Straight A Skirt"
Everyone that tried it on looked adorable in it! Even Me! (Sorry, no pictures of me this time!) If anyone wasn't able to make it and wants to order, (remember you don't have to pay the $8.00 shipping if you order on a party) I am closing the party Thursday. But you can order any time at www.admire.mymodbe.com
Thanks again! And I will call you when the orders get in.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow...

Tuesday is my Modbe Party! I am so excited, and although it was requested that no chocolate be present because of the clothes, I just have to share my yummy chocolate pretzel caramel sandwiches...YUM!!! Thanks Mom for helping!!! (Sorry KJ, maybe I'll make a sign that says "Food and modbe don't mix" or something..) Mom also got me a new "Dip and Spreader" from Hawaii that I am so excited to fill... cheeseball, chocolate chip cheeseball, cream cheese and chipotle, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!!! I am so excited to see how happy people are when they see how great they look in the adorable products. Here's the info:

Tomorrow, Tuesday May 6th
My House
6:00-9:00 (she will be here to set up around 5:30)

Hope to see ya there!

Welcome Stella!

Stella (middle name?) Edgar, Born March 27 2008 to my Cousin Scott and his beautiful wife Sara. Stella is their 4th child and insisted on arriving when she did. Stella's amazing birth story is not mine to tell, but I will tell you that this little girl is blessed to have such thoughtful, caring, free-spirited, patient, humble, and wonderful, parents. They may publish their story here (but that site hasn't been updated since Nov 2007) or maybe a comment will be left where to hear their inspiring tale.

Love you guys!