Christmas Lights

Tonight for family night, we took the kids downtown for dinner and lights at Temple Square. The kids and I rode the commuter rail and met Kris at the Gateway station. We then took the kids to Bucca di Beppo for dinner. We enjoyed an authentic Italian dinner there and the kids enjoyed some of the funny pictures hung throughout the restaurant. The pizza reminded me of my trip to Italy, and the kids all agreed that they liked the pizza thin and greasy!

From there, we made the trip through Temple Square to see the holiday lights. The kids even got to go inside the Tabernacle for the first time. It was a great way to kick of the Christmas holidays.

Merry Christmas!

My Little Trick or Treaters

This year Justin and Tyler went as the Super Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi. They were a hit everywhere they went, even teenage boys told me how much they liked their costumes. And Hayley went as the Progressive Insurance lady, Flo. I loved how easy her costume came together, my favorite kind. Halloween was a bit rainy, but the kids got quite the loot between Trunk or Treat Friday night, and Trick or Treating on Saturday night. Happy Halloween!

One Year Older

Tyler celebrated his seventh birthday last week. Other than being busy with sports, it was a great one! He got to play his first basketball game on his actual birthday which he didn't seem to mind, then we celebrated with friends over the weekend. I let him have a late night with 8 other boys for three hours, which after the invitations were sent out I started to worry about too much time to kill. Thanks to the help of the whole family, we all had assignments and divided and conquered the entertainment of 10 boys for 3 hours! Whew!! Because it was so crazy, I didn't realize until after the boys left that I didn't take any pictures! The agenda was pizza, outdoor games, haunted house where they fish or treated for their goody bags, campfire with marshmallows, donuts on a string, and watching Scooby Doo until the parents came. Glad it's over and glad Tyler had a great birthday!

Portland

Kris and I at the Pittock Mansion

The Heathman Hotel (which I am told is haunted, after I stayed there!)

Kris enjoying the king size bed without children in the room

The concierge or bell boy (I am not sure what a concierge is, but I know this hotel had one)

Last week, Kris and I went to Portland, Oregon for the weekend. Kris had a convention for work up there, and I went along for the ride to visit my sister. For his convention, they put us up in a hotel way fancier than we are used to, complete with a concierge, robe & slippers, bed turn down service, and a stocked refrigerator and goody basket that I found out, were not complimentary, but very expensive! The first day we had a free day to spend with my sister and her three kids. We explored the grounds of the Pittock mansion, then went to Sauvie Island which my nephew corrected me by saying it is "Sauvie" not "Suavie" as in the shampoo. Thanks Chad! There, we visited a pumpkin patch had some lunch and then ventured to the beach of Sauvie Island. Afterwards, our gracious host and taxi cab driver, Missie, dropped us off at the hotel where we got ready for dinner with the other attendees of the convention, and afterwards were treated to a comedy club in downtown Portland. Had a good time, just glad we went to the milder 8 pm show rather than the 10 pm or midnight showing which can get raunchy. Most of the other people from the group, kept the drinking going and went to a bar from there, while Kris and I opted for the quiet hotel room for some rest after our really early morning flight. The next day, Kris had a workshop to attend all day, so I went shopping with Missie, hung out at their house for a while, then we picked Kris up so that we could go out to dinner with just us adults. Had a great time at a lovely Italian restaurant, said our goodbyes to Missie and James and enjoyed one last night away from the children who were being well cared for by parents. Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Missie to whom this great weekend wouldn't have been possible!

I Should Be a Camera Man (Woman)

Okay, so my oldest child had his first official touchdown today. He has had several in practices, a few in scrimmage games, come close to several in real games, but today he scored his first (almost had two), and I was fortunate enough to catch it on film. I will preface this by saying that I was holding the camera, the snap went off and I thought "I should try catching this play on film, just in case..." So I did, and Zach always mentions my skills, because I always catch the good plays...

I get excited, can you tell?! Anyways, luckily a guy on the team video tapes all the games, so I should have this play in video come next week. Great job Zach! Also, check out this cool picture the coaches' wife took of Zach in action. (He's #88 in black and yellow)

How Zach Spent his Birthday

Our weeknights are pretty much crazy. Our nights are filled with football, soccer, gymnastics, scouts, activity days, young mens and that's just the kids schedules! Well, yesterday was Zach's 14th birthday, and it was spent doing the same crazy schedule. I did my best to try to embarass him yesterday by going to his school while he was in class and putting a goody bag in his locker. Kris told me no balloons, so I kept it simple. I think I would have to try pretty hard to embarass Zach. He still thinks his parents are cool, I think! Anyways, he came home and got to open one present with just me present, then we had a quick dinner and carted him off to his football scrimmage, then I took Hayley up to gymnastics to drop her off, then back down to Zach's scrimmage game. Kris left the scrimmage a little early to go pick up Hayley, and then we all ended up meeting at home around 8 pm for the rest of his presents and cake and ice cream, all while trying to get homework packets done. Don't even ask about baths for the younger kids, we are lucky to squeeze 2 to 3 baths a week in! I think in a couple of weeks our weeknights will be less chaotic once football and soccer are done. As for his birthday, I think he had a great one, and he got what he asked for, no surprises! Happy Birthday Zach!

High School Football

Football season has started, and that usually involves Zach's games and games from the local high schools. Previously we were Viewmont Vikings fans (high school that the kids will go to), but most of the kids in our area are Davis Darts fans. The football program at Viewmont has been pretty bad the last couple of years, so Zach has decided to switch teams, at least for now. High school is still 2 years away, so we will see where he decides to go then. (Did I just say high school is just two years away?! Holy crap!) Anyways, this last weekend, there was a big game at the University of Utah between Alta (my high school) and Bingham (my dad's school he taught at and Zach and Hayley were Mini Miners - preschool - there). We decided to take the kids to the game, and since the Bingham side was closer to the entrance, and everyone but me wanted to cheer for the highly favored Bingham team, we sat on that side. Zach ran into some friends and took off to hang with them, while the rest of us sat in the family section and enjoyed the game. Unfortunately, my team, Alta, ended up losing, but I kind of knew that going in. Everyone had a blast, and I felt like an aged teenager trying to relive my past.

End of the Summer

Well, it's official, all the kids are back in school, and this time they are all full time! We are now in soccer and football season, but before we do a post on that one, we need to post one about the baseball season. Baseball ended in June, with a lot of excitement. Zach was on a team that did well regular season and ended the season in 1st place. From there they went to playoffs at the top of their division, but things ended quickly leaving them in 3rd place. He was hoping to go a little further, but that is the farthest he has ever gone on a team, so at least he got that much. Tyler and Justin, on the other hand, were on a team together. Their regular season started off with a few wins, then ended with plenty of losses. Entering the playoffs, we were all thinking there was not much of a chance, but all of a sudden, they kept winning every playoff game they played, taking them all the way to the final game, where they pulled off yet another win, landing them in 1st place in their division! They carried their trophies around for days! The highlights of the season were: Tyler having a few homeruns (thanks to the opposing teams outfield), Justin had two legitimate homeruns (and a few others thanks again to the other teams fielding skills), and Zach getting his very first homerun in the big league, and I just happened to kind of catch it on video!

Back to the first day of school...it started out with our power going out the day before and not coming on till the next day at noon, so the children had half a day of school without any power! I was quite surprised the school district made the kids go, but it all worked out. The only one upset about going to school was Hayley, and that is because she was not able to have the curled hair like she had planned. She is such the tween! Anyways, everyone loves school and mom is happy to have a clean, quiet house and some time to herself!

Kids Say the Funniest Things!

Okay, I know it has been a while since I blogged last, but I thought I would take the time and throw one out. Just yesterday, two of my children made me laugh, and hard! My kids are aged 13, 11, 8, and 6, so their comments aren't the cute ones that I used to just find so adorable. Instead, now, every once and a while, they will say something that just strikes me as funny. Just this last Sunday, some old lady in West Jordan, walked into an LDS church (don't know if it was her church), and stripped down naked in the middle of the cultural hall and started fondling herself! Shocking and disgusting I know! Supposedly, some children were present. While making dinner and getting ready to take Zach to football practice, there was a preview of the upcoming news with this story featured. I was the only one in the room, and found this story gross and a little crazy! I left Hayley and the boys while I took Zach to practice. The TV was left on and the boys were playing cars while watching TV. Now usually, the remote is immediately changed to Disney channel, but I guess the boys were too busy playing to notice. When I got home I noticed the news was on and decided to ask the boys if there were any interesting stories on the news. Justin said, "Yeah mom, JetBlue was in the news again." (Wish that story and that flight attendant would just go away!) Hoping they hadn't heard this story, I asked again, "Was there any stories about church on?" This time Justin said, "Yeah some lady got nudey at church." and Tyler said, "Yeah, she was teaching the children to love their body!" I couldn't stop laughing! We tried to use it as a teaching moment and made sure the kids knew what to do if their primary teacher or any adult for that matter started doing something like that, but honestly, I get a kick out of the way kids interpret things. Not even an hour later, Hayley was jumping out on the tramp with a new neighbor, and they must have been talking about church, when Hayley asked me, "Mom, what is that thing I am going into at church next year, the Bumblebees, or something like that?" It took me a few seconds to realize that she was referring to becoming a Beehive! I am so glad that my kids still keep me laughing all these years later, and back when they were little, I wish I could have had a blog to record the things they said, but I guess it's always better late than never!!

California 2010

On the way home from the airport

At the hotel

Petting the stingrays and sharks

Long Beach Harbor

In Cali!

At the beach

Hayley, Jaeqwon, Tege, Averett and Kimani on the teacups

End of the day in Toon Town (those were their natural looks, really!)

Broderick, Justin, Major, Zach and Tyler on the teacups

At the beginning of the day at Disneyland (notice the smiles there!)

Thanks to Kris' sister, we all decided to do a last minute trip to California and Disneyland. We were already planning a California trip this summer, but Disneyland was not in the immediate future since we just went 3 years ago, and had no desire to go for a couple more years. For the first time, we got to use my JetBlue benefits and travel by plane. On the way there, the flight was full with a whole long list of standby passengers. At the airport, the ticket counter told us our chances were slim, so we moped through security and headed to the gate, waiting patiently for the passengers to fill the plane. When I went to the counter to check availability, they asked if I would be willing to fly in the jumpseat which is where the flight attendants sit. I said sure (I would do anything to get my family there on this flight!) Having this be my first time flying JetBlue, flying jumpseat was a great way to jump in! The flight attendants were super nice, and while my family was enjoying an extra comfy seat with DirecTv, I was treated to a cranberry dreamsicle drink and warm cookies!

Our first day in Long Beach, we stopped at the Long Beach aquarium and purchased ourselves a family membership which is good for a year! Guess we will be going back soon! It ended up being only $3 more for the membership, than a day pass for our family, so it worked out being a great deal for us. The kids enjoyed seeing and petting the stingrays and also sharks! Aunt Patsy spent the day with us and then followed us to our hotel in Santa Ana.

The next day we met Kris' other sister, Lynnette and her family at Disneyland. We got there right when the park opened, which is the only way to do it. We got right on to lots of rides, and by about 2 in the afternoon, the lines became much longer. For our family, this was a monumental trip, because our whole family was able to ride every ride together. We did all the big rides (not really giving Justin and Tyler a choice, but after a couple of seasons at Lagoon, they were weathered for the challenge!), and the family favorite was Space Mountain, which made the hour wait worth it! At the end of the day, we stopped into Toon Town, which Justin informed me he hated, because it was too babyish! I think the real reason was waiting in line for 40 minutes to almost get on and have them close the ride for mechanical reasons! At this point, everyone was tired, awnry and ready to go. The park was going to close at 8 pm and it was close to 7 pm, so we called it a day.

The next day we went to Huntington Beach with the whole family and enjoyed a day of warm sun, a little wind, and some bodyboarding, followed up by a few sunburns! The kids said they had more fun at the beach than at Disneyland, sure wish we could have that $500 back!

We ended up coming back on the morning flight to Salt Lake City the next day, which was way early, but we had no problems getting on this flight, and I even got a seat this time! All in all, it was a great trip and we can't wait to do it again, minus the Dland!

First Eagle Project

After

Before

This past weekend, Zach did his Eagle project. As far as projects go, this one was easy and quick in the planning from start to finish, coming from my hubby, an Eagle Scout. This one was two weeks from beginning to end, although I have heard that they can take forever to get the paperwork done afterwards.

Farmington City leisure services gave Zach the go ahead to sand and repaint the diving board poles and planks at the local pool. The only bad thing was we had a week to accomplish this, since it needed to be done for Memorial Day weekend, not that the weather will allow the pool to open. (I'm a pessimist this spring!) Last weekends forecast didn't look all that great either, but we knew we needed to get it done on a weekend as opposed to a weeknight, with school, sports, etc, there would be no scouts to help out. So we picked Friday night, which according to the forecast, looked the most promising. We met at 3 pm and headed to the pool. The boys were all really hard workers, but it wasn't until the painting part that I realized what a nightmare this project could become. First off, the paint was oil based, second, I didn't realize until too late, that 12 and 13 year old boys do not know how to paint! They were all sticking their brushes in the paint up to the handle, then pulling them out dripping! There were drips all over the plastic (at least we had plastic!) Fortunately, they all took their shoes off and ruined their socks, which is better than shoes in my opinion. As they were finishing the last coat, the skies turned dark and started dumping rain, and continued to pour all night long. Both Kris and I hardly slept, both just worrying about the eagle project and the 3-4 hours that were put into it. The next morning, Kris and Zach had to meet with the city and remove the tape. The paint was still wet to the touch, but for the most part it held up and the city approved it! Zach wishes he could stick a gold plaque on the diving boards stating that it was his Eagle project, but he is just going to have to pay homage every time he goes swimming and jumps off the boards!

Justin's Baptism

Justin was baptized earlier this month and I have been too busy working to post it. It was a very special day and he was very excited. We even had a couple of practice sessions in the hot tub! Justin was baptized with another little ward friend, so we split the program with the other family. We asked Justin who he would like to speak and he picked his older brother, Zach. I thought for sure I would have to bribe Zach in some way, but he accepted and did a great job! We are so proud of Justin, and he has taken his baptismal covenant seriously. Every night he reads the Baptism book that Grandma Back gave him. Such a big thing for a little guy! Congrats little buddy!

Happy Birthday Hayley!

My children are growing up too fast! Hayley is eleven today, going on 20. She is such a good girl, and helps me out so much! Happy Birthday Hayley! I love you!

Lucky Eight

Today, this guy turned eight. And next Saturday, he gets baptized. Happy Birthday Justin!

2010 Winter Olympics

This is what happens when you watch the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics! Bless their little hearts, they actually sat and watched it for several hours. I guess the end with the singing and talking got a little boring for them. Oh, and those are Tyler's glasses from his valentines party. He's asleep if you can't tell! GO TEAM USA!!!

Holiday Makeover

Room with a ceiling

Finished project

Just before the holidays, I got a job at JetBlue in Reservations. This will be a job from home after 6-7 weeks of training. That meant I would need an office. We had a few options to choose from: use one of the finished rooms in our basement, the office up in Zach's large bonus room, or our front room/piano room. All three had their conflicts. The basement room would be quiet, but out of the way (too far out of the way) and needed carpet still. Zach's room was finished, but if I had a shift at night, it would interfere with his sleep etc. The front room was a good location, but let in too much noise. The ceiling was open to the family room and there is a large arched doorway with no door. We decided to transform the front room, getting rid of the piano (that no longer got used) and the green couches that never fit in this house. My sweet hubby took one week off during Christmas and New Years and this was his vacation...home remodeling! It was a very tedious and at times scary remodel, because we put a ceiling in and a wall on top of that to reach our vaulted ceilings. We just finished this weekend with the walls and still need to put in french doors with a arched window over the top, but it turned out great and we now have more function in a room that never got used.