Salt Lake City Water Fun!- Summer 2010

So, Rachel (Norris) and I took the kids into Salt Lake City to this little water park area. It was so much fun. Crazy thing was.... it was so dang hot but the kids still didn't want to get wet at first. The cool water felt so good to me! So, here are some pictures from that day. I noticed that Rachel and I are not in any.... planned??? This is the back of Stockton and Jacob. Samantha getting "used" to it!

Samantha and Annie.. so cute!

Jacob running through... this took a lot of coaxing... he REALLY didn't want to do this...

Joshua wouldn't go in without me.... and, well, I didn't really want to get all wet. I wasn't prepared to get soaked.... so- he only got to go in at the edges where it was "safer" for mom. He still had fun!

This is Samantha, Annie and Jacob.. not sure where Stockton went.

Jacob... striking a pose... took them a while to get gutsy... but they finally caved and had a blast!

Dinosaur Museum- August

We decided to go to this Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving point. It was amazing! We watched a movie about the dinosaurs, played in the sand and dug up some bones, talked with archeologists and played some scavenger hunt games... so much fun! Here are the pics.... This wasn't turned on it's side when I uploaded it...so, I have no idea why it came up on here sideways.....

Samantha and Morgen playing in the sand... having a blast!

Samantha, Morgen and Jacob in front of one of the dinosaurs.

Joshua... I wouldn't let him get in the sand.... poor boy.... had to watch!

Samantha , Morgen and Jacob digging up bones...

This was taken a little earlier. The kids were having a fun time drawing with sidewalk chalk. This was the world I think they said... can't remember.

4th of July pictures- Provo Days!

These are all in backwards order... so if you want, you can start from the bottom...... But, this is how it ended. We came home after watching fireworks at the BYU stadium and lit our own fireworks. It was a late night, but they had so much fun! Samantha looks tired.... right??

Rachelle and Danny Call and their kids- Whitney, Morgen and Presley.
Jaimen and Jacob playing swords.

Fireworks at BYU Stadium....

Cee Cee and Rick and their kids.. Kai, Madeline, and Shae Weight... (Jaimen was off playing with Jacob). My little Josh! He loved the fireworks.... but he got tired!

Me, Rachelle, and Cee Cee....

Earlier in the day we went to Provo days. I took all the kids but Josh- Cee Cee took him with her so the kids and I could go and have fun. Jacob is here with Jaimen and some of their friends that we saw there.

Jacob and Samantha got to go on this ride. The bungee jumping ride.... and they LOVED it!

Samantha got really high.. and was even doing summersaults in the air. Pretty cool!

The boys did marble painting. This was actually a really cool idea. I might do it sometime for something!

While the boys were marble painting, the girls were doing girlie things.... like painting their nails red, white and blue. I even did mine!

All the girls got their hair done by a salon that was doing hairstyles for free.... This is the back of Samantha's hair. It looked so pretty!

This was the front.....

We watched a reptile show.... here are the kids petting a HUGE snake.... can't remember what kind of a snake it was.... but it was pretty dang big!

Habitat for Humanity had a SAND TRUCK.... which the kids thouroughly enjoyed.

And that is it for our 4th of July pictures. It was a great day! Thanks to all who shared it with us!

Where to Start?

I am not sure really where to start. It has been such a long time since I have blogged and not sure if I should start with the most recent and try to go backwards or if I should go back to where I left of and catch up from oldest to newest news?? Hmmmm......

Well, Let me summarize... Since visiting Utah this summer... the kids and I have come back to stay more permanently for a while. Donny and I have seperated and this is just how it ended up. So- the pictures I will be posting will be all here in Provo. We are living in the basement unit of a good old friend of mine- Cee Cee Weight. She was one of my College roommates from Ricks College. It's actually a pretty large space. 2 very nice sized bedrooms and a bathroom, kitchen, Living room and Dining area. The boys share a room and Samantha and I share a room. Our room is big enough to fit my king size bed and her queen size bed and still have room. HOWEVER..... when we moved our stuff here from Washington, we found mold hiding behind a dresser in our bedroom and we had to almost tear out the whole room and the bathroom. It was really bad. We had it treated and now just waiting for it to get all put back together so we can have a room and bathroom again. In the meantime, all the kids are in one room, and I pull out my bed at night (which is against a wall during the day). It works, but I really can't wait to get a room again!

Anyway- We have been busy getting settled in. We have gone to Dr. appointments, gotten involved in some of the community sports and stuff, trying to get to know our way around here and get used to it. The kids really love being here, but miss everyone back home.

So- a little update on everyone..... Let us start with Samantha. She started school very early- end of August. Her teacher is Mrs. Hoover. I think she likes the idea of being in a school where most everyone is LDS. When they tested her skills.... she was at a 5th grade reading level. WOW! I knew she was a good reader, but I had no idea it was that good! I wasn't able to get her into soccer because we were late on the bandwagon and it was too full. So- we signed her up for gymnastics instead. She LOVES it! She goes 2x a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She is involved in her activity days at church which she does twice a month. She is such a big helper (still) and I don't know what I would do without her!

Jacob.... well- I just love my boy! He gets to spend some pretty good time with mom these days. We got him into a headstart program (which I am not too fond of so far), which he seems to like, but not sure if he is really getting anything from it. He only goes in the afternoons for now, so he mostly plays with Josh in the morning. Good "brother bonding" time. Jacob was in Soccer and he is so good! A natural I think. He is a fast runner and a strong kicker! I am pretty sure we will be doing soccer with him for many years to come! Right now, we are working on getting him off of Pull ups at night. He is doing pretty good. He gets a special prize/treat after 5 nights of being dry. Yesterday was his first special prize... he wanted a toy...a cap gun and toy handcuffs. So funny! But, he is already talking about what he will do for his next special prize/treat. He also already has a list for Santa. I tell you, this boy doesn't waste any time!

Joshua.... is just growing up WAY TOO FAST! He is truly such a joy! He makes new milestones all the time.. beginning to run a little now, walks down steps all by himself, throws balls VERY WELL, kicks a soccer ball almost as good as his big brother, drinks out of a big boy cup, and just recently has been taken off of the binkie. This is frustrating at times for the both of us... but we will deal with it and get through it. I am hoping that by doing this, it will help him to talk to us a little more... hopefully.

Me.... well, I can't believe how busy I have been. I will be going back to school in January to get a degree in Emergency Management Services. I am so very excited about this! It is something that I have been interested in for years. I have volunteered with the Habitat for Humanity and will be looking for opportunities to volunteer with the Red Cross soon too! Other than that, I am just surviving and making some life changes that need to be made. Life is good and I know that the Lord is taking my life and turning into what it needs to be.

So- I think that is it..... Now time for some cute pictures. This is the LONG part of blogging.... I think, anyway! So- I will start with the oldest pics.... I left off at 4th of July....

Okay... it's not letting me add any photos... .dang! I will try again in a minute.