Trip to Zions

In October, we took a trip to Zions National Park. The closest place that we found to stay was in Hurricane. The museum there is amazing. The lady there showed us what was left of a 101 year old wedding cake, and bacon that was 63 years old! How the town got started was pretty amazing- you will have to go there and see for yourself. Zions was beautiful. It rained and rained on Saturday but we managed to get three hikes in. On Sunday, we hiked to the top of Emerald Pools - Kenzie is quite the little hiker!

Kenize's first day of school

Kenzie and her best friend, Ruby

Kenzie started second grade at the end of August.   We found out the Friday before that her best friend Ruby was in her class.  Her teacher's name is Mrs. Cahoon and Kenzie says that she is very pretty.  Both Rich and I took her to school the first morning.   Last year, both Rich and I just made it to her school by the skin of our teeth due to road construction.  So this year, Rich got there 20 minutes early and we got there soon after.  This year has been harder.  Kenzie has at least 30 minutes of homework a night, and then we read for 30 minutes. It is a real struggle to get homework done every night!

David and Wendy's visit to the Taj ma "Wall"

Rich and Lily hanging out together
David, Wendy, Ella and Lily

Kenzie and Macy

The week that David and Wendy were here with their family was so amazing and fun.  We were fortunate that they got to spend a few nights at our home.  The boys slept in the basement and probably stayed up all night playing "Guitar Hero".  David was the last one that I saw when I went to bed and the first one up when I got up in the morning.  There was three family parties.   One was a swimming party, one was a family party at the park and the last was a game night at our house.    Rich brought out the bounce house for the kids and made everyone snow cones.  He ended up making a friend in the meantime - see above.  

One day we went boating with Kim and Kelly on Kim's birthday.  I laughed my head off while I was tubing with Kenzie and Carlie.  We took David, Wendy and family to see a 3-D show at the Clark Planetarium and then for chinese food.  

Little Lily loves Spongebob and loved playing with the toys that we had here.  Lucky for us Spongebob comes on pretty much all day long.  

   

Home Sweet Wendell...

             Well, almost 4 generations..

Rich kept asking me to call grandma so that we could go up to Wendell and see her.  We finally found a weekend that worked for all of us.  Grandma was such a gracious host and fed us so many yummy dishes and she had even made fresh bread.  There were so many questions that we asked her that I'm sure she was all talked out by the time that we left.  We asked her why her and grandpa moved to Wendell.  She even showed us the first house in Wendell that he built.   She talked about raising 10 children - a lot of the time on her own when grandpa worked out of town.  There was so much that I didn't know before this visit.  Brittany and her friend Brandie came up on Sunday and after dinner, we played Kuub - the girl beat Aunt Nip and I both games!  On Monday, July 28th, Rich had his 41st birthday.  We went to Twin Falls for the open house of the temple.  The temple was beautiful.    Afterward, we took grandma and Aunt Nip out for all you can eat pizza.  I had such a wonderful time, that I cried when grandma and aunt Nip left.  Grandma is such an amazing person!

American West Heritage Center

We took Mackenzie to the American West Heritage Center in Logan.  They were celebrating the Days of 47.  Every half hour, there was a different activity going on.  We saw gunfighters, Pony Express riders, Dr. Quakenshaw's show and a re-enactment of a pioneer wedding.   We saw how to play marble games and pan for gold.  Here, Mackenie is at the wood shop showing members of the audience the difference in the wood shavings.  Rich is by an old steam engine - he said it reminded him of the little one that dad has.   Patch works in the woodshop and was showing the audience how to sharpen my fingernails. There was an authentic teepee and even a mountain man that showed you how to make jewelry.  On the way home, we stopped in Roy at the Burger Bar.  The Food Network had a special on this restaurant, and ever since we saw it on t.v., we have wanted to go there.  The onion rings, french fries and shakes are out of this world!

Brittany turns 20

June 14, 2008

Brittany turned 20 years old! For her birthday, she wanted to spend time with her family. So we met Lisa, Jeremy, Kim, Nate and Shella (and their kids) for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. The pizza there was fabulous! Brittany ordered a pepperoni pizza, had one piece and said that she was full! Her cake was a sponge cake with Spongebobs and Patricks on the top. Avery even made Brittany a "Happy Birthday" sign. There was the chalk festival going on at Gateway. Here Brittany is posing with Brandon with Spiderman.

Mackenzie turns 7!

On May 10th, Mackenzie turned 7 years old. She had a dance recital at Highland High in the afternoon of her birthday. She performed two dance numbers. Afterward, we took her to her new favorite place to eat - Rubio's. She loves the nachos there. She had wanted to go and spend the night with her Grandma Marge and also her cousins. They took her roller skating. Mackenzie had saved up all of her birthday and Christmas money for the last few years and had saved up enough to purchase a Nintendo DS. We bought her some games and a case. A week later, she had a birthday party. We ended up having 19 kids show up! They loved playing the games (especially the ones that had water balloons involved), played in the bounce house, ate snow cones and decorated cupcakes. The kids also liked the dance, dance revolution (Disney Channel style).

Moab

Moab - May 2-4, 2008

We met Michelle, Nate and cute baby Avery in Moab. We spent every day hiking.
I felt like I was doing pretty well until we hiked Delicate Arch and I had a hard time keeping up with everyone else. I don't mind walking, but it is uphill that kills me.
Both Mackenzie and Brittany wanted to walk along side Michelle and have her undivided attention. The weather was perfect and the company great. Mackenzie signed up to be a junior ranger. She had to watch a film on the park, collect any trash that she saw, and complete activities out of a workbook. Every time someone walked off the beaten path, she told them that they were ruining the soil and to get back on the trail. At the end of the trip, she got a badge from one of the rangers. The view from Dead Horse Point was spectacular. We must be getting old - at night after dinner, we just sat around watching t.v. and going to bed at a decent hour! It took awhile to figure out a place to eat for dinner on Saturday night. We went to a restaurant that served Brittany and Rich calzones that barely fit on the plate!
Mackenzie was so cute with Avery. She loved to hold her and make her laugh. On Sunday,Rich, Mackenzie, and I drove around town and saw petroglyphs. They were pretty amazing.
It was such a nice trip and take time to be with family.

All About Mackenzie

Likes -
Math, recess
Swimming, dancing, drawing
Spaghetti, bananas, yogurt, peanut butter pretzels
Friends are Ruby, Cole and Jensen
High School Musical
Lego Star Wars

Dislikes -
Going to bed at night
Getting up in the morning
The end of recess

Mackenzie is a delight! Wherever we go, she makes friends in a matter of minutes. She loves babies and little children and is a "mother" to them. She is full of life and energy.

Savannah - April 6-10, 2008

I left for Savannah, Georgia to attend an academic conference for work. Some things I did - Our group walked a few blocks to Paula Deen's restaurant - Lady and Sons. The place was packed! We had the all you can eat buffet that was all Southern food. There was collard greens, sweet potatoes, beans with potatoes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and pork to name a few. The only edible things were the fried chicken and the mashed potatoes. The restaurant was very over-rated. I heard that the restaurant was a lot better when Paula Deen actually did all of the cooking.

One night at dark, our group met in the hotel lobby and did a ghost walk tour. The city is very famous for the ghost sitings. We spent the next hour hearing stories of haunted houses and businesses. Our guide was a good story teller. Not only are there walking ghost tours, but I would see hearses and also buses driving people around and telling them the tales of the dead. Some stories were pretty gruesome. One story was about a woman murdered in this home which is now a bed and breakfast. This ghost likes to take women's undergarments. One woman complained that her undergarments were taken out of her suitcase and she found them strewn all the way down the hallway. Other women couldn't find their undergarments, and upon searching the house, found their bras and underwear on the Christmas tree like ornaments.

Wednesday - It was my 43rd (yes, that old) birthday! It was so weird being in a city on my birthday and not knowing anyone! During my lunch break, I was eating a sandwich in the park, and four women called one of the women' s daughter and wished her a Happy Birthday. I thought they said, "Happy Birthday" to Carol, and I ran over to them and told them it was my birthday too ! They actually sang to Karen. I was so homesick and it took all I had to finish up the conference and the trip without having to come home early! Our group toured an old home. I spent the afternoon walking through a very old cemetery and an old church.

Starting our life with "Blogging"

This year has been the first for many "firsts" for me - even though I'm 43 years old!
- I got my first gym membership.
- I filled out my first papers for a loan
- I FINALLY got my own cell phone and am learning how to text

- I got my first laptop and still trying to learn how to use it
- AND now, I am starting my own web site.

Thanks for checking us out - we will update often. See the latest on the shenanigans of little Miss "Mackenzie".