OOPS!

We went to do yardwork of a neighbor who just lost her hubby to cancer 3 weeks ago. Kelly, Hayden & I picked up peaches & apples that had hit the ground while Kolton mowed. Kolton got done mowing and parked the lawn riding mower. He felt his pocket and his phone was gone. He started back tracking thinking he left it on the porch. Nope.. it wasn't there so he walked around the back yard and found it.






Yep, it had dropped out of his pocket and had been chewed up by the lawn mower... he knew he had ran over something at the time but had thought it was just an apple. Poor kid.. he was so upset... I don't know how many times he called himself an idiot. I just kept telling him accidents happen. There were a few times I had to turn my head and bite my lip because I really wanted to laugh.. It's so funny how you can see the words "sprint" and "upstage" on some of those pieces.

He has worked so hard mowing lawns this summer so he could pay for his monthly phone service

LOL... Look close and you can even see the pieces of grass in that pile of chunks

playing out back

I didn't get as many pics as I thought I did But here are a few.. We had Dave, Sarah, Owen & Eli, Steve, Erica, Mom, Dad & Michael over the other night for dinner & smores. Eli fell in love with the chickens

Nerds..

I had to tell this story..

Yesterday the 3 younger kids came home from school upset that a "new" kid was being picked on by other kids at school. They brought it up many times throughout the day. They were all really bothered by this.

During dinner they brought it up again and so I took the opportunity to let them
know how important it is to be nice to everyone especially the underdog.. I told them to make sure to be good friends to everyone and to be extra nice to those who didn't have friends or those who were getting picked on.

Hayden had sat there quietly listening until I said this.. then he says "yeah but you want to especially be nice to the nerds because some day they will be your boss".

It made Kelly & I laugh so hard to think that at 12 years old he's got it all figured out

Go Weber!

Weber's sophomore football team is doing awesome! They just won their 3rd game (undeafeted) last night against Northridge 19-0. They have 2 mores games and hopefully they do great since they've beat the hardest teams already. Kolton is #55 and has made some great tackles (he plays middle linebacker). (These pics were taken during the 1st & 2nd games). Yeah Kolton!

Whale of a Garnish

Hayden loves to be in the kitchen. When I'm making anything he's my right hand man. He loves to get things out, then put things away but prefers to be stirring and cracking eggs. Grandma gave him this book on garnishments so he came right home and got busy.. check out his masterpeice

Jasmyn's First Lost Tooth

Kelly & I were out enjoying the yard when Jasmyn came to talk to us. Kelly noticed her tooth was sitting forward and asked her if she had a loose tooth. She said no. Kelly had her come closer and wiggled it and sure enough it was hanging by a thread and was out within 10 minutes (it took her a minute to build up the courage to let me pull it). She was thrilled! Chet helped her write a note asking if she could keep it and the tooth fairy came. I can't believe my baby is losing her teeth already :(

Willow Park Zoo

Labor Day Weekend

We had an awesome Labor Day Weekend. It was a mellow weekend filled with b.bques, friends and family time. Friday night was spent just hanging around the house doing yard work and spending time with the kids, Saturday we had friends over for hamburgfers on the grill and smores in the backyard, Sunday we had the family over for dinner and celebrated my mom & dad's anniversary, Monday we spent the day in Logan. We had a blast! It was just a good weekend. It's always fun to spend time with the ones you love most.

First Day Of School

Well.. after almost 16 years my kids are in school all day. I have dreaded this day for a long time but at the same time it didn’t seem like it would ever come either... It was so cute this morning while I was doing Jasmyns hair, Chet asked me what I was going to do all day by myself. Before I could answer I heard him say.. "you could go see your mom." Then Jasmyn said "you could go to the store and buy some fruits & vegetables" (why she said that I'll never know.. lol), then Chet said "you could go to the zoo with Grandma" (ugh.. like I would ever go without kids.. they were the only reason I went there in the first place). And then Jasmyn told me I could go to a movie. It was so cute how concerned they were that I was going to be by myself all day and they were going to give me ideas of things I could do.

Last night as I was telling Hayden that the neighbor was driving carpool the first week so I wouldn't be taking him to school on his first day. He said "Mom.. I wanted you to take me." When I asked him why he said.. "so I could give you one last hug." It melted me! Needless to say I called the neighbor and asked her if I could drive the first day. As we pulled into to the school parking lot I thought to myself.. Hayden isn't going to give me a hug in front of this other kid.. sure enough, when I came to a stop he stood up and gave me a huge bear hug and told me he loved me. Not only did it make my day but it also helped me realize there is no better pay off to being a mom. I'm so thankful I get to stay home and be there for my kids to drive carpools or rush to the school to pick them up when they call home because they aren't feeling well. I'm so thankful Kelly works as hard as he does to support us so I can stay home... Thanks Kel!

I've been tagged

Well, I have been tagged by my friend Steph.

It's a tag about Kelly and I - here goes!

How did we meet: We met in 10th grade Biology Class. I thought he was super cute!

Where did you go on your first date: Lagoon, we sat under a tree in Pioneer Village and talked the whole day.. it was awesome!

How long have you been together: 18 years.. married for 16. Man! that makes me feel old

Who said I love you first: Kelly did

Who is taller: ummm.. kelly by like 10-11 inches

Who sings better: ugh... neither! lol

Who is smarter: it depends

Who does the laundry: Kolton mostly but we usually all work on it together if we get way behind(that is the beauty of having older kiddos). The younger kids play the "matching game" by matching socks

Who does the dishes: usually Hayden or I

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: Kelly right now but he pretty much lets me sleep anywhere so if I decide I want to switch we switch.. I like change once in a while. Does that makes sense?

Who pays the bills: Kelly has been (we switch off there too)

Who mows the lawn: Hayden (again.. the beauty of having older kids)

Who cooks dinner: usually me but Kelly does quit a bit too. A lot of times we cook together

Who drives when you are together: depends.. Kelly konks out usually as soon as he gets behind the wheel so I have to

Who is more stubborn: not me (just kidding.. I for sure am. Kelly has a song that he sings to me but it's late and I don't remember what it is but it's about being stubborn). I'm telling you.. it comes from being the only the girl and having 5 brothers :)

Who kissed who first: it was both I guess

Who is more sensitive: we both are sensitive in different ways. Obituaries are about the only thing that make me cry (so you'd think I'd just not read them)

Who proposed: Kelly did

Who has more siblings: I do.. I have 5 brothers and Kelly has 2 brothers and a sister

Who wears the pants: I do I guess but not on purpose.. I don't like too.. I tell Kelly he needs to make decisions too and quit leaving everything up to me. Sometimes I just want to be told how it is and how it isn't and not be the "one" to decide things

Our Island Park Vacation

We just spent a week in Island Park, Idaho and had the funnest time. Grandpa & Grandma Prisbrey went with us again this year and we are so glad they did.
The first night we got up there Kelly, Dad & Wyatt dropped us off at the condo then left to pick Kolton & Hayden up from scout camp where they'd been all week. The plan was they were going to camp, go to closing ceremonies with the boys, stay the night and come home in the morning. My mom, I, Chet & Jasmyn explored around the resort and just had a fun being together. While at the frog pond (that had dried up.. no froggies this year) I noticed my front tire was flatter than it should be so we drove to the little gas station by the condo to fill it with air. While I was putting in air I stepped back to see how it looked and it was even flatter. I had never used an air compressor before and didn't know to turn it on so I was just letting air out instead.
Later we went to bed and in the morning I was talking to my mom and she mentioned something about the guys being home and leaving again.. come to find out Kelly & my Dad had ended up with 2 flat tires (at the same time!) on their way to boy scout camp and spent the night getting those fixed and never even made it to scout camp. I guess around 1 a.m. they had come back to the condo (yikes! we had gone to bed and left the door unlocked but that made it easier to get in) to sleep and left early in the morning to get the boys and I never even knew it.. I slept through it all. I never sleep through the night and will wake up when my kids rolling downstairs (exaggeration) but I didn't hear a thing.

The next day (Saturday) we spent hanging around Island park (OK.. I must confess.. I just said that because I don't remember what we did that day) lol

Sunday we were lazy and just relaxed. My parents went to the little church close by, Kelly slept for hours, Kolton laid on the couch most the day texting his friends and I took the 4 kids on a scavenger hunt the condo puts on for the kids. We walked and drove all over looking for feathers, bottle caps, shiny rocks, gum wrappers & all kinds of other things and had a blast. Then after we found everything we were supposed to I took them to the clubhouse so they could pick out their prizes. Chet had regretted not picking out a kite since last years hunt so he chose that very first. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and flying kites (my dad had made an amazing kite out of a paper airplane and fishing line also) and going for a drive.

Monday we got up had breakfast, packed coolers and headed out the door to spend the day in Yellowstone. As we were loading up we noticed the van had puddles behind each back tire. We were leaking coolant. We spent the day in the park but had to pull over many many times to fill it with water. We stopped at every gas station we could find to get coolant but nobody had the kind we needed so we were using water.
We had a blast in the park and even saw a bear. It was amazing.. it was standing on it's hind legs shaking a tree. I took a few pics and some video but I was so excited I couldn't work my camera as fast as I needed to. We stopped in an awesome campground and had a picnic. We got back to the condo later that evening. On the way back to the condo my mom & dad had called saying that they were at Big Springs by our condo looking at a momma moose and a brand new baby so we went and saw them and got lots of pics. That baby was so stinkin cute! He looked like a hyena (I hope I spelled that right)

Tuesday morning the van had gotten worse so Kelly called around and found the nearest dealership in Idaho Falls.. Kel, Wyatt & my Dad drove the long drive to take the van in and found out it wouldn't be done until the next day. My mom & I stayed at the condo (carless) with the kids but had a good time. So that pretty much ate up the day (it just wouldn't be a vacation without car troubles. grrr!)
Later that night we made the kids dinner, rented them a DVD and left them at the condo while my mom, dad, kelly & I went to a dinner theater by the condo. It was a blast. You could choose between prime rib & chicken then they served baked potatoes, salad, corn, baked beans and lemonade. We watched a play called "Phantom of the Grand Ole Opry". It was super cute and really funny. There were several times we were laughing so hard. It was a spoof on country music and Phantom of the Opera.

Wednesday was pretty much spent picking the car up from the dealership. I went with Kelly, Wyatt & my Dad this time and my mom stayed at the condo with the kids. Later that night we took the kids swimming in the river and were just thankful Kelly didn't feel the need to bridge jump this year. That saved us a scare and a few months of him hobbling around with a sprained ankle. And then we took the kids & our dirty laundry to the little Laundromat. We had dun doing laundry together and playing 21 while waiting for it to get done.

Thursday we got up and was out the door early (ok, 10:00 but that's early for us)and spent the day again the park. My Mom & Dad had gone canoeing the day before and liked it so much they decided to do it again and weren't with us. We drove up to the higher loop and just spent the day with the kids and sightseeing. It was a blast. There is nothing that makes me happier than being with my family. We had such a good day. The kids all got along great and it was just fun. We played our favorite music, laughed and just enjoyed eachother. We saw another bear (a black bear this time), tons of buffalo and elk and had another picnic.
Later that night we stopped in West Yellowstone at the Gusher for pizza and walked the shops with the kids.

Friday was a bummer.. it was checkout day and nobody was ready to come home. The kids were a little homesick especially Hayden & Kolton because they hadn't been home for 2 weeks after being at camp and all of them were anxious to see the animals but we were all a little bummed. We had to check out by 9 and so we raced to get out the door to make it on time and after only a few stops hurried home to pick up the dogs by 4 so we weren't charged another day at doggie daycare.

We had a blast! Thanks for being with us Mom & Dad. We love you!