Enjoying the Journey

Our Kids--We are Blessed!

2011-12-29T11:38:00.001-07:00

Lauren is "16, going on 17" and doing everything she can to get it all done! She is driving, works 20 hours a week, takes several AP and honors classes, is in the Chamber Orchestra, and still goes to YW just about every Wednesday Night. She is a great daughter and is learning some great life lessons!

Allison is 13 and almost old enough for make-up and school dances!!! She is a passionate, motivated girl and a great helper :) I thought it was funny that during the Christmas Season she would always surprise me as she would tell me how many days until braces come off, rather than 'til Christmas! I believe that day is January 19th!

We are soo glad to have a boy among these girls--and what a fun guy he is! Cal is 10 and loves to play with his buddies, thank goodness we have several of those close-by. ( It keeps his testosterone levels where they should be.) He is really turning into a sports head. He can tell you just about any stat you need to know, and I don't know how he does it--because we don't have cable. He's also been known to play b-ball, even now while it's winter, until his fingers are numb!!!

Lindsay is 5 and has started Kindergarten this year and I don't know where my baby has gone! She is getting tall and learning how to read and anything else you put in front of her. Her favorite thing to do, besides playing with her babies and her friends, is playing on someone's iPhone. Kids these days!

Christmas Card

2011-12-25T11:14:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas 2011!

More Dances!!!

2011-12-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Jonah going to Maple Mountain Homecoming 2011.

Lauren and Ethan went to Sadies--"Super Hero" Theme. Lauren and Ethan were wearing Green Lantern Shirts.

Lauren and Jacob going to Morp--"Rock Star" was their theme. They had these awesome neon hats for the dance. They were quickly the envy of all the kids. Cool.

There was a large group effort at home to put them all together--I think there were 12 in all -- whew!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:06:00.004-06:00

Lindsay was a bride for Halloween this year. Here she is at her school Halloween Parade! Her friend Hayley is beside her.

Calvin was a Miami Dolphin--he would dress like this everyday if we let him. He's next to his teacher, Mr. Fluckiger--best teacher ever!!!

Goooo Cougars!!!!

2011-10-29T10:59:00.013-06:00

Cal got to go with all the Barrett Boys to the BYU vs. TCU game at the Cowboys Stadium! He was soo excited! You have to understand what a BYU fan this kid is...he is true blue!

He even find's signs in his Honey Comb cereal!

Jeff likes to tell the story about how they all got to the stadium early to check it out. It is an amazing structure! Jeff said to Cal, "Should we go up to the top and down to the field?" Cal replied, "I just want to go to my seat." He didn't want to miss a minute of the action! It was the highlight of his year, maybe his life thus far :) What a great tradition! Thanks, Grandpa B!

Alli's a fun girl!

2011-10-15T10:43:00.002-06:00

Alli ran X-Country again this year. She did great! Her best time was 9:57. Go Mustangs!

I think it might be hard to determine if Alli and her friend Courtney had more fun hanging out together or running... By the looks on their faces, I'm thinking hanging out wins :)

This girl loves Justin Bieber!!! No one in the family understands it, but she remains firm in her convictions.

Homecoming SHS 2011

2011-09-17T11:07:00.001-06:00

Lauren got asked to her first "date dance"--Homecoming! Jeff and I looked at each other and said, "Weren't we doing this not too long ago?" Crazy! Fun!

Once she unscrambled the eggs, she saw that Scott Smith was asking her. She answered with a McDonalds Breakfast--get it--scrambled eggs?

Lauren's first idea for a dress was Grandma! Grandma Barrett had offered her own dance dresses for Lauren to try. Lauren was really excited to get to wear them--until she tried them on! Grandma had a 23" waist! Alli was the only one that could get them zipped up, with the exception of the one above! Soo cute, though! Notice Lindsay in her "dance dress"?

Love the gloves! So Audrey Hepburn.

This was Alli's favorite dress.

A sassy pout!

Very Grace Kelly, don't you think?

Lauren found a gorgeous dress the traditional way--at a store! Actually, this may be the new traditional, she rented her dress for the weekend! Nice on the pocket book and closet space!

One of the cutest things Homecoming night for me, was that Alli did Lindsay's hair and made her a wrist corsage and helped her get a fancy dress on, so she could be a part of it all! So sweet, Alli!

Here's Lauren and her friends ready to be picked up!
Lauren, Emily, and Nikki

A back of the dress shot--sassy, Lauren!

The ever tricky wrist corsage...

Pinning a corsage on a shirt isn't soo easy!

Don't they look nice? Already for some dancing! These firsts are soo fun!

Nerd Day?

2011-09-15T10:30:00.000-06:00

So Alli comes up from the basement asking me if she can wear my student council sweater for NERD DAY! Serious? I must admit, I told her, "No way! That's not nerdy!" Then I got over myself and let her wear it but it helped to tell myself that she's going for the cutest nerd ever!

Ready to roll--as nerdy as it gets? But seriously, kids are wearing those glasses all the time now!

Maybe I'm crazy, I get more of a--------Gooooo Bruins! :)

My Kindergarten Baby

2011-08-29T14:02:00.000-06:00

Lindsay was ready for school at the crack of dawn today! Yipee! She is soo excited for Kindergarten. She chose her outfit and laid it out last night. She picked her leggings, tutu, doggy with I-pod shirt, and her glitter "Toms." She's picking up on the lessons her sisters her giving!

Luckily the bus stop is just across the street from our house and her buddies Drew and Devry get on with her.

Once she got on the bus she never looked back. I couldn't even get her to look out the bus window to wave! She is all business and she looks soo old! Love my little Lindsay. Crazy that she's started this phase of life!

School Haircut

2011-08-25T13:47:00.001-06:00

Okay, this girl needs a haircut!

But seriously, Lauren and Alli took Lindsay with them to get their back-to-school haircuts. Lindsay was soo sad when she didn't get to get her hair cut, too. It made her day when she realized she could get her hair cut while the big kids went back to school. Here she is pre-haircut.

Love the look on her face while she gets her hair washed! I have a feeling my face looks like that when I get my hair washed, too.

What should we do? How about an A-line with "bangs straight across," per Lindsay's instructions.

Now that's a Kindergarten haircut!

Soo cute!

She wanted me to take a picture of both sides!

It's so fun being Lindsay!

School Days

2011-08-22T13:45:00.001-06:00

First day of School 2011. Sorry about the sun in the eyes, but we have to get the picture in front of the flag. For some reason that looks like the first day of school to me.

Alli is in 8th Grade at Mapleton Jr High. She was the first to go.

Lauren is a Junior--I can't believe it--at Springville High School. Go Red Devils!

Calvin is in 5th grade at Hobble Creek Elementary.

Here's the bus stop gang: Abby and Lydia Rowe, Cooper, Lindsay, Calvin, Ethan, Owen, Jackson and Drew. Lindsay had to wear her school clothes and backpack, even though she and Drew don't start Kindergarten until next week! So fun! Have a great day at school kids!

Calvin is 10!

2011-08-15T13:07:00.002-06:00

Here's Cal opening his Jimmer Jersey from Dad and Mom. Listen to his practical $ sense coming through at the end of the video...funny!

Calvin is such a huge BYU fan! Notice the Jake Heaps Jersey he's got on already--his B-day gift from Grandpa and Grandma Barrett. He also got Wipe-out for the Wii from his sisters and money from Grandma and Grandpa Clarke--he already know what games for his Gameboy he's buying!

We invited his buddies to the church to play ball. We had Alli keeping score and tunes playing--soo fun! Those boys played for about 3 hours!

Cal and Ethan Little

Teach me how to Jimmer!

What would we do without this fun guy in our family? Love you, Cal!

Summer Rocks!

2011-08-10T12:46:00.001-06:00

We had a great summer this year. What did we do? Well...not much, but we sure had fun!

Lindsay and her buddy Drew at Trafalga on the carousel, giddy-up!

The cool, big boys--Cal, Jackson and Cooper--mini golfing at Trafalga (or is that Hawaii?)

Lindsay and Drew on the "Tidal Wave"--again, Trafalga.

Alli was the only one tall enough to drive the race cars, but it was still fun to be a passenger!

The big boys on the climbing wall.

Alli and Lindsay got soaked in the bumper boats! Nice way to cool off!

Lindsay with her sandcastle at the park.

Lindsay on her bike--she just won't do it without her training wheels, and I'm all for not having to run along beside her--for now!

We had a blast swimming at 7 Peaks, too! All I need to say is, Thank goodness for the "Pass of all Passes"! Hooray for summer-time!

Happy Birthday, America!

2011-07-04T12:02:00.002-06:00

The first ever fireworks our family has done together. I guess we normally watch the Stadium of Fire Fireworks or mooch off someone else. This year our neighborhood did a pretty good job of replicating the Stadium of Fire, and here is our contribution--we were pretty excited!

The 4th of July sort of caught us off guard this year. I got home from NYC late Saturday night and Monday was the 4th! We visited with family at Grandpa and Grandma Clarke's Sunday night, so that was a lot of fun and felt holiday-ish. Then the kids hatched a grand plan to see if they could have a cousin sleep-over and Grandma's...it worked! Grandma and Grandpa are getting soft! They were so nice to let all those teenagers sleep over! (Calvin and Lindsay also got to sleep over with Jada and Reese, who were already sleeping over because they were here on their family vacation from Arkansas.) They all got to go to the Freedom Festival Balloon Launch the next morning. Fun!

Cute cousin foot shot!

The main attraction was the Darth Vader Balloon complete with Storm Troopers and that scary dude!

Love the balloon launch on the 4th!

Dum, dum, dum, dum-da-dum, dum-da-dum...can't you just hear the music?

And then the wind came up...

...and all the balloons came down.

We looked and looked for something 4th of July-ish to do together that afternoon, then we found a car show at the mall and that was really fun.

Lauren's dream car! This was her favorite.

Cal thought this one was awesome!

Then we went home and had a true 4th of July Dinner--Hot Dogs, Chips, Root Beer! And we didn't forget the licorice and cracker jacks for the fireworks. It turned out to be a great impromptu 4th of July.

Saying good-bye

2011-07-02T17:03:00.001-06:00

Our trip was almost over, but first we had to see the Mall at Short Hills, a short drive from Ashli's house. This mall was amazing! I've never seen soo many high-end stores! Fun to window shop!

Can I get something at Tiffany's? We tried on a couple of gorgeous rings and had to do a couple extra gulps when we saw the price tag--$58,000 and $31,000. Hard to imagine spending that much money on anything I can't live in or drive.

Ash looking tres smashing in a hat at Anthropologie--love that store!

Thanks for a showing us a great time, guys! We love you!

So sad to say good-bye, but great to come home to my family! Thanks for letting me go, guys!

Our Chillin' Day at the Jersey Shore

2011-07-01T17:02:00.000-06:00

On our way out to the beach. Ok, sort of blurry, but that was because I was trying to protect the phone through a ziplock bag. Effective in protection, not so much for a clear shot, duh...

Can you see the Manhattan Skyline in the horizon?

Here's a zoomed in pic--cool to be on the beach but see the city, huh?

Ethan and Anna body surfing--or were they looking for crabs? We had a couple big old, dead crabs wash in a few times on us and totally freak us out!

Grandma and Kate. Grandma was a good sport. I think she got soaked a couple of times--and that water was COLD!

Baby Jane. She wanted to be by the water!

There's a great one of Kate. She spent a lot of time collecting shells and sand for her castle.

A pretty cool place! I never pictured the Jersey Shore to be so nice.

Day 3--The Girls Hit Manhattan!

2011-06-29T15:33:00.011-06:00

Ok, back up a little...

Mom and I, soo ready to head off on the train into NYC, trying not to embarrass Ashli too much!

Here we are in Penn Station! Ready for the city!

Ashli was our fearless guide. So fun to get the tour from someone who loves NYC as much as she does!

Just had to take a pic of the streets! Lovin' it.

The Statue of Liberty is smaller than I thought...

The Empire State Building, we were careful to watch for traffic as we crossed the street--didn't want to get hit by a car and be crippled for life. (Do you like my "Affair to Remember" reference?)

Cool to be here with you, Ash!

This picture cracks me up--nobody dares look at her... What I love most though, is that Jeff took a similar picture on his mission--20 years ago in Taiwan.

Hopping into a taxi to see Ground Zero. We're getting the full experience, baby!

After Ground Zero, we headed out to a ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty--the real one this time! Awesome!

We were probably a little over-zealous, trying to get too many things in one day. We took a subway from the ferry, then hopped onto the express and out onto the street where we had to run/walk several blocks to get to Wicked in time! We were a little late, but loved the show! Soo much fun!

Since we were hungry by then...we went to Uncle Nick's and had...

...Flaming Cheese (I didn't get my phone out in time to get the cheese actually flamming, but you get the idea, imagine flames--wooo-hoo!) Yummo!

Some of our waiters.

Ash and I in Times square! Can't believe I was there!

We tried to stay out of trouble....aren't these guys the typical NYPD?

The Hershey Store in Times Square.
Now that's the size we need to see in our stores! Just the smell of that place! Me like-y!

Times Square--sweet! If I remember correctly, right about now we were looking for a Cold Stone Ice-cream store.

Riding the subway--it looks like I'm having a hard time containing the excitement--I know, I am! I had such a great time! Thanks, ladies!

Into the City!

2011-06-28T10:16:00.001-06:00

Day 2

Ashli was soo brave to drive us into the city! She'd never done it before, but she did a great job! Super navigation skills--it was way cool to be in the middle of stop-and-go traffic in NYC!

We went to the Museum of Natural History. It was cool to think of "Night of the Museum" as we drove past the front doors--right across the street from Central Park.

Cool picture of the kids in front of the indian.

"Dumb, Dumb, Me want gum-gum!"

Crossing the street to Central Park.

I couldn't help thinking of "Enchanted" when I saw this bridge in Central Park.

How cool that this is a bathroom in Central Park? I know, I'm a nerdy tourist if I'm taking pictures of a bathroom.

In front of Belvedere's Castle. Ashli and I took a little stroll into the park while Grandma kept the kids at a playground (donated by Diana Ross--I know surreal!). We thought we knew where we were going, but got a little turned around. A great place to get lost in though...

Thank goodness for the maps! Isn't Ashli cute? It was soo fun to be with her again.

On our way home, we drove past the LDS Temple! Way cool.

Right across the street from the temple is Julliard!

Hanging out at home after an awesome day of exploring the city.

NYC, baby!

2011-06-27T09:36:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I'm in New York City! Amazing!

Ok, I should back up a little, I got a little ahead of myself... My mother-in-law, Tyra, said one day how much she was missing her grandkids in New Jersey, and that she was thinking of planning a trip to visit them with her sister. I said that sounded fun and I'd be her travel buddy if I had the money... Cut to two weeks later and I got a call one morning telling to pack my bags! What!?!?! Joan couldn't go, so I was in--and I didn't even know I was in the running! We had soo much fun! Here's pics from our first night. These guys were so gracious to put us up in their home (Ethan gave up his bedroom!), feed and entertain us! They're the best.

Ashli and Randall and their awesome kids--Ethan, Anna, Kate and Jane at the Summit Diner on our first evening in Summit, NJ. Legend has it, Ernest Hemmingway ate at this diner and included it in one of his books!

Their cute, cute downtown just a couple blocks from their home.

Another shot of the picturesque town. Love it!

Birthday Party Friends

2011-06-17T08:51:00.000-06:00

Lindsay had a Princess Party and these pictures turned out darling of her "Royal Guests."

Princess Millie Mason

Princess Devry Henderson

Princess Hayley Brimhall

Princess Addy Geary

Princess Emily Lindsey

And Prince Drew or should I say "Charming"? Isn't it great to have friends?

Happy Birthday Lindsay!

2011-06-16T17:36:00.000-06:00

Lindsay is 5! She was soo excited to turn five! She knows that now she can go to kindergarten! Now we get to count down the days until school starts! That's the funnest part about being young--always something to look forward to!

This is the cutest little charm bracelet! What a fun gift!

A long awaited dream come true for Lindsay was getting a Pillow Pet! She asks for a Pillow Pet once a week, at least! This cute little guy is already a favorite friend! Grandpa and Grandma Clarke gave her money and she chose a little kitten that purrs and opens and closes it's eyes and wiggles. Grandpa and Grandma Barrett brought her a dolly that sings and coo's along with several outfits. She's soo lucky!

Nothing says Happy Birthday like an Ariel cake! Awesome!

That's one happy girl! We love you Lindsay! Thanks for keeping us young!

Lauren's Sweet 16!

2011-05-24T17:09:00.000-06:00

Lauren waiting at the DMV for her driver's license! She got to miss school to do it. Luckily her birthday is always on the last week of school when NOTHING happens. She also finally got a cell phone as her gift! Woo-hoo!

We came home from the DMV just in time for a big group of friends to come to a B-Day Lunch! Lauren had to play in the Orchestra for SHS Graduation that night, so this was the best option for a party. It was a big hit! Thank goodness for Costco Pizza! What a fun group of friends!

While Lauren was at Graduation, some sweet friends (Lauren Bird and Lexie Ball) had some fun decorating her room!

Nice job girls! It was a fun surprise! Happy Birthday to a sweet 16 year-old! We love you Lauren!

Alli for 8th Grade Secretary

2011-05-16T12:33:00.003-06:00

Alli wanted to run for office at the end of the school year. She worked really hard on her campaign. They had to make a poster, and a 30 second video to show the entire school the day of the vote. Alli thought it would be fun to use Justin Bieber in her video. It turned out to be pretty cute and creative. She ended up losing, and that was tragic for about half the day, until her good friend, Tori from across the street, came over to cheer her up. (I was so grateful for her and that sweet act of kindness, that I cried!) Thank goodness for good friends. True to Alli's positive nature, she was quickly pointing out reasons why she's glad she didn't make it after all.

Junior High Track District Finals

2011-05-10T12:22:00.000-06:00

Alli on her first lap. She took the lead early and just kept increasing it--you won't see that girl behind her again!

Lap 2--still in the lead. She looked really strong!

Lap 3 and she's still looking relaxed!

Here she is on her final lap and she's all business.

Grandma and Grandpa Barrett came to watch Alli's awesome race. They were troopers! It was a rainy, cold day. We were there for a couple of hours before she ran her event--the 1600 meter. She rain in the open unseeded race and took 1st place with a time of 6:17! She's got it in her blood, I think! Nice work, Alli!

A basketball hoop of his own

2011-04-11T12:07:00.003-06:00

Finally, Cal can shoot hoops at his own house! There was a slight delay--it took us about a week to get it put together, because Dad got the posts put together wrong and couldn't get them apart--no matter how hard he tried! We had to order a new post and wait for it to be delivered before Cal could play. Ugghh!!!! Thankfully he was really understanding and patient. Good boy.

Our awesome neighbors, the Littledikes came over to help Calvin break it in. They were so nice to make Cal feel special--they have a sweet sports court in their backyard.

Passing to Cooper-notice the chalk lines Cal made for the court.

Balls everywhere!

Soo much fun. Cal is usually out first thing in the morning shooting hoops. He loves it and he's getting pretty good!

Grandpa Barrett came by another day to see the hoop in action. He's still got skills! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!

Early Birthday Surprise

2011-04-04T11:46:00.007-06:00

Here's Calvin with the surprise of his life so far. Pretty awesome!

His birthday isn't until August, but Grandpa Barrett wanted him to enjoy this all summer.

This is a sign...

2011-03-01T11:33:00.001-07:00

To all frustrated mothers out there.....If your 9 year-old son wears out his shoes in 2 months flat, and they look like this--an investigation may be required! Calvin played basketball this winter and just ate it up! He loved the game and was really serious about doing everything just right. He listened closely to his coaches and followed their instructions to the T! After wearing these shoes for only a little while, we noticed they weren't looking so hot. He was complaining about his socks getting wet, etc. Upon closer inspection, this is what we found! Seriously???!!! Off to the store to buy him a better pair of shoes--maybe if we spend more on his shoes they'll last longer? When we brought them home, I did what any cash poor Mom might do--I told him to treat these shoes well and not to drag his toes etc, because that's what seemed to be the culprit from before. He promptly replied, "But Mom, my coach says to slide your feet as you move sideways!" Ah, hah! We quickly discussed the difference between "slidding" and "dragging" or even "driving" your feet into the ground as you move around on the court. That boy is intense about his sports!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T11:13:00.024-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Lindsay helped me deliver Valentine Balloons to the kids at school this year.

Flowers from my "Funny Valentine." (He's also handsome, sweet, thoughtful and awesome!)

This picture cracks me up, because it's the day after Valentines...balloons are a little deflated and all, but we still are basking in the love :0)

2011-01-19T17:25:00.001-07:00

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! This year it was the same as last year and the year before...Ho, Ho, Ho, hum. I like it, but one of these years I'm going to have the energy and foresight to plan ahead and shake things up a little. But then again, who am I kidding? There's something to be said about tradition, right? Being stuck in a rut actually makes it really great for set-up--by now the kids know exactly how it goes and many hands make light work!

Christmas morning, waiting for Dad to turn on the lights and see if we had any visitors of the elf variety in the night. Alli's face cracks me up. Nice acting job!

Lauren got perfume and clothes--interesting use of the belt, don't you think. That girl has an eye for fashion!

I'll bet you can't guess what Calvin got for Christmas. He was so cute in it, he didn't take that off for the whole day--even when we went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Clarke for dinner. He still gets up in the morning and puts his helmet on before he does anything else in the morning.

Lindsay got more Zhu Zhu Pets! Soo fun!

Now Dad really is an Iron Man! Cool!

Think Lauren's happy with her new jeans?

Oh, Alli. Happy Girl!

Sweet solor panel robot kit for Calvin!

This is what was happening at our house all Christmas morning...Madden '11!

And a lot of Just Dance 2'ing! That's fun even if you're just watching!

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-18T19:00:00.001-07:00

It's only been about a gazillion years since we had a Christmas Picture with the entire family in it. I think the last picture we did with all of us was before Lindsay was around! About time. Merry Christmas everyone!

Little Tech-y

2010-12-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

We went to the Carl Bloch Art Show at BYU a few nights ago. It was really great. I could have spent the entire night there...They offered iPads for extra info and to help with the presentation--Grandma got one for everybody. You should have seen how long it took some of the adults to figure out those "new fangled contraptions." It cracked me up when I found Lindsay with Grandma's iPad putting it through it's paces.

Lindsay's found the main menu and is searching Google Maps! I think she's studied Daddy on his iPhone. She knew how to zoom in and out using her index finger and thumb--you know, the "pinch" move?! It cracked me up that she just sat there with her legs crossed being so grown-up.

Later on during the tour, I'm not sure if she ever really noticed the art work.

She's a funny little one! Growing up right before my eyes!

Time for Basketball

2010-11-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Now that football is over, Cal has moved on to basketball. He just loves to shoot hoops!

Note the concentration...I think I see a Jordon-esque tongue...

Looks like he's going for the fade shot.

The release... and I'm sure he scored!

Lindsay wants to do it, too! Nice wrist flip!

Looks like they're having some fun!

Comfort Quilt

2010-11-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

My sweet friend and counselor has breast cancer. We made this comfort quilt for her in three days--Lori and I picked out fabric, Lori cut and printed the scriptures, I arranged and sewed it together, Janice stippled and bound it. We love how it turned out. Janice, called it "delicious." I need to blog it so I have record of it. Now we all want one!

The backing was that "minky" fabric. Soo soft!

We all chose two scriptures to comfort her through her treatments and recovery when we couldn't be there.

Love these colors. We chose them to match her room, then realized they'd go in most of our homes, too!

Here it is all stretched out. It was a really fun gift to give! Wish I'd thought of it before when some of my family members were going through their own cancer trials. We love you Stacy!

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-30T10:48:00.001-06:00

Lindsay was a kitty for our Ward Halloween Party.

Then Cinderella for Trick-or-Treating. Big Sister Alli helped her get ready and took her around the block for candy again this year. Alli is so nice to Lindsay! She even taught her about using a pillow case so you have room for more candy! Grandma Barrett had made all the kids cute pillowcases for Halloween so it worked out perfectly!

Calvin was Luigi. Luckily he had this costume from a his 7th B-day Party and we just had to add a big black paper mustache! Trick-or-Treating was a little strange this year. The older kids had a delay about 1/2 hour into the action. It HAILED! Cal and his buddies went to Littledike's for hot cocoa and games until the storm broke. They were like little mailmen--"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these kids from the swift completion of their appointed rounds!"
It was a Happy Halloween!

Farewell to Football Season

2010-10-29T09:30:00.001-06:00

Calvin played flag football again this year. He LOVES football! He had so much fun this year. Here are some shots of him in action!

He really had fun with receptions this time around. Good concentration.

In action.

Sweet catch, Cal!

Only the last two games were cold. He didn't care! He loved it anyway!

Cute kid!

Getting warmed up with Mom during half-time.

UEA FUN

2010-10-25T08:59:00.000-06:00

We went to Trafalga Lehi, formerly known as Liberty Land, for UEA this year. Alli got to bring her friend Cora along. Lindsay thought it was great to hang out with such fun, big girls. It was a fun day for the girls...Calvin was boating with his buddies instead. His reasoning when they invited him just as we were getting ready to leave was, "Well, I have been to Liberty Land before..." That along with an afternoon hanging with his favorite buddies sealed the deal. We managed to have fun without him.

Go Alli! Look at her take that turn!

Cora took Lindsay for a spin! Lindsay LOVED the speed!

Ace Fighter Pilot! She finally figured out how to make her plane go up and down.

Lindsay loved riding the ponies, too!

She spent the most time by far at this mini petting zoo. She loved that the animals were her size and she could get to all of them. I think the big floppy-eared bunny at her feet stole the show.

Even though this train didn't go anywhere, Lindsay played and played on it. She took us all over--even to Disneyland once! Fun to have such a cute engineer on our journey.

Speedy!

2010-10-20T10:04:00.000-06:00

District Finals for Cross Country.

On your mark, get set, and go! Alli is in that grey pack, third girl back on the left. She came in 18th of about 70, 7th-9th grade girls.

Go Alli go! You gotta pass her!

The final sprint for the finish--nice stride! I was so proud of her kicking it when I knew she was tired! I started tearing up! Maybe it's because I can relate to how painful that can be!

It was a great season! She beat her best by almost 1 minute! 10:38 for 1 1/2 miles! Love my cute running girl!

Autumn

2010-10-11T10:02:00.001-06:00

I just love this time of year! The colors are gorgeous. The air is crisp. We went for drive up our canyon one evening and collected some beautiful leaves. Look what my kids put together for us! So fun to have big kids with a sense of beauty and design. Ahh!

Go Devils!

2010-10-05T07:39:00.000-06:00

I don't know if "Lady Devil" really fits Lauren, but she made the Sophomore Volleyball Team this year--so, I guess she's a Lady Devil. She's only played city league volleyball over the years so we didn't realize how much she liked it until this past Spring when she told us she wanted to try out for the team. To our surprise, she ramped up her marketing for babysitting and earned enough money so she could pay for Volleyball Camp. She worked really hard and made it happen! She is learning to be aggressive (something that doesn't come naturally to Lauren) and really hustle. It is really fun to watch her grow-up. She loves being in High School and on this team.

Sophomore Team. Lauren's number 24, center right.

The whole group--Sophs, JV, Varsity. Lauren is third on the left, top row.

Lauren, Nicki, and Courtney

Lauren and Nicki--two of a kind.

Ready for the ball...She's in the center by the Springville Devil on the floor.

Bring it on!

Oh Noooo!

2010-09-28T11:06:00.003-06:00

Lindsay came down from her room where she was getting dressed after her bath. Apparently she had gotten "all ready for the day" while she was at it. I thought she'd come down to show me that she was dressed, until she pointed out her beautiful nails and toes she'd painted. We quickly went up to her room and I had her show me where she'd done all her work...For those with sharp eyes, you can see in the second picture that we got some on the carpet, too. Are we En-Joying the Journey yet!?!

If you look at it objectively, it's really not a bad job for a four-year-old.

She actually did pretty well at getting it on her nails, and her toes, and yes--the carpet!

Even the bottom of the hands couldn't escape the orange polish! Notice how "pruny" her hands are still!
Just in case you were wondering...Colgate shaving cream is really good at getting finger nail polish out of white carpet! Thank goodness I already knew that and we had some on hand. Like I said before--JOY!

Gymnastics!

2010-09-22T14:13:00.000-06:00

Lindsay is in the city's gymnastics program for the next little while. She loves her leotard and doing all the tricks! She is having a great time and catching on really quickly. It's pretty fun to see.

Straddle Somersault!

I'd say she stuck that landing!

The finish of her backwards roll.

Getting some air!

Climbing builds strong muscles!

Does anyone see a monkey?

Look at that balance!

That was quite the stretch for my little newbie--but she got the hang of it by the end of class!

Straddle jump over the blocks!
It's pretty cute to see her learning something new. All the ages and stages are fun!

The Many Faces of Lindsay

2010-09-20T09:14:00.000-06:00

They've been at it again--Alli and Lindsay have put together another photo shoot! Here's what I found on the camera this time....

You can't beat those pretty blue eyes!

Sweet girl!

Very Artistic!

Now smell the flower!

The ever popular lying in the grass shot...

There's the personality creeping in! Funny bunny!

Every photographer knows--You've gotta have an action shot!

Thanks, Alli. I'm glad you take the time to do this for us all! You two make a pretty great pair!

Home Re-model?

2010-09-10T08:29:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my home! Would you like a tour? Above my head is the clock...

Here's the doorbell for visitors!

A family portrait for the wall!

Looking out the window!

There's nothing like fresh flowers to make a house feel like a home! Alli is such a fun sister. She helped Lindsay re-decorate her "house." It was really a ploy to help Lindsay keep her toys picked up! It appears Alli is learning how things work when you share a room with a 4-year-old!

Cross Country Girl

2010-09-09T09:18:00.001-06:00

Alli at the end of her first Cross Country Meet at Diamond Fork Jr High. She came in 10th! Nice job, Alli!

Go Alli, Go! She just decided she wanted to try Cross Country this year. She's been running for just a couple of weeks and her mile time went from 7:06 to 6:50 pace already. She is really getting into running. Jeff told her she could run with us next summer in the Ragnar Relay Race. She is really excited about that! It's fun to see her try something hard and realize she can do it! Good life lesson!

Football!

2010-08-30T08:23:00.000-06:00

Where do you think Calvin is? At BYU maybe?

Nope! In his own backyard! We thought this would be a fun use of our extra-long and narrow backyard. Calvin was pretty excited to have a field of his own. We even put BYU in one end zone and COUGARS in the other.

We know it doesn't really compare with the real BYU field--huh Uncle Rich? But it was pretty fun, unless you hit the pile of rotten, squishy plums in the "COUGARS" end zone...A little home field advantage that we don't have to share with the visiting team! He he he! Bring on football season!

Happy Birthday Calvin!

2010-08-24T13:45:00.006-06:00

Handsome guy! Calvin got a Game-Boy Game (Yoshi's Island), Legos, some Cash, and a Ripstick for his 9th Birthday. He's a good boy and puts up with a lot being the only boy! He loves football, baseball, video games, drawing comics, and playing with his friends. We love this cool kid! Ready for 4th grade!

Ripstick-tastic!

Summer is great!

2010-08-02T13:55:00.000-06:00

Who needs a fancy-shmansy pool? Not us! All we need is a little water and something to float on and we're entertained for hours and hours! It's sort of amazing! Calvin and his friends even made the wipe-out zone with that little pool and floaties! Cool!

The Reservoir

2010-07-02T13:22:00.000-06:00

Spanish Fork has a cool reservoir that we just discovered this summer! The water is cold, and the sand's a little gritty, but...the view is awesome. It's up high next to the mountains and above the windmills at the mouth of the canyon. We had so much fun with our friends the Littledikes. Ahhhh.....the lazy days of summer!

Lindsay and buddy Drew preferred to snack and play in the sand.

Calvin, Jackson and Cooper taking a break after running around the entire reservoir!

Lauren just soaking in the sun!

Lindsay looks cold!

Alli is a fish!

Calvin and Jackson swimming.

Lindsay is a mermaid (look closely at the sand).

The sand monster!

Whose idea was this? I've got sand in my face...can someone give me a hand?

Sweet Summer!

2010-06-15T12:59:00.002-06:00

We grew strawberries this summer! We actually planted them last summer, but nothing happened.
This year look what came up?

Yummy Strawberries! Lindsay figured out a new variety of "lipstick!"

We got so much joy out of checking on our strawberries!

Guess What?

2010-05-26T11:14:00.005-06:00

Someone at our house had a special day!

There were balloons....

...and even some Carrot Cake!

Yup! Lauren is 15!

Make a wish!

She's a real sweetheart and a real pleasure to have in our family. We love her soo much! I just don't know if we're ready for her to grow up and start driving!

More painting....

2010-05-24T11:38:00.003-06:00

I still had quite a bit of paint left over from our table and chairs...I had an idea...and the whole month of May...

Here's a close picture so you can see I distressed the edges just a bit, sort of fun. And below is a picture with the wood floor--I really like how they look together.

Here's the new guest bathroom--or in Lindsay's terms, "Grandpa and Grandma's Bathroom." She says this because she used to use this bathroom when she was potty training, but now that she's trained I like to keep one bathroom clean for our company. Since she didn't understand when I told her it was the guest bathroom, I simplified and said it's just for Grandpa and Grandma when they come over. Now our poor guests wonder why they have to use "Grandpa and Grandma's Bathroom." It's especially perplexing to her little friends!

The laundry room feels more like a room and less like a pass through/forgotten part of the house!

I did this room first and once it was done, I knew I would do my bathrooms as well. I just love it!

Here's our master bathroom--a lot of stuff to paint! So naturally, I saved it for last. I am soooo happy with the way it turned out! Yippeee! I also painted the kids bathroom upstairs, but it looks pretty much like the other rooms, so I spared you. Our cabinets were natural wood before, but the finish was wearing off and we were ready for a little make-over. It's fun to change things up a bit--makes the journey more fun!

Spring Break Project

2010-04-16T17:32:00.002-06:00

With all the play this break we needed a little project to make us feel like we accomplished something...

About 13 years ago we picked up this awesome table and chairs from our favorite store--DownEast Home. They have been great, but over the years they've received a little too much "love".

So it was time for a makeover! Thank goodness I had a neighbor to mentor me along the way (Thanks Paige!), and some big girls that wanted to help.

Step 1--Remove upholstered seat cushions and clean those chairs!

Step 2--Spray paint the chairs...several times until we get a good coat.

Step 3--Paint the table--four coats! Don't forget to steel wool between coats!

Step 4--Rub on the polyurethane coats--3-4!

Step 5--Let everything dry for a couple of days--No touchy, touchy!

Step 6--Re-upholster the cushions and attach to chairs!

Step 7--Enjoy! I still cringe a little when the kids use the table...I'm sure I'll get over it!

It's fun when the journey is rewarding too!

Spring Break Part 2

2010-04-07T17:07:00.000-06:00

We had a beautiful day at the park! Lindsay got to sit in Mom's chair and eat snacks!

She also had fun playing on the playground.

Calvin and his buddies on the spinning UFO. Only moments before one of the boys loses his lunch!

Those things get me too! Uggh! Enjoying the journey!

Spring Break Part 1

2010-04-05T10:25:00.000-06:00

We went to "Jump on It" with our Wilson cousins during Spring Break!We had a great time as you can see by look on Lindsay's face!

Alli was jumping so high and fast that we couldn't get a clear picture!

Oh, to be young!

Lindsay wasn't quite sure about jumping around so many kids...

Calvin looks like he's ready for some action!

He's just a blur!

Fun times!

Best Formula 1

2010-04-05T10:19:00.004-06:00

Calvin entered his first Pinewood Derby a week ago!

He picked his design, the paint color, stickers, etc and loved working on it. He was so excited about it, he tried to start work on it the very night he received it (right after the Blue and Gold Banquet)--we held him off by having him draw his design ideas that night. And nearly every night during the month of March, as walked in the door from work, Jeff heard, "Are we going to work on my car tonight?"

He got to race against his best friend Jackson first thing. Jackson made a cool Sponge Bob Car.

Calvin got the award for "Best Formula 1 Car."

He learned about all the steps involved in making a great car--even though he wanted to skip through a lot of them. He had a fabulous design and paint job, but a "bum" wheel kept him out of the Winner's Circle! He handled it well and is looking forward to next year! (While Daddy's glad he has another year to gear up!)

"I Love to See the Temple...

2010-03-20T12:20:00.003-06:00

I'm going there someday." Someday was yesterday for Alli--she finally got to do Baptisms! We had the day off from school, so Lauren went with her to show her the ropes and I got to be busy upstairs. We had a great time at the temple together. We even grabbed a little lunch in the cafeteria afterwards! I love the excitement my girls show about going to the temple. It was fun to share the sweet Spirit of temple work with my girls.

I just wish Lauren would've agreed to get in the picture!

What a beautiful day! Another bright spot along the journey!

Girls are Weird!

2010-03-08T11:31:00.004-07:00

I know, it seems like you've seen pictures like this before on my blog, but believe me--we have a lot of estrogen at our house! I just HAD to post these pictures of Alli in my wedding dress. A few weeks ago Lauren came up with the idea and was modeling my dress around the house, then Alli wanted a turn. They had fun with my veil and the train. Somehow when Lauren took pictures of Alli, all the pictures of Lauren disappeared! Lauren fits my dress like a glove, it's just a little short, and it looks like Alli's getting there! Now if THAT doesn't make me feel old, I don't know what will! What a journey!

Happy Birthday Alli!

2010-02-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Alli is TWELVE! She thought this day would never come! She got to get her ears pierced, play in a YW Basketball Game, have a party with nine of her closest friends, AND get a room make-over! We surprised her with the room re-do. Her birthday was on Saturday, so Friday when she came home from school I met her at the door. (I really wanted to surprise her so I had to quickly hatch a plan and all I could think of was...) I started getting after her for leaving for school with her room in such a mess! I listed off a few things I had found and told her to head on up there right now and take care of it. I followed her up the stairs and she got to the door of her room and just stood there with her mouth open, eyes huge! WE GOT HER! She had no idea (for once) and was thrilled with how cute her room was. Thanks to our awesome Aunt Kanani and Uncle Adam for helping us out with the vinyl! Hooray for vinyl--it really made the room! What a happy birthday! We love you Alli!

Love is in the Air!

2010-02-11T09:35:00.004-07:00

You can always count on Alli to do something thoughtful. She is our tenderhearted girl. Jeff took me out for Valentines last night--we like to celebrate Valentine's Day either at home or on a different day then the rest of the world. (I know it's weird but we try to avoid the crowd, etc.) So last night was our only free night between now and Valentine's...Jeff came home with a dozen red roses and we went to Carrabas for some tastey dinner. When we came home what to our wondering eyes did appear, but hearts everywhere in our room and bathroom! Alli had enlisted Lindsay and they had "Heart Attacked" us! So cute!

Christmas Morning!

2010-02-11T08:48:00.005-07:00

Don't you love the anticipation, mixed with sleep, in their eyes?

My favorite thing to see is the first reaction to their gifts! This was a great year!

We had a fun relaxing morning at home then headed to Grandma and Grandpa B's for a fabulous Christmas Brunch and more Christmas fun. Then off the Grandma and Grandpa C's for an awesome Christmas Dinner and still more Christmas fun. What a great way to celebrate Christmas--with the ones we love!

Disneyland was Electric!

2010-02-09T16:51:00.002-07:00

I just ran across this in our picture file. What a fun time we had together at Disneyland!

Here Comes the Bride!

2009-12-28T09:03:00.003-07:00

It's amazing what I find on my camera! I had no idea these pictures were taken, but it looks like Lindsay had her "Bridals" taken recently! She is wearing the wedding dress that Grandma Clarke made for Lauren's 5th birthday. (Grandma made Alli a wedding dress earlier that same year and Lauren was pretty jealous! She wanted one, too, when her birthday came around! Grandma is awesome!) Lindsay had been asking for a veil for her "bride dress," so I think we made one for her that day, and Alli got busy with the photo documentation! I'm so glad she did! These are pretty cute!

Christmas Eve Snowflakes

2009-12-24T09:51:00.002-07:00

Alli and her friend Cora had so much fun after the snow on Christmas Eve, when they realized how big the snowflakes were! It was really neat that they could see each individual snow flake! Beautiful!

Dinner in Zarahemla

2009-12-23T09:21:00.004-07:00

Every year at Christmas our family has "Dinner at Bethlehem." We dress up in our sheets to look the part and light our candles and eat kebabs, cheese, olives, grapes, pitas, baklava, etc. It's a fun tradition that helps us pause and remember the real meaning of Christmas. This year we thought it would be fun to invite our Goodman cousins and have a Zarahemla Christmas Eve Dinner. It was amazing! It was light outside, even though it was night! We were so excited that Samuel the Lamanite's prophecy was fulfilled! "And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness..." Helaman 14:3

Our Goodman cousins are always good sports! Thanks for playing along, guys!

Our menu consisted of tamales, quesadillas, chips and salsa, fresh fruit, and "fizzy water." (We figured that Zarahemla was sort of near Mexico--right?)

Aunt Kanani and Jake--washing up at the local "well."

Alli really got into the costuming--nice headdress!

Brian, Tyler, and Calvin eating yummy Zarahemla food.

Lauren looking very Nephite-ish

Lindsay and Jenny--cutest little Nephites!

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-21T08:49:00.004-07:00

This year we used all of our Christmas money--from both pairs of Grandparents, from Mom and Dad, and money the kids would spend on gifts for each other--to go to Disneyland. It was a blast! The kids were all way surprised and excited to go. And we all agreed that Disneyland would be totally worth only receiving a gift from Santa and maybe a few friends this year. Disneyland was beautifully decorated for Christmas and we really had fun doing nothing else but being together. Consequently, the area beneath our tree was looking a little bare this year...Lauren even asked, "What will people think when they see our tree?" We came up with a solution for that!

Alli's cute store--"Elf Mart" Love the candycane supports on her awning! Cute!

Mom's church--Love the Necco roof! There are even cute hard candy windows!

Lauren's row house--notice the cute steps she made for the front door!

Calvin and Lindsay's elf house--Complete with a gingerbread boy making a snow angel!

Do you think Lindsay's been told to go easy on the candy? Maybe a few times? Lovin' the journey!

Christmas Music

2009-12-18T10:04:00.003-07:00

Alli at her Christmas Concert.

Alli is playing violin at school this year. She goes to school an hour early three times a week and takes lessons from a really cute teacher. Alli really likes it and is picking things up quickly. She and Lauren love to play together. Lauren has been teaching Alli the simple harmony on some hymns so they can play together--they sound great! It's fun to have live Christmas Music in the house!

We Believe!!!

2009-12-16T10:36:00.003-07:00

Last week we got to take Calvin and Lindsay to the North Pole! We drove to Heber and got on The Polar Express! The train was decorated so cute--it was a Christmas Train, after all! We got meet some of Santa's elves--Glitter and Candy Cane, they took our Christmas wishes down so they could deliver them to Santa. We got to have HOT CHOCOLATE and COOKIES (made and delivered especially from Mrs. Claus). We sang Christmas Songs and learned about the Heber Valley Railroad (Heber Creeper for those of us that grew up here!). We even told Christmas jokes and had a "HO, HO, HO-ing" Contest. Then we finally made it to the North Pole. As we drove up, we saw Santa waving to us and then we saw the Elves's village all lit up! You'll never believe what happened next--Santa came on our train and gave each child a bell! And we could all hear them ring--even Mommy and Daddy! If you're not familiar with The Polar Express--that means we all still believe in Santa Claus--and that's a good thing especially when your sitting right next to him at the North Pole!

Still Enjoying the Journey!

Christmas in November!

2009-12-13T10:00:00.009-07:00

I think Jeff and Lauren look a little scared on "Space Mountain!"

Can you say "All you can eat Breakfast Buffet?" We can! Yum! What a great way to start a big day at Disneyland!

We met up with friends from our neighborhood--the Littledikes! Calvin sure loves his "brothers"!

Lindsay and Drew Littledike with the "Cars."

Huntington Beach, where Grandpa Barrett grew up!

We decided it would be fun to take our kids to Disneyland for Christmas this year. We originally thought we'd go the week of Christmas and come home Christmas Eve, so they would really feel like it was their Christmas. BUT we researched a little and realized it was actually a CRAZY time to go to Disneyland, because everyone else thought that sounded like fun too! So after more research, we found that the week after Thanksgiving is the best time in the park--all the Christmas decorations are up and the crowds are low since everyone had just been in the park for Thanksgiving. So we made a plan and tried to surprise our kids. Calvin and Lindsay were the only ones who were surprised--Alli did a little snooping and had it all figured out (that little Dickens!), and since she knew, I told Lauren so they could work on their missed school work during the Thanksgiving Break--turned out to be a good thing. Poor Calvin just thought his teacher sent home an awful lot of work for the break--luckily it was mostly cursive writing, which he LOVES! We left right after Sacrament Meeting on Nov 30th (Calvin was sure Dad was teasing him, when we told him what we were doing. Lindsay cried because she wanted to go to her Nursery class!), and stayed overnight in Mesquite. Then it was on to sunny Southern California Monday. We spent some time at Huntington Beach that afternoon/evening. Then we spent every possible moment at Disneyland Tuesday-Thursday. We all had a great time! Merry Christmas! I wonder if Santa is still going to come on Christmas Eve?

It must be that time of year....

2009-11-19T11:52:00.006-07:00

The temperature's getting brisk, the leaves have fallen from the trees, lights are appearing on homes, the house at the top of our hill has bedazzled the heck out of itself--it's AMAZING that every year they still add something new! (In this case more is not necessarily better), Lauren and Alli's violin practice music sounds suspiciously like the holidays, I'm busy making candy and dipping chocolates, and yes even the pillow cases have a new theme--It's beginning to look a lot like--CHRISTMAS!

I don't know why Alli didn't want her picture taken first thing in the morning...hmmm...weird. Lindsay didn't seem to have a problem!

We had a family dinner on Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa Barrett's newly remodeled home. It looks beautiful and I think we broke it in for them! We were celebrating their 41st Wedding Anniversary! At the end of the night, Grandma got the Christmas Season started early by handing out gifts--darling hand sewn Christmas pillow cases for each grandchild--12! Grandmas are the best! Thanks Grandma Barrett!

Let it Snow!

2009-11-19T09:57:00.004-07:00

About a week ago when I came home from an early morning workout, I was greeted by an excited Lindsay saying, "Mom, it snowed on the roofs and the grass!" Then she quickly and sweetly asked if she could play in the snow. She has been waiting since the last snow that we had that didn't stick around long enough to do anything with. Now she saw her opportunity!

Big sister Alli was good enough to bundle her up and take her outside to play to her heart's content. Fun!

Budding Photographer

2009-11-19T09:33:00.004-07:00

Alli is 11 years old and loves to take pictures! We are always finding funny pictures of her and other family members on our phones and cameras. She took Lindsay outside earlier this month and these are the results. I think the lighting was great! It helps that she has a willing model, too.

Fun Fall pictures, Alli!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T13:01:00.005-07:00

The weather turned out so mild for Halloween this year! The kids all got to go Trick-or-Treating--last year we had some sickness, so our showing was poor! Lauren thought she might be too old, but the draw of full-size candy bars in her friend's neighborhood was way too strong! She was a "cute" witch. She made her tutu and it did turn out cute!

Alli was a dead volleyball player! Scary! Of course she was also a Fifties Girl, a Scary Ghoul, and an Indian Girl--complete with red dot on forehead. What can I say, the ideas just kept coming!

Lindsay was a Ballerina. Her pajamas were perfect to keep her warm and still ballerina-y. She really liked Trick-or-Treating with Alli. It made a bit more sense to her this year.

Calvin was Short Round. Oh, I'm sorry, you don't know who that is? That's okay, neither did anyone else, even after he told them. Short Round is the asian boy in Indiana Jones. "Docta Jones, Docta Jones!" Does that ring a bell? Look closely--I know, the likeness is scary!

Super Bowl Champs!

2009-10-28T13:35:00.002-06:00

You may be thinking to yourself, "Julie is off her rocker, the Super Bowl is in January!" But as far as we are concerned, the REAL Super Bowl took place a couple of nights ago at Springville High School--and the BRONCO's took the trophy! Calvin has been playing city league football for the past couple of months (it seems like longer! That might have something to do with the fact that the games were dark and cold--Jeff and I ended up wearing our subzero puffy coats so we could last!) and he has really loved it! He ended up with several "tackles" and learned a lot about football--his new favorite sport. We'll see if that changes when basketball comes around! Proud of you, Cal! (He's the one with the orange arms!)

Just a little bit older and tougher than a couple of months ago! Love my boy!

Wow!

2009-10-21T10:29:00.002-06:00

We went on a family drive to see the awesome leaves last Saturday and look what we happened upon at Squaw Peak! If you listen closely you can hear Lindsay getting excited about flying.

Now, that looks crazy to me, but I guess that's how some people enjoy the journey! Amazing!

Hey Dog!

2009-10-15T07:58:00.002-06:00

I don't know how I let this happen, but I was in charge of Reflections again this year. (This year it was at the Junior High instead of the Elementary School--for future reference--it's much easier at this level!) I "hired" these cute girls to help me with publicity the final week.

Aren't they adorable? Alli and her friends, Tori and Cora were so nice to advertise Monday and Tuesday morning this week as the kids were arriving at school. They were good sports cause it was COLD! And they came relatively cheap--Hot Cocoa, Belgian Waffles and a ride to school made them happy afterwards.

They said lots of kids were taking their pictures and they were sure they would hit YouTube. I couldn't quite tell if they thought this would be cool or not. Thanks girls! You were just what the Reflections Program needed! A Hot Dog always gets people's attention! Now, Who's Hungry?

Where have we been?

2009-10-08T09:35:00.007-06:00

We've been busy with sports in our neck of the woods. Alli has been in soccer for the first time and LOVES it! She usually played forward, unless she needed a break "It's a lot of running!" and then she would play defender. She did really well--even scoring 2 goals in her final game of the season,a wickedly cold and stormy day--No these pictures are not of that game,it was too cold to take hands out of pockets to take pictures! The weather must have helped Alli keep running! Way to gooooooooo-al Alli!

Calvin tried flag football this season. Another first for our family! He played defense and had a great time. He says football is his favorite sport ever. He loves to pull the opponent's flags. His first flag of the season, he pulled the flag, then held it up above his head and yelled, "Yeah!" He did get a little discouraged a couple of games into the season when he was getting knocked around quite a bit. He told Jeff, "It's FLAG football, they're not supposed to do that!" Needless to say, Jeff and Calvin had some 'toughening up' practice that night after the game. Poor kid, he hasn't had a lot of that with three sisters. His team, the Broncos are in the play-offs right now. They play for the championship against the only team that beat them in regular season! GAME ON!

Lauren is playing Intramural Tennis again this year at the Jr High. She is having a great time with her partner Allison and they are winning all their matches so far. Today and tomorrow she is in tournament and looking forward to playing lots--you keep going until you loose! I just hope she's done in time for Jeff and I to head to Round-Table at 7! She has also just started her real favorite--Volleyball. She has really become busy now that she's a Freshman, but seems to balance everything well.

The rest of us are the supporters of the group! We have learned to bundle up for night games, bring the camping chairs, and always have an extra blanket and umbrella in the back of the car!

The Big Day Finally Arrived

2009-09-08T12:54:00.003-06:00

Calvin with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett
Here he is with Grandpa and Grandma Clarke
Our family

Calvin was baptized this past Saturday. It was a beautiful day and he loved it. We had lots of family and even some friends come to share our special day. I asked Calvin how he felt after his baptism and he said, "I feel like I've done everything right." What a cute guy! We had my brother's baby blessing on Sunday, so we had to choose between going to the blessing and attending our ward where Calvin would get sustained as a new member, sit on the stand, and bear his testimony. When I asked him which he would prefer, he said, "I'll do either." Then a minute later he said, "But if I go to our ward, I'd get to be a REAL member of the church that much sooner." You guessed it--we stayed at our home ward. We're proud of you Calvin. Aren't kids what the journey is all about?

Tomatoes!!!!

2009-09-03T10:12:00.003-06:00

I have an awesome new favorite! Slow roasted tomatoes! Oh! My! Goodness! This is a totally easy and delicious way to process those fresh tomatoes from your garden. I got 4 ice-cream buckets full from my parents last week and knew exactly what to do with them--see I don't actually LOVE plain tomatoes. I've tried over and over in my lifetime because my Dad has always grown them and they look delicious, but I've always sort of gagged on them. I do love a good bruschetta, caprese salad (with lots of balsamic) or salsa, etc--but not usually straight-up. Anyway...If I were you, I would do this with your tomatoes!

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side down on large cookie sheet that has been covered with:

1 Tb Olive Oil
2 T dried Italian Seasoning
1 T coarse salt
1 T fennel seed (a must!)
fresh ground pepper
unpeeled garlic cloves (my recipe calls for this, but I just add garlic to the sauce when I use it)

Rub the cut side of the tomato in the "paste" and pack in pan tightly--I do it tight so I can fit as many as possible on a pan. Cook on convection bake 225 F for 4 hours or until tomatoes are soft and skin pulls right off. I drain some of the juice off the tomatoes when I am packing them up in a ziploc tupperware. You can use this for pizza sauce--YUMMY, lasagne sauce, on a pasta, etc. We just had it for dinner at our house last night! Loving the journey!

Dishwasher Miracle!

2009-09-01T09:33:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Jeff and I returned home from our date to hear, "Oh, did I tell you that our dishwasher won't close?" What? "Yeah, Calvin was hanging on the door and now it won't close." Seriously? So upon closer inspection, our dishwasher door wouldn't stay closed, which means it wouldn't turn on and stay on unless someone held it closed--and I don't know anyone who wants to do that. We decided our hinges are probably bent, and after trying to "unbend" them we decided we should call a repairman. I called Doyle's and they sent out a really nice guy, Dennis, to take a look. After a few minutes he determined that the hinges were bent. He tried to "unbend" them too, and then decided we needed new hinges. Guess how much EACH hinge costs? About $70. So when Dennis told me how much the service call + the hinges + the labor added up to($250), I swallowed hard and tried to fight back tears as I bravely said, "Kids are expensive."
He came back a week later, long enough for my kids to learn some really good dishwashing skills and realized he had two left hinges. He apologized and we realized the kids would get another week to really hone those skills--LUCKY!
A couple days later... Lauren calls me from home while the rest of us are watching Alli play soccer and says, "Did someone fix our dishwasher? The door is staying closed now." What? Yup! The door now miraculously stays closed and runs normally! Now I'm kicking myself for calling in a repairman so quickly, thinking we'll probably have to still pay for everything! But when I called Dennis he said he'll just cancel the order. What? Seriously? Are you sure? Yup--A Bonfied Dishwasher Miracle!

Cub Scouts Here We Come!

2009-08-20T10:14:00.003-06:00

Yup, it's started! Calvin is officially a CUB SCOUT! He's been more excited about this aspect of being 8 than almost all the others! I don't know how much I like the patch sewing part, but I guess it's worth it! Calvin had his first den meeting tonight and he was soo excited! He looked cute enough to eat, too! Too bad his leaders didn't show!

Eight is Great!

2009-08-19T12:18:00.004-06:00

Saturday was Calvin's 8th Birthday! He wanted his party at the skate park. So... even though we had a bizarre cold snap that weekend with rain clouds rolling in on us--we had us a party! The kids were biking and running around so much they didn't notice the weather--until the downpour with about 1/2 hour left of the party. Not to worry, we all hopped into our car and waited out the pelting rain. And after about 5 minutes... they all wanted to get out and play some more! I knew the party was a success when Calvin said, (as we were all huddled together in the car) "This is the BEST birthday ever!" What a good kid!

Even his cousin Ethan came to work on his skills! Cool dude!

We love you, Calvin! Our family wouldn't be the same without you!

Back to School--Already?

2009-08-04T08:25:00.004-06:00

Well, we're all ready for school to begin! The kids are excited about school clothes shopping and getting back together with friends. Yesterday we went to find Lauren's locker and classes. Calvin and Lindsay thought her locker was really nice.

I guess Lauren needs to watch out for stow-aways!

Skater Dudes

2009-07-20T11:29:00.006-06:00

We've been wanting to try this skate park in Springville for a little while, so a couple of weeks ago... we gave it a try. It was soo much fun! We decided that bikes were probably the best, so after first trying it with scooters and in-line skates (much easier to transport), I headed home to pack as many bikes as I could into the car.

We really had fun and Calvin is planning his birthday party out there! We'll see! Sounds fun!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2009-07-19T08:25:00.000-06:00

We went to the BEES Game about a month ago! It was soo much fun! It was good for the kids to see how these players can actually throw and catch the balls! (Sort of amazing to OUR baseball players!) We had a fun BBQ behind Center Field before the game and had great seats just past 1st base. It also happened to be Tuesday Night, sponsered by Cheezits--which means FREE hot dog, drink, and cheezits for 12 and unders! YIPPEE! So even after eating a HUGE hot dog or burger, baked beans, fruit, pop, and cookies for dinner... my kids all wanted their free meals, too! Enjoyin' the journey!

TERRIFIC Three's

2009-06-22T14:59:00.001-06:00

This first picture is a little dark, but I thought the look on Lindsay's face was precious! Lauren decorated her room for her birthday, June 16th.

She loved it! Happy 3rd Birthday Lindsay!

She got "Tinker" Belle and The Beast Polly Pockets from Grandma and Grandpa Clarke. I don't know why, but for some reason, Lindsay's always called Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" Tinker Belle.

Grandma Barrett came by to give some Birthday Wishes.

She also brought Lindsay a cute Little People Camper. So fun!

Lindsay told me she wanted a Baby Birthday Cake. Soo......ta-da!

Make a wish!

Lindsay has been such a fun addition to our family.

We're glad she joined us on our journey.

Coach Pitch

2009-06-17T12:03:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Calvin is in Coach Pitch Baseball this year. The basic rules of Coach Pitch are: the coach pitches to his team (pretty obvious, right?), everyone on the team gets to hit and run the bases, and everybody wins. This sounds pretty straight forward, but we have noticed a few phenomons that also almost always occur...For instance--unless the ball is hit really fast or far, there is always a fight for the ball. Notice Calvin with a huge grin running for the ball...

But suddenly three guys on the same team want the ball!

Luckily, Calvin is victorious! Poor number 8 looks like he wanted it!

Here is a little play-by-play of Calvin running the bases. I'm sure we'll notice a few more funny things that happen in Coach Pitch. Calvin connects with the ball!

Running to first base...

The ball is hit and off he goes...

The race is on!

Oh, it's right in his path! (Notice the group gathered around the ball!)

Is it legal for him to touch the player as he's fielding the ball? Is he out?

Luckily the fielder didn't seem to notice Calvin and is looking to 1st base for the play.

The poor 2nd baseman is begging for the ball!

The ball is hit and once again, he's off...

To third...

Look at that stride!

Another narrow escape...lucky the short-stop didn't tag him as he ran by.

Safe at 3rd base...

and on to home! Something tells me the catcher has no idea the ball is headed his way...Score Calvin!