Happy 1/2 Birthday!!!

River and Ryker were both born on August 12!! Five years apart! When I was younger I always felt so sorry for the kids who had their birthdays in the summer and had to make up a day during the school year to celebrate their birthday! Well, now two of my kids have to do this!! So the day we usually celebrate their "un-Birthday" is February 12, six months exactly from their real birthday! So today we are celebrating both their 1/2 birthday!!! River is taking a treat to his class, and I made a 1/2 birthday cake for each one of them!! (1 cake they get to share!!(: ) I guess it's fun to have a reason to celebrate your birthday twice during a year!!! I'm sure this will be the last time River will get to do this because next year he is Junior High. So HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY River and Ryker!! I love you both soooooooo much!!

Snowmobiling!!

Last week Trevor took me and some of our friends up snowmobiling. The snow was a little icy and crunchy at first, but as soon as we got to the top of the mountain it was great. The view from the top of the mountain was amazing!! Snowmobiling isn't usually my favorite activity, but the three of us made Trevor go see 3 Broadway musicals in New York, so it was his turn to choose the activity! We had a great time and it was a well needed break from reality!! Thanks Trevor and Augers for a great time!!

Happy Birthday Rylee!!

Happy Birthday Comments

15 years ago today I became a mom for the very first time!!! Rylee was born on January 20, 1994. I honestly can't believe it's been 15 years!!!

15 interesting/fun facts about Rylee:

1- Her favorite color is turquoise; her room, ipod and phone are all turquoise!!
2- Rylee loooooves ice cream!!!
3- Rylee would give anything for a little sister!!
4- Rylee is a snuggler when she sleeps!! It doesn't matter how big of bed she sleeps in, she'll snuggle right up to you!!
5- Rylee's favorite subject is MATH!! Really!
6- Rylee has an abnormal heart beat!! Her heart literally stops beating for a few seconds! This causes her to faint and get light headed really easy!
7- Rylee is an amazing dancer!
8- Rylee is very genuine!!
9- When Rylee was born we had to do a rush cesarean. She wasn't breathing and had to be rushed to ICU!
10- Rylee is extremely organized!!
11- Rylee is a great basketball player!! We tease her all the time that she should trade in her pom poms for basketball shoes!
12- Rylee is a germ freak!! Don't even think about drinking out of her drink, using her lip gloss or even breathing on her food!!
13- Rylee is an awesome writer!! She enjoys writing poems and stories!!
14- Rylee sleeps with the quilt her Grandma gave her when she was born-every night!! It is so old and ragged, but she won't get rid of it or even let me try and fix it!!
15- Rylee is the best friend I've ever had!!!

Best wishes for the best birthday ever Rylee!! I love you!!

D.A.R.E.

Today River had his DARE graduation program! Our school district does a half year program for all sixth graders in the school district. The purpose of the program is to educate the children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The program deals with short term dangers and the long term dangers of using drugs. It also teaches the children to say no to drugs and alcohol and stand up to peer pressure and seek good friends. I really feel that this program is such a great program for the school district to continue doing. I'm sure it costs the district a lot of extra time and money, but is so worth it.

For the program today, the mayor spoke, the DARE officer, the sheriff and also Miss Utah 2007. Each of them had a great message to share. I was really impressed with Miss Utah. She had the best message and I really felt she connected with the kids and was so inspirational!! She spoke about her younger brother and how he overdosed on drugs, the first time on Christmas one year. And the second time he died from the over-dose. She was so good!!

I really hope that River remembers everything he learned from this program and never does any kind of drugs. I think one of my worst fears is that one of my boys will get mixed up in drugs of some kind. I honestly feel that people who get mixed up in drugs have the hardest time keeping off them and truly can't live a normal-responsible life. I am so grateful the school and the district feel that this is such an important program to continue!! Congrats River and all you DARE graduates!! Always remember what you learned and never give in to peer pressure!!!!

KINDNESS!!

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted something on my blog!!! This will actually be the first post for 2009!! That either means reality has really set in and I don't have nearly as much time as I wish. Or, that means that there hasn't been anything very exciting to "blog" about!! Maybe a little of both!!!!

Well, today Trevor and I had to speak in our ward sacrament meeting for our church on the subject of being kind. I decided to post some of my thoughts on this subject since it consumed me for so long, and it was all I thought about for so long!!

Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should encircle all of our words and action's at work, at school, at church, in our community and especially in our homes. We often times get so caught up in getting everything done that needs to be done that its so easy to get stressed and take it out on our family members. The things we say, the tone of our voice, the anger or calm of our words-these things are noticed by our children. They see and learn both the kind and the unkind things we say and do. We need to be an example of kindness, gentleness and compassion for our children. They will emulate us, both to each other and to their peers. Nothing exposes our true selves more than how we treat one another in the home.

There are so many things in this world that are out of our control, sickness, death, financial hardships, the list goes on and on, but kindness is one of the few things we can control. It is an attitude that comes from within us. At any given time, we may lose our strength, our health, our money, and every single possession, but we will never lose the happiness in our lives if we are kind and unselfish.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Why do any of us have to be so mean and unkind to others? Why can't all of us reach out in friendship to everyone about us? There is so much jealousy, pride, arrogance, gossiping, criticism, and people who rise in anger over small unimportant things."

The Savior was the epitome of kindness and compassion. Kindness is one of the most Christlike attributes we can develop. In striving to perfect ourselves, we will find that we need to learn to love as the Savior loves.
On the very night that Jesus was to be delivered up to cruel men, to be spit upon, beaten, whipped, tortured and finally killed, the Savior made this crowning pronouncement to his disciples. Knowing full-well his fate, he said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." The love that the savior intended was to be much more than something we said, much more than an affectionate feeling, it was to be the kind of love that has an unimaginable far reaching impact.

Last week we had a very big snow storm. Our kids love being outside and especially playing in the snow. One of their favorite things to do is go sledding behind the four-wheeler. Trevor drives and hooks the sleds up to the four-wheeler and takes them for a ride. We have a fairly big yard that we use, but Trevor also enjoys pulling them through the road. We are full aware that this is probably not legal, but since we live on a dead end street without very much through traffic we feel it is still safe. Apparently one of our neighbors doesn't feel the same way! Someone called the Sheriffs department last week and make a complaint about us doing this. Three out of four of my children also had other "incidents" last week where they felt they had been treated very unkind. I don't know if the people who I felt were being unkind to us, were really intentionally trying to hurt us, but it was very discouraging. All of these incidents were the week I was supposed to stand and speak on Kindness. What a difficult week it has been to let these, maybe small, but still upsetting incidences go. I honestly feel that Satan was testing me, and it was a tough test!! When someone hurts us our first reaction is to lash back and hurt them in return. But one thing I have learned in my life, and especially this week is that "returning meanness to meanness, only brings more meanness!!"

I hope that I can be more kind and Christlike in all that I do! I also hope that I never have to speak in church again!! (OK, at least for a very very long time!!!)(LOL!!)

Looking Back...2008

What a year it has been!! This year has been so great and has gone soooo fast!! It was a year ago exactly that we were finishing our new house and trying to move in "slowly" during the holidays!! The kids and I slept at the new house for the first time on Christmas night. We slept at the old house for Christmas Eve and Santa brought our gifts to the new house. We had one tiny Christmas tree at the new house and one couch/large sectional that pulled out into a bed. When we woke up at the old house Christmas morning, we all walked over to the new house. It was so much fun!! It had snowed all night so there was tons of new snow. We walked in the house and the kids went to the stairs to wait for Trevor to do his usual check and see if Santa had came. Then the kids were off to see their gifts. It was sooo fun because there was nothing but the one tiny tree and the kids gifts!! That night the kids and I slept on the one couch up in the theatre room and pretty much "camped" out there during the holidays! That was one of my favorite Christmas' ever!! We slowly moved in all during the holidays when we had a chance. And we were officially moved in the first weekend in January!!

One week later, January 10th 2008, Trevor had his knee surgery. He had torn his ACL and meniscus playing indoor soccer the summer previous, but was so busy at work and in the middle of building the house, that he decided to wait until winter to have his surgery. Well, one week later, on January 19, (the day before Rylee's birthday), River went skiing with two friends at Snowbasin and broke his leg. It was about 2:00pm when I received a phone call from Ski Patrol at Snowbasin. I knew before I answered it what they were going to say. Trevor, still on crutches, and I jumped in the car and headed up to Snowbasin. I knew immediately when I saw River that he had broken it badly. He wasn't crying or even looked in pain, but he was white as white and looked like he was in shock. Trevor kept telling River it wasn't broke and wanted to just take him home, but I insisted that we go to after hours. We got in the Doctors office with the nurses and proceeded to get Rivers many layers of snow pants cut off. This was the one and only time of the whole day River shed a tear. He was obviously in excruciating pain. When we finally got down to his leg, it was very obvious that it was badly broke and that we would need to go to the emergency room and see a specialist. So River had to get back in the car and go to the emergency room. All the while Trevor couldn't help me get him in and out of the car because he was still on crutches and could hardly get around himself!! After what seemed like the longest day of my life, many xrays, setting the bone not once-but twice (the worst part for me), a cast up to the top of his leg, and River being the toughest kid I've ever seen, we were off with two members of our family now on crutches. The next couple months I honestly think I earned my CNA degree! (LOL!!)



Winter didn't have mercy on me, because it didn't stop snowing for months, and with the two oldest males in our family both on crutches, guess who was left shoveling off a very long driveway. I remember thinking that Spring would never, ever come. But, somehow the snow stopped and spring came.


On April 7, 2008, River got a walking boot on and could get rid of the crutches. And on April 9, 2008 we went on a very needed family vacation to Orlando, Florida. We met our friends from Georgia, who drove down, and stayed with them at some condos in Orlando. Our friends kids couldn't miss much school so they couldn't stay as long as we did, so the second half of our vacation we stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel and had so much fun. I'll never forget the last night we were there and we were walking out of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures, when Ryker turned to me and said, "Mom, I wish I was a scientist!", not knowing what in the world he was talking about I asked him why, and he said "So I could invent a time machine and go back in time so I could do this fun day all over again!!" Great memories!!!


In May, one week after River was totally free from casts and crutches, he was playing with Ryker when he tripped on a chair and fell. He cut his knee open right on the top of his knee. 9 stiches later, he was back to not being able to get around very well or doing much!! It was so disappointing to see him down again after so many months of being down.
The first part of June we celebrated Trevor's 40th birthday. We had a huge barbecue at our house and invited all of our friends and family. We had a great time. The bulk of June was consumed with girls camp. The camp director from our ward had just moved, so I was put into the position in May. It was so hard, but so much fun, and definitely a huge learning experience for me. The last week of June we went to Lake Powell with our wonderful neighbors. They had asked us to go with them many times, but we could never fit it in. WOW!! We had so much fun. Their houseboat was incredible, and they had every water toy made. We went boating, sea-dooing,swimming, hiking, saved a Golden Eagle, and just had fun jumping and sliding off the houseboat. Our kids talk about this vacation all of the time. It was one of the best vacations we've taken as a family.




July we went with the Schencks on the annual camping trip to Island Park. It was so much fun as usual, but a little sad because Rylee missed most of it because she had Cheer camp during the week. Rylee had a great experience at her cheer camp this year though, because she received the over-all top All-American award from the entire camp. This was with high schools and junior high schools, so it was a huge honor for her!!



August we celebrated both Ryker and River's birthdays!! River turned twelve and received the priesthood, he was so excited and so nervous all in one. He absolutely loves passing the sacrament, and even wants to pass it when we are at a ward on vacation! I can't believe how old he is getting!



September meant school was back in session, Ridger and I celebrated our birthday's, Rylee sprained her foot tumbling, I started blogging, and Trevor's little brother left on his mission.

October was beautiful. We had a very warm Halloween, one of the warmest I remember in a long time. We spent most of the month driving Rylee to Utah Valley for Thriller practices and taking River and Ryker to flag football games and practices.
November was memorable because of the Presidential elections and the historic event that it was.

December came and went so quick I can't even believe it. Trevor and I went to New York and had such a wonderful time. This Christmas I tried so hard to simplify and just enjoy Christmas for what it is, the birth of our Savior. We did a lot of fun and memorable things as a family and really enjoyed the holiday.

It's amazing to think that it has been a year already since we moved!! I'm so grateful for all the trials and the wonderful things that made 2008 what it was. In some ways I really want time to slow down or just stop for a while so my kids don't get any older!! The time goes by faster and faster with each new year!! I have so much to be thankful for and I am excited for the new year to come!!! Bring on 2009!! Happy New Year!

Dancing with the Stars!!!

Last night some of my BFF's from high school and I had a holiday girls night out!! First we met at Ruby Tuesday's in West Valley and had dinner. After dinner we went to see Dancing with the Stars on tour at the e-center!! It was so much fun!! I have to admit I'm a lot bigger fan of So you think you can Dance, but all in all it was wonderful!! I sat next to my one friend who is a big Dancing with the Stars fan, so the few people I didn't know, she knew who they were!! Some of my highlights of the night were Toni Braxton, she sang a few songs and that was way neat. Lacey and Lance Bass were good, and so funny!! Also Lacey and Derek(I think Derek) did a hip hop duo that was way fun after seeing so much ballroom dancing all night!! What a great night with great friends!! (We might leave the couple older fudy's, who kept looking at their watches the entire last hour, home next year!! LOL!! JK!!) Thanks for a great evening, love you guys!!