Handsome Little Guy

Look how handsome Q looks in his Sunday best.  I have a feeling he's gonna be a heart breaker.  

 

Lifelong Friends

...are the best!  They knew you when you were young and innocent, they saw you through the insecure years, they have been there through the tears and triumphs and understand you in a way no one else can.  Love my lifelong friends!

I got to spend time with one of them Saturday.  I met up with Mindy and she bought me lunch for my birthday.  Then we did one of my favorite hikes...Adams Canyon.  Loved every minute!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Woke up this morning to the smell of bacon and a "Happy Birthday" from my sweet kids.  Ben had made me breakfast, put up some streamers and balloons, and I got to open presents right off the bat.  Finished off the day with a surprise bike, some delicious Thai food, an ice cream cake, a lovely game of scrabble and a heavenly back/shoulder massage.  41 is gonna be another great year!

 



Got some sweet shades

Love me some ice cream cake, and the 3 tubs of cotton candy,
 almond roca, and oreos they got for me!

 

Escaped to dinner with this handsome guy.

and now I can cruise around the neighborhood with the kids. 

Half Way

The life expectancy of a female in the U.S. is 81.2 years of age which means I've made it half way.   I have to admit, my first half of life has been pretty incredible.  Here are the highlights...

-Fun family vacations
-Perfect attendance in kindergarten
-Peed my pants on my chair in the 1st grade
-Winner of my class spelling bee in 2nd grade
-Only girl to play football with the boys at recess in 3rd grade
-Made the highest reading group in 4th grade
-Put into a 5/6th split class for smart kids in 5th grade
-Student body V.P. in sixth grade
-My school pictures were some of the worst ever in 7th grade
-Class secretary in 8th grade
-Starting basketball player in 9th grade/ student body secretary/Noel Z.Tanner award
-Survived 10th grade despite my female insecurities
- Read my scriptures and wrote in my journal every day for 7 years from 12-18.
-4.0 list many times in 11th grade
-Homecoming Queen (haha, me???)/student body secretary 12th grade
-Miss congeniality at girls camp
-Nanny in Connecticut
-Mission in Argentina
-College Graduate
-Pharmaceutical Sales Rep multiple award winner (sales associate of the year and president's club)
-Spent a month in Costa Rica
-Traveled to St. Thomas, Riviera Maya, Alaskan cruise
-Got to be a "Ma" on trek
-Scuba certified
-Got a hole in one.  #2 at Glen Eagle
-Adopted 2 beautiful children
-Completed a sprint triathlon and half marathon
-Jumped out of a plane (sky diving)
-Married the man of my dreams
-Became a step mom to 3 adorable kids
-Had my own biological child
-Traveled to Dubai & Hawaii

It's been a pretty sweet life!  Looking forward to the next 41.

Project BASEMENT

This year we are saving money for two major items.  1.  To finish our basement  and 2.  For our honeymoon...after we get sealed in the temple this fall, yay!

Unfortunately we don't have the money to just pay a contractor to handle number one, so finishing the basement has become my new project.  Since I know very little about any of this I decided to contact a long time friend, a general contractor, to point me in the right direction.  Boy was he helpful!   He drew up a plan for us, free or charge, helped me apply for a building permit, and is also getting me some bids from the subs he uses.  YAY!

The next step was to find someone to frame it.  Since grandpa Willy had agreed to help with the electrical during spring break, I needed to find a framer in a jiffy, so I got a bunch of bids and hired a crew.  Ben and I spent the past two nights moving everything from the basement to the garage, and this morning bright and early the framers began.  Project BASEMENT is in full swing.  Now to find a plumber, and someone to do the HVAC.  Super exciting stuff going on around here.

Go Red Rocks!

On Saturday night I took the girls to the PAC 12 gymnastics championship meet.  The lady Utes (Red Rocks) rocked the night and defended their title.  It was a fun girl's night out!

We Are the Champions!

Today was the "Battle of the Books" championship assembly.  Alyssa and Holly and their best friend Marie were on the team that made it to the finals.  They battled against an older 4th grade team and took home the V!  I'm a proud momma.  

 

IMAGES Tiago's First Pinewood Derby

Tiago was a total stud tonight.  Even though his "Creeper" didn't perform real well, he seemed to enjoy himself and put on a happy face.  Way to go Tiago!!

A Creepy Little Man in Green...

paid us a visit.  I'm not sure why Alyssa and Holly find it necessary to lure them into our home.  I suppose they think if they catch one it might lead them to a pot of gold, or maybe they just think it would be cool to see a live one, but I think leprechauns are creepy.  The thought of a tiny little red-haired man scampering around our house in the middle of the night makes me cringe.  At least he left some treats, thank you Fagan. 

 

 

and I found another excuse
to make sugar cookies!

 

Cone First

That's how Qyntn prefers to eat an ice cream cone. What an adorable mess!

 



Lick, anyone?

 

Nice, Relaxing, Quiet Weekend

With 5 of our kids out of the house and since basketball, soccer, and futsol seasons are over we had next to nothing going on all weekend. What???  Weekends like these are rare for us!  I actually got to sleep in (til 8:14) Saturday morning, we went on a lazy hike/picnic (Battle Creek Falls), prepped for our Sunday School lesson, watched a lot of basketball, sat outside in the beautiful sunshine, played canasta and scrabble (does that make us sound like old people?) and hung out with Q.  It was quite enjoyable. 

 

 

 

Then on Sunday afternoon I returned home from choir practice to a delicious lunch set out for me on the table and this little gem...

 

Q and Tiago... take note.  Little things like
this will score you big points with your future wife! 





Kiss Cam!

Ben and I made the kiss cam at the UVU basketball game Saturday night.  In true Ben fashion there was no hesitation nor did he shy away from the opportunity, he practically climbed on top and ate my face off.  Never a dull moment with him!

Where in the World Has Ben Been for the Past 9 Weeks?

Ben started a new job at the beginning of the year.  One of the reasons he took the job was so he wouldn't have to travel as much.  It was quite disheartening, after he accepted the offer, to find out that training would require 8+ weeks of travel.  Ben has been gone from Monday-Friday for the past 9 weeks.  It hasn't been real fun for any of us.  Most of his destinations have been pretty lame (California for 5 weeks, Vegas, Portland, and Louisiana) but this week he is in New York City.

Making Life Better for my Kids

As we were driving in the car the other day I asked the girls if they were happy.  They responded with a resounding "Yes!" Then I asked what I could do to make their lives better and they said they wanted a pet.  Well girls, your life just got a little better...

Meet Tonya!