Sayonara!

I have realized that if we ever want to go anywhere, we will need to stay in TWO hotel rooms beacause of how big our family is now. That's easily $275.00 per night, minimum. Plus, having to eat out nearly every meal makes the idea of a vacation not very realistic or a vacation not happen too often. So, when I was at my wit's end on trying desperately to figure out how not to go broke this summer, I found this. I love this idea!
We are trying one out in August and I'll let you know how it goes. All you need to do is type in any place you'd like to visit and voila! several places for you to chose from.

Happy fourth birthday, Scooter Libby!!

We love you and we are so happy that you are a part of our family!!!



Anyone have a towel?

Dreamin'

This is the style of my dream home. Large, towering oak and maple trees would be framing the large yard with a large garden in the far back. Every night as dusk comes, candles would be "lit" in each window welcoming strangers in need of respite. (As long as they are not the murdering kind)

And this

would be the drive up to the house.

Stir crazy

Zack has always teasingly called me "The Nomad". About every 5 years I start to get itchy feet. Seeing the same view (a gorgeous one at that) every single day, day in and day out, over and over again, makes me want to experience something, or more accurately, someplace new. Growing up, my family moved about every five years. I loved it (at least until high school). On the other hand, Zack had lived in the same house for over 10 years and has lived in Utah county for over 25 years. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love Utah and I know from experience that this is home and I love it here and would probably cry myself to sleep at night if I had to leave it and our families.
However, I have to get out of here!!! At least, temporarily.

But....with gas prices so high and our basement trying to flood again (thank you, wonderfully friendly and helpful (note the sarcasm) neighbors up behind us) I fear I will never get out of this house. Maybe that's why I feel the way I do. I feel permanently trapped in here.
I want to :

Tear up at Gettysburg and Valley Forge

Savor San Francisco

Play in the white waters of Colorado


Visit our Nation's Capital

Relax in San Clemente

Discover the Smokey Mountains



And explore Alaska.

Renewable Energy

I think I can even hear the hum of the electricity.

We the People....

Tonight we went to see the Glenn Beck Unelectable Tour. It was hilarious, and even, dare I say, at times, spiritual. I know, I know. You're thinking that it's impossible to have political and spiritual stuff together, right? Well, our country got it's start that way and it should be that way right now. We should never forget that our Father in Heaven gave us this amazing country. Glenn also spoke of how we should teach our children our country's history - and that they should be proud of it and humbled by it. There were even moments towards the end that it seemed more like he was bearing his testimony - he is LDS.

If you don't really know about him, he is on KNRS 570 AM radio from 4:00pm until 7pm and is a real hoot.

How I wish we could have a presidential nominee speak like this guy! He gave his "Presidential Campaign Speech" and he is amazing. He is honest, uses common sense, tells it like it is, and is super funny! He feels just like I do, that the power comes from and by the people, not from Washington DC.
How I wish that everyone could have been to this! It was fun to have clapping and cheering in a movie theater. It was a sold out audience as well.
You know when you are waiting for your show to start at the theater and they have those questions to entertain you up on the screen? One of the funniest was:
Question: What is the difference between these two pictures?



Any guesses?






Answer: Nothing.


At the closing of his show, he recited a few great quotes by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others, but ended with this: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes,and our Sacred Honor."

Not a dry eye in the house, folks.

He loves me....

Summer has been such a challenge for me with having all five kids at home. All of the bickering is just driving me batty. Plus, Scotty has learned to tattle on every little thing. Right before my hair started to fall out in big clumps, in rode my knight in shining armour to save his damsel in distress.


Thank you, Zack - your timing was unbelievably perfect! I love you!

Her first year

We love you so much baby girl!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Tonight we celebrated Emily's first birthday. We love her so much and she has brought unimaginable joy into our lives. We still find ourselves looking at each other and saying "I can't believe that we really have a little girl". Definitely a miracle for us.


What started out as a horrible day turned out to be a great time with our family, good food, snow cones, and party poppers for the kids. To make a very long and discouraging story short, I'll just tell you about the cake. I'll spare you all and leave the other awful stuff out. Anyway, let's just say that the cake was a total nightmare. On Wednesday, I went to Wal*Mart to pick it out. Big mistake. When I went to get it three hours before the party, it was not even close to what I had wanted. It was supposed to have lots of big pink roses on two of the corners with smaller lavender accent roses. Instead what I got looked like a cake for an old ladies tea party. Blue was not to be anywhere on my baby's cake, but the biggest and ugliest flower was sky blue! Grrrrrr.....
It was a chocolate cake and there were chocolate crumbs all throughout the white icing and the writing looked like a 87 year old epileptic did it. Wait, that's actually being rude to the epileptics out there.....they could have done a much better job.
Anyway, since no one can make a large enough girly cake in such a short amount of time, we had no option but to use the monstrosity Wal*Mart likes to call a cake. This picture of the cake doesn't show how bad it really was either.


I have always loved how Zack's family harmonizes the Happy Birthday song.



...and apparently, I should be in a Primatene Mist commercial.

Emily was given lots of girly presents - THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! All of our current toys are either all generic or all boyish. However, I came downstairs tonight to find her walking her new baby stroller and trying to drink from her doll's new baby bottles. I get teary eyed just thinking about it - sad, huh?
Her all time favorite gift was from her Daddy. It was a mirror. She loves looking at herself, and to be honest I think we might be in a little trouble for the future.


(I think someone is sending you all kisses in the background - just kidding!)

We have had so much fun having her in our family and we love her so much! We have been greatly blessed to say the least. Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl!

Church Family Reunion 2008

This year's stop: Fruitland, Utah...Mom and Dad's cabin.

Hiking and exploring around the property.


Tommy lost his first tooth.


A beautiful Sunday drive to Strawberry Pinnacles.


What happens to girls when boys leave the toilet seat up.


The family talent/skit show. Our skit - "Fun with Straws"



She wore an itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini...



Happy First Birthday, Emily!!!

Hairdo provided by Uncle Lincoln.



Throwing rocks and fishing at the lake.


Emily loving the water.....yeah,right.


Mikey coming back from ripping it up on the ATV's.


Coming home - this says it all.



Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!

Happy Independence Day!