Spring Break Part 2

Part 2 of Spring Break was spent in Capitol Reef National Park. I still wonder why I didn't spend more time in Capital Reef when I was living in Koosharem. It's takes just over an hour to get there. Such a beautiful place.

 Our Drama Girl!

 There were 2 people hiking in the bottom of the goosenecks. It seemed so far down.

 Surfin' on the rocks...

 I have one tough girl!

 Ok, two tough girls...

 Maybe 3 tough girls... 

And one superMAN!

 Lunch Time 

All of the girls were worried that there was going to be a flash flood while we were hiking in this gorge. They kept asking if we could go back. I think I felt a few drops of rain...definitley enough for a flash flood! ;)

 Petroglyphs. So cool to think about how these got there and what they might mean.

We sure do have fun in our little family. There is a lot of laughing and joking. I Love spending time with Jim and my girls!

Spring Break 2013 Part 1

Spring Break was spent in Koosharem this year.

Jim purchased a 4-wheeler for me so we took both 4-wheelers down and rode up rock canyon. The weather was perfect. We got mom and dad to join us. I think it was a little rough for mom, but she did awesome. The girls loved going too!

 Grandma gave Brindley a lesson on driving the 4-wheeler! Not sure if it was good for Grandma to be riding with Brindley while Brindley was learning! :)

 Me and my riding partner....until she decided that I drive too slow!

 Dad said this tree is the largest Pinion Juniper on the Fishlake Forest. It was huge for a Juniper!

 Check out the mangled branches growing from it. So Cool!

 Our mini fire to roast hotdogs.

 Our picnic table...

 Grandma's still got it!

 Lexter was sandwiched between Grandpa and the cooler, but it gave her a good back rest!

 Such a fun ride!



One year older and wiser too....

Happy Birthday...TO YOU!

Jim had a March birthday too.

He finally decided that he wanted a cinnamon roll birthday cake. And he got one!

Happy Birthday Jim! You are a great man who is admired and loved by many.



Happy Mother's Day!

To my sweetheart, and the mother of these crazy kids, I love you! Happy Mother's Day!

There's a Teenager living in our house....

I often catch myself just staring at her......

She has changed into a young lady over night. I love seeing it because it amazes me, but it also scares me because I know the next 6 years are going to go faster than I want.

Her birthday was in March....

Just a few things about Brindley...She is very musically talented. She has been taking piano for a few years and does very well at it. She printed a Taylor Swift song from online and taught it to herself on the piano. She sings it while playing it memorized! Talent!

She got a guitar for Christmas. She got online, found the fingerings for the chords and taught herself the chords.

She has been in PE class since January and it amazes me how far she has come with running. When we first moved back to Carson she had to be in PE for two weeks before the end of the quarter. She cried almost every night because she couldn't do what they were doing in PE. This year it's a whole new story. She loves running. It makes me so happy to see her accomplish something that was so hard for her.

Love you Brindley Jo!

As your mom and you being  my first teenager. Please be patient while we learn how to get through the next few years together.

I'm/We're doing it!!

I'm afraid to post this because I don't want to jinx myself! Day 11 of eating less and I am down 5 lbs! 5.2 to be exact! Finally bought a scale after 1 1/2 years without one.

I Love my runs! They kill me and I don't go very far, but I feel good afterwards. Brindley and Karissa have been joining me on the runs. I don't think they ever tire....but they are great support and keep encouraging me.

I look forward to "Shake It"! That's what Sam calls the sorta zumba group that her and I go to on Friday's. There are well over 30 ladies from the south end of the valley that meet every Friday at a church and SHAKE IT!! It is so much fun. A whole hour goes by so quickly!

Something that has helped is Jim doing it with me. It's a lot harder when your husband is having that bowl of icecream or chips in the evening and you really want some too. He is now packing a salad for lunch every day. He is eating breakfast...which he never did before. We both have cut back our soda intake and save that for the weekend. The other thing that helps is being a little more relaxed on the weekends and allowing myself to have a Dr. Pepper or Icecream.

It feels good to see the scale go down it encourages me to keep going.

Thankless Job??

Check out these cute kids! This is 3 of the 5 kids that rotate through my house in a week.

I'm writing this post because of a dear lady (Sis. L.) that lives a few houses down from me. I will refer to her later.

It is interesting to me to see how I have been treated by others since I started doing daycare....yes, even my own relatives have treated me different.

I have heard comments about me not actually working. And I see others looking down on me for what I am doing. I don't even dare bring up the word "daycare" when visiting family. I get the impression it's not a good enough job!

Well, my reply: I am home when my girls walk in the door. I am home with Samantha everyday. No, it's not something that I want to do forever, but it's something I can do to help with our finances.

I was talking with Sis. L the other day....I LOVE this lady! She is an older lady who doesn't have any kids living at home anymore. She thanked me for the job I do and for the service I provide for other moms. She said to me, "It can be a thankless job but what you are doing is such a good thing. You are a wonderful person for doing it." She went on and just kept saying things that I needed to hear. I am so Thankful for Sis. L and for her words that day. It definately makes it a lot easier to face those that think daycare is not work.

And just so you know, Work can be fun!! How can it not with these cute kids!