Birthday, Relay, Graduation, Mother's Day

What a great few weeks it has been! Chase turned 14 (HOLY COW!) I am not old enough to have a 14 year old1 :) (OK, maybe I am!!)What a handsome, smart young man he is! We are so proud of him and his accomplishments! And he has now officially entered the teenage years. After quite some time of begging and pleading, Chase is now FINALLY a phone carrying, texting teenager :)
Relay for Life was awesome. It is wonderful to have so many people come together for a good cause. This was our 5th relay, and we are happy to report that Heavenly Father continues to bless me with good health!
It was great to see my "seester" after several months. She came for a visit from Kansas, and walked with the graduating class of 2010 from SOuthern Utah University. So proud of her and her hard work!
Today I am feeling so blessed to be the mother of such phenomenal children. They each are so special with their own talents, strengths, and weaknesses. They add so much to our family. They have made my mothers day so special. Breakfast, flowers, cards, hugs, kisses!! Counting my blessings this day!

Where oh where have the last several months gone?!

So, I know I am a blogger slacker!! I hadn't thought much about it until a friend of mine said, how come you never post anything on your blog anymore?(Thanks Kristen) To which I did not have a very good excuse. So I am back to the world of blogging. I realize how much I really have missed it.
Here is the quick 2010 update for January and February:
We are tired of winter and ready for spring to be here :) School, scouts, piano, soccer, church..all keep us very busy.
Here are a few pictures from the last couple of months: Tyler's birthday, Chase's Honors Band concert, Tyler's Arrow of Light, and Salt Lake Real MLS Cup Trophy Tour. Hope 2010 is off to a great start for everyone!

Update to come soon!

I know it has been forever since I have posted. As part of my New Year's Resolution, I will once again start blogging. My goal....new post by the end of the week.

OOPS, forgot veggie picture

Cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, apples...

to blog or facebook

So, I have been addicted to Facebook because it is such an easy, quick way of keeping in touch. You can do everything on FB that you can on a blog. But I feel like a blog is a little more personal, and that I can write a little more here. But I want your input. What do you think? Blog or Facebook? I am by no means giving up either of them, but thought this might be an interesting topic. Anyway, summer is well underway. DId I mention that being a teacher.. I LOVE summers. I wonder how in the world that I do what I do and work full time too. Summers really dont slow us down, we just go in different directions...soccer, cheer, pools, "spring" cleaning that i can't get to in the spring....Even in the summer I am having a hard time finding time to scrapbook..but I will! I promised myself that I would get a bunch done!!!!!! If you are a FB reader this is a repeat for you, but Tyler's soccer team played in the Utah Summer Games and won the gold medal! Way to go! After a challenge from our bishopric, we are each trying to increase our personal scripture reading time, making it daily. So far we have done ok. If you have never looked at "readthescriptures.com" it is a great tool. It sends you a daily e-mail to try and keep you current. You choose what you want to read and in what amount of time and Viola.....it breaks it up for you. Joe and I are both reading the Book of Mormon in 90 days, so we should finish in September. Chase has chosen to read the Old Testament. Karlie and Tyler are also reading the Book of Mormon. Wish us luck that we can continue! So here is the "picture" part of my post. Karlie loves to hoola-hoop, so then Tyler decided to try. Actually we all gave it a whirl...Joe and I not so successfully. But Karlie and Ty were so cute that i had to post the videos of them. Oh, and here are a few of the "fruits (actually they're the veggies of our labors. THis is the 2nd cabbage, I still can't believe how excited I have been about CABBAGE! This is what we do for fun at night during the summer. Hope you are all having a great summer. And again, please leave your feelings about FB vs. blogging.

Summertime

So summer is here. Weather wise it is NOT my favorite season, but as a mom and a teacher summer totally ROCKS! I love being home and just being mom and wife. I am working on getting all those projects done that I put off. So far we have cleaned the garage for yard sale (which was pretty successful) going to try one more time to clear out more "stuff", we have gone thru the kids closets, hall closets, tended the garden, made homemade strawberry jam, and homemade bread. And it is only the 2nd week. We arejust getting ready for the busy soccer season for Tyler. He will be playing in the summer games up in Cedar next week. Soccer camp, scout camp, and cheer camp all come up in the next month. As I don't have anything exciting to write about, I was sitting here thinking about how thankful I am for my family, and the time that I do get to spend with them. I have great kids, who are a big help around the house (most of the time) THe boys today had their bathrooms cleaned, laundry put away, and the dishes done before I ever got out of bed. I am thankful for a husband that treats me like a queen. He is helpful around the house and is always taking care of me. I am thankful that I have my health and am able to take care of them. (side-note: most recent CT scan is clear of any and all cancer. So yeah! Here is to another 4 months!!!!) Anyway, the pictures are just family pictures from the last several years.

Pioneer Children Sang as they walked and walked

What beautiful weather we had for the annual 4th grade handcart trek. We take the 4th graders by bus to Rockville (out near Zion Nat'l Park) and then the adventure begins. It ends up being about a 2 mile walk to Grafton, Utah. It is gorgeous out there. Mr. Staheli, the wagon-master and also the principal, talks to the kids along the way and tells them stories of pioneers and life on the trail. We take the kids down a hill (check out the video) and then back up the other side. When we get to Grafton we drink homemade rootbeer and play tug of war, hat races, and enjoy a lunch out in the middle of the cow pasture (YUMMY huh?) It is quite a neat experience for these kids. This is the 5th trek that I have gotten to do. I did it 3 years ago with Chase and this year with Tyler. I look forward to being able to continue the tradition and be able to go with Karlie in a few years. This was definitely the highlight of our week.