Goodbye, Summer...

We had a fun and busy Summer, but I have to say that I am happy to see Autumn approaching. Its my favorite time of year!! First, we'll catch you up on some of our Summer activities...

THE POOL

We spent LOTS of time at the different pools around us, way fun!

COLORADO TRIP

I (Deb) got to go back to my old stompin' grounds in Colorado for a week and visit people and places that I love!
This is the church that my family helped to build. Since then, our tiny branch has become 2 wards and there is a whole wing added to the building. I have such great memories of the great people we knew here and the times we spent with them!
This is a picture of the house I lived in until I was 17 years old. Whoever bought it must have repainted it. It looked so different. They remodeled it, too. (I peeked in all of the windows and sliding doors! Nobody was home.)
This was my Elementary school, which has also been remodeled. Holy Cow, people, slow down on the remodeling. Nothing looks the same.

I attended my High School reunion and got to see so many old friends. It was so fun and a little sobering to realize how old we all are!

4TH OF JULY

we watched the fireworks explode over the Great Salt Lake, but before the fireworks, we danced around with our friends to a jammin' band!

IDAHO TRIP: Redfish Lake and Sun Valley

We rented a cabin on Redfish Lake for 4 days. D.J. got hurt at the end of our first day there and spent the next 3 days in & out of the hospital in Sun Valley. As for the rest of us...

We had so much fun swimming, paddling and relaxing on the lake. It is a gorgeous place!

After 4 days at Redfish, we joined D.J. in Sun Valley. When he got hurt his law firm was cool enough to put him up in a sweet room at the Sun Valley Lodge. We reaped the benefits of his injury: nice pools, Playstation in each room, 3 flat screen TVs, etc... Thanks Uncle Stoel (that's what we say each time Stoel Rives foots the bill!)



It was fun to have Dad back with us!! We love Sun Valley, it is a favorite place to go each Summer.

We'll stop here and post the rest of the Summer soon!

Spring and Mother's Day

Yea!!! Spring finally feels like it is here. Its starting to warm up and our front yard is all in bloom. Its fun to see things growing. It makes all of the effort I've put in seem worth it. I even convinced my husband to finish a sprinkling system for all of my flower beds. The landscape architect who designed our yard got a little crazy with the size and number of beds around our house. He knew that he didn't have to plant and care for all of the stuff in them. (The people who built our house hired him, not me.)

We are getting excited about the fact that Summer break is only weeks away! We started to plan our adventures already, can't wait!!

Mother's Day was nice and relaxing this year. I got lots of homemade cards and gifts from my family. Then my good husband made me a yummy dinner-- barbecued chicken, salad, watermelon and so on. Then he and the kids did the dishes for me, too! Its odd sometimes to think that I am old enough to be the "mom" now. It doesn't seem very long ago when I was making the Mother's Day cards with crayons and glue.

I am so lucky to have these fun, crazy, beautiful kids (and hubby) in my life!

Short Update...

So, I know its been awhile, so here's a teaser for everyone. Actually it just hasn't felt like anything is exciting enough to post lately.

Kate finished her basketball season this last weekend. We need to work on Kate's aggresiveness (or should I say, "lack thereof") as she is the girl apologizing to anyone that she fouls or steals the ball from. Its kind of funny. She just doesn't want anyone to get hurt or feel bad. That's my girl. We had fun watching her games. She's an excellent rebounder and great with assists, she doesn't seem to care to be the player making all of the shots. I think that she enjoyed playing basketball, but I felt bad that most of her games were played after a full day of snowboarding. Poor girl was exhausted!

Kate has really enjoyed snowboarding this winter. Her best friend, Kylee, and her ride the ski bus up to the resort together. They have a lot of fun together. I met them at the slopes this last weekend and the three of us had a great time.

We also took a long trip to Montana at the end of January, as D.J.'s father, Dave, had passed away. It was a sad occasion but at the same time it was great to get together with all of the family. Our kids had such a good time with all of their cousins. Katelin adores her aunts, too. She got to spend a lot of time talking and getting to know them even better.

Our Grandpa Dave was such an incredible guy. He was the coolest old cowboy. He reminded me of John Wayne, without the drawl. :) Our kids loved him so much. He was Christopher's hero, and he always loved having his picture taken with him. He will be missed!

Kate and Torin were fast friends

Jenny, Kate, Josie and Whitney

Chris was schooled on the video games by Anthony & Jonah.