Playing Primary

Ever since Emma entered Sunbeams this year, she plays "primary" along with playing princesses or Polly pockets. She has started to include Brielle in some of her sharing times, and just the other day, I found them in Brielle's room singing/teaching the songs!

Treehouse Museum July 08

My girls loved the dollhouse
My music makers

These toys are just her size!
Hail to the Queen!!

Thanks to Weber County's R.A.M.P. program we were able to go to the Treehouse Museum for FREE!! I think Brielle could finally enjoy it since she can walk around by herself now, and Emma kept asking if she could do one more thing before we left. (It is so hard to see everything they have there in one visit--I think we might get annual passes there this fall.)

Layton Park 2008

A summer is not complete until we eat our KFC picnic at Layton park, play on the toys and of course feed the ducks! Brielle's "quack, quack" noises kept her pretty busy, so I mostly have pictures of the back of her head!

swimming at Aunt Margo's and the Aquatic Center

Brielle eating popcorn at the WSU fireworks
Cooling off in the heat of the day

It's pretty sad when you arrive at a fun summer destination only to discover that your memory card is completely full! I have done that twice recently and so I spend 10 minutes trying to delete other summer pictures that I could have saved if I had downloaded them earlier! AGHH! It seems like June went slow, but July has been a lot busier and there are still some things I would like to do in August, so I better get these pictures blogged and downloaded!!

Here is what we have been doing the last few weeks--

My Blog Addiction

Over the last couple weeks, I have stumbled upon some blogs of people from my graduating class of 1998. I had been hoping to find out when our reunion was going to take place (I had missed our 5 year reunion, but thought it might be fun to attend this one). Well, along with finding that info, I came across other classmates' blogs and now I am addicted. It is almost like going to the reunion, but without having to talk to everyone! I have discovered that by appearance some people haven't changed much while others have (not usually in a good way). I have been surprised that some are attending dental, law or medical school when they seemed to blow-off schoolwork 10 years ago. Some of the more "wilder" classmates have gotten married and had children--thus proving that they could "settle" down and become responsible adults (I hope). I have become almost irritated at some blogs that are for invited readers only! How dare they stop me in my quest to take a peek into their lives!!! In truth, it has been like a treasure hunt to find more and more people and I have stayed up quite late in efforts to find more "treasure". Maybe after our reunion I will lost interest in finding more people. I certainly don't plan to frequently check these blogs and follow their lives. It has been interesting enough to find out that my fellow "knights" are doing the same thing I am doing..... Living their lives day by day, pursuing their careers, building their homes, bragging about their children and spouses, and blogging about it all so we can remember the next 10 years!

Memories

I know.....I am a copycat. But I thought this was a cute one...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Our Story..

In honor of our 8th anniversary here is our story.....

Spring 1996
I had just been hired to work for Tinseltown in Layton, where Nick already worked. However, he was a senior and I was a sophomore so at first we didn't associate much. By summer all social "class" was forgotten and we had become friends along with a whole bunch of people from work that would hang out together. I always thought Nick was hilarious and I started to develop a slight "crush" on him, but my friend (another co-worker) liked him as well, so we just remained friends. He invited us to his mission farewell in December and while we were at his house later he had us write down our addresses. Well, over the next two years I wrote him a letter almost every week. In my journal I mentioned that I was writing Nick on his mission and I didn't know why except that I knew missionaries loved mail and he always continued to write me, so why not? (FYI- none of these letters were ever "lovey-dovey"). When he got home from his mission, I was attending Dixie College in St George, but we came up for his homecoming anyway. During my spring break, he tried to call me and I tried to call him back (which he doesn't believe I did), but we never connected. Then, I came home for the summer, started working two jobs (one of them at the movie theater) and saw him at a baseball game of another co-worker. A week or two later he called and asked me out!

First date: June 2, 1999
I was really nervous because we were such good friends that I didn't want it to be awkward that we were out on a real "date". It ended up being the best date because we were already friends. We dated the entire summer and then it was time for me to go back to Dixie (I had a full scholarship plus Nick and I were not serious enough at that point to change my plans). So we committed to talking on the phone twice a week and one of us would make the 5 hour trip about one weekend a month. We could talk for hours every week even though I wouldn't describe either one of us as "talkative". By November, I knew I had fallen in love. We started to talk about marriage. (Actually, he brought it up first)!

February 20, 2000
Nick took me on a Sunday drive up Trapper's Loop. He pulled over at one point to get some cold drinks from the trunk (????) and brought back a bouquet of flowers and an engagement ring instead! A lot of our wedding we planned when I came up on the weekends since I was still going to school. (I graduated with my Associates Degree in May). Many things went wrong while we were engaged (florist went out of business, photographer forgot our engagement pictures appointment, my wedding band exploded at the jewelers the night before our wedding.....etc). It didn't matter though because I was getting married to my best friend!!

July 6, 2000 (Bountiful LDS Temple)
A warm, sunny, beautiful day. They made us kiss twice across the alter because the sealer thought we could do better than that! (ummmm, there were a lot of people watching?!) We were late to our wedding luncheon at the Lion House--our photographer got carried away! It was delicious! Then, we had a gorgeous outdoor reception at Nick's parents house with a buffet of meats, cheeses, veggies, fruits, and desserts!! yum! We spent our first night at the Alaskan Inn and then took a road trip to Lake Tahoe for a week. It was a great!

Happily Ever After.....
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Through our 4 year courtship Nick became my best friend. The one person I can talk to about anything. His calmness keeps me grounded when I get too feisty. He makes me laugh all the time. He honors his Priesthood. He is the best dad to our daughters. He is a hard-worker, but still knows how to have fun. He is very handsome. He is patient when I get emotional! Amazingly he still loves me after living with me for 8 years! I love him more than I can even describe! What a wonderful man! And he is mine for eternity! Happy Anniversary!

If I Had Time I Would Invent....

an instruction book called: How to get your husband to read an instruction book so the sprinkler system can go on during the middle of the night instead of 6:00pm (which is when we like to go outside and get our energy out) Luckily, by reading the instruction book, I was able to set it up in 5 minutes and the sprinklers actually went on when I set them for!!!!

The End of Park City......

Finally, Brielle got to ride something!
Nick and Emma on the slide
Ready for another run?
It's hard to see, but I am totally kicking Nick's butt!

The last full day in Park City, my mom and brother watched our girls while we went to the Park City Mountain Resort and rode the zip-line! It propels you over 3,000 ft down a cable that is 110 ft above the ski runs at a speed of between 35-45 mph! It was awesome! Scary when you watch other people do it, but awesome once you are flying through the air! Then, my mom brought Emma up so she could go on the Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slide. The Alpine Coaster is like an individual roller coaster that goes in and out of trees for more than a mile down the hill. "That was so freakin' fun!" was Emma's first words once we got off. We each took her down the Alpine Slides which she loved as well. (She thought the ski lift was pretty boring to get up there, though). There were a few kiddie rides at the bottom so Brielle got to have some fun as well. That evening we went shopping a little more at the outlets and by the end of the night, we were beat! It was a great day to end our trip. The next morning, Emma didn't want to leave. Nick said she talked for the first 20 minutes on the ride home about how she loved Park City, she wanted to stay there.....even move there. It was nice to come home, though. After we had settled in, Emma said "It is so good to be home! That vacation wore me out!!" She also told us that we were the best parents because we took her on a vacation where we could swim, see fireworks, and ride roller coasters! Now that is why I love vacations! Not to become the "best" parent, but to create memories that our family will have forever!!!

More Park City......

I LOVE FIREWORKS
Heber Valley Railroad
The view is better without my carseat!

Grandma Judy, Brielle and Emma

Nick came back up on Thursday and the first thing on the agenda? Swimming!! After that we walked behind our resort where The Canyons were having their annual concert and fireworks. We didn't stay too long since all you could smell was beer and cigarettes. We did have a perfect view of the fireworks from our balcony once they started--Emma kept yelling at us to look at the fireworks and Brielle wasn't sure what to think about them. The next day we drove to Heber to ride on the train. It was a quick 90 minute trip along the Wasatch Mountains and around Deer Creek Reservoir, but it was perfect for the girls. We were in an open train car that just had a roof to protect us a little from the sun. Later that night, Park City had more fireworks downtown, but it was pretty cloudy and somewhat rainy so we skipped it and went swimming (surprise)!

Park City- Part 1

WHOA! What a jump!
I am not sure where she learned this pose..
A little sunny at the resorts waterfall
This pic of our family in the pool was taken from our balcony! Sweet!

Within 10 minutes of entering our condo, Emma says "Mom, I already unpacked, can we go swimming?" With our balcony overlooking the pool, it was like a constant temptation for Emma. I think we went 3 times, and probably would have gone more had we not been going other places. The first morning we went over to the Olympic Park--which was pretty cool. We saw athletes on 2 different slides doing acrobatics into the water! They were awesome. We also saw young kids going down a ramp like they were snowboarding and some other athletes flying down the mountainside practicing their distance. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so you don't get to see any of this. We also took a tour around the resort and basically relaxed.

Westgate Resort--Park City July2008

The girls and me on the balcony

HUGE bed!!!
Jetted tub (unfortunately I had no time to try it!)
My goof balls playing around on the luggage cart

I love to go on trips, vacations, get-a-ways, etc. I always get the itch for one around July 4th because I love this holiday, we always have days off, and it is near our wedding anniversary (6th) so we can celebrate that as well. So thanks to http://www.ksl.com/, I found a really great deal on a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom plus full kitchen condo in Park City (at the Westgate Resort) for 7 days. Unfortunately, Nick did have to work a few days, so we couldn't use it the whole time, plus it was a little more than we wanted to spend. So we invited my mom and youngest brother to come up with us and it worked out perfectly. We brought a lot of our own food for meals at the condo which saved us money, too. I read a whole book in 4 days (which never happens when you have housework to do)! The girls and I spent 5 of the 7 nights up there and we had a blast. We went to the Olympic park, Heber Valley Railroad, Alpine Slides, the outlet stores, and of coarse went swimming almost every day! It was so much fun! Here are some pictures of our condo!

Lagoon- June 2008

My girls NOT keeping arms inside the ride

It is so cute to have them match sometimes!

It hadn't felt quite like summer until we went to Lagoon about a week ago. Our dilemma this year was whether to buy Brielle a ride pass. We didn't want to waste money if she wouldn't go on any rides, but to pay for rides individually was pretty pricey. So we bought her a ride pass and she did great! I was wringing my hands the first couple rides because I was sure she would wiggle out of the seat belts since she is so tiny, but once the ride was going she loved it! Of coarse on most rides she shared the seat with Emma and that made me feel better. Definitely worth the money to see them throw their arms up on Bulgy the Whale!!

The blessing is back!

Yes, our a/c in the van is working again! I guess all we have to do is hit a speed bump a certain way and it goes back on! This time it has been on for almost a week, so maybe it will stay on. OR as soon as this blog is posted, it will turn off! Either way, I won't bother blogging about it because I'm sure it is really BORING to read about!