Lunch at the Skyroom

While Ryan makes his way to Texas, Taryn and I decided it would be fun to meet Kayli down at BYU for lunch. We had a great time visiting and the autumn views of campus were spectacular. Also, Everett really liked being with the girls.

Jacob's 15 - Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to one awesome 15 year old! I am so glad you are my son.
After Jake went to get his drivers permit (I can't believe we have another teenage driver) he was sung to by these cute girls from school. They were waiting on the doorstep with homemade chocolate chip cookies.

He celebrated TEPANYAKI style for dinner. Delicious food and some great entertainment too.
And now for the presents...

His favorite...A Unicycle...now this will be the most challenging present to conquer. I was shocked at his request but, he was thrilled and started practicing immediately.

WE ALL LOVE YOU JAKE - You are the best brother, son and friend. You have such a great attitude and we really enjoy having you in our family.
After blowing out the candles, Jake decided he would torch a piece of the cake (kind of a pyro...guy thing). Which consists of cramming all the candles as close as you can together and watching them burn down. You should have seen the smoke when he finally decided to blow them out. Whew!

Celebrating will continue into the weekend as he will have a big Halloween Party/Scary Movie Night with a bunch of friends. Stay tuned...

GAME DAY

BYU football games are so much fun!! Especially when they win. So much excitement and enthusiasm is felt inside the stadium.
RISE AND SHOUT!!
Kayli and some of her fun college friends. Remember those days? Love the blue paint.
The Colorado game...WE WON!! :) Woo Hoo!!
Here they come...charging onto the field! Go Cougars!

The TCU game...Well, I don't even want to talk about the score. :( Boo Hoo!! Let's just hope for more games like Colorado State...

Duct Tape Wonders

Sara just loves her new purse.
These are a few pictures of the duct tape items Jake has been putting together this week. He has also made an ipod case, a wallet, tie and belt. I didn't know Duct Tape could be such a universal item. Perhaps it might be one of the next best things to keep in your food storage. Just a thought.

Halloween Fun!

Lunch at Gardner Village with Kathy and Tina and all the witches!We had a Halloween dinner party at our home with the Holladay cousins. They love seeing each other in costume. We ate ghost eyed stew for dinner with skeleton bone breadsticks. Tina made a salad with witches nails (almonds) and dracula eyes (craisins). Plus plenty of treats for dessert.
Sara made this cute candy corn man for the table decoration.
Look who showed up for our party: A ladybug, Dorothy, spring fairy, a gothic maiden witch, a fall fairy, a Cha Cha girl, Miss America, a baby, a 60's girl, and a basketball trophy.
Spooky, scary, fun faces!
Such fun to dress up!
Some guys are getting too old for costumes. But, not too old to make scary haunted houses. They made an awesome one throughout the basement and everyone was extremely frightened.
Dinner is served. Y U M M Y!!
Happy Halloween!
Tina and Jensen
One exhausted little ladybug. What a little sweetheart.

Fall Colors

I love all the amazing colors that fall brings. How can one look at the beauty of this world and not believe in a Grand Creator? It is designed perfectly and majestically. I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father that gives such beautiful gifts to his children.
Jacob and Jensen -1996 my parents backyard in Willow Creek. Central Park - Fall 2008...One of my favorite places!

St. George Again

Last weekend, my sisters and I were able to take a quick trip down to St. George to be with our Mom before she starts her radiation on Monday.
Having lunch at the Olive Garden...Dad's choice.
Seeing the musical "Aida" at the Tuacahn...Mom's choice.
I really love all the walking trails down in St. George. It's 90 degrees and I'm lovin' the heat!

cRaZy hAiR DaY!!!

Happiness is a day like today where if your hair doesn't turn out just right...IT DOESN'T MATTER. I especially like doing hair when the pressure is off. Or maybe there's more pressure to think of a hairdo that hasn't been done in previous years. At any rate, the girls were thrilled with how funky their hair turned out and were excited to get to class to see what their friends had come up with.

A Very Cold 5K Run-

I am so proud of my kids. They woke up @ 7:00am on Saturday, drove an hour and 15 minutes and back to run a benefit race in Kamas. This is the first time they have ever participated in a 5K (3.2 mile run) and they did awesome. In fact, Madi and Sara took second and third place for the 10 and younger group. We all should have dressed in more layers as it was a very cold run...only 37 degrees ..BRRRRR. The sun didn't shine until towards the end but, we all kept going until the finish line.

This 5K was to help our friends whose Dad was killed in a car accident last March. The community is pulling together to try and raise money to help finish the outside of their home before winter. During the start I heard a lot of complaints about the cold, how far it would be, legs hurting, tiredness but, in the end they were so happy they did it. Especially Alli, she said "Thanks for making me come...it's nice to do something for them." It was extremely cold but, I kept telling my kids..."You can do hard things"...we persisted and good feelings were felt all around. I wish I had a picture of Jake and Alli but, as soon as the race ended they bolted to the car and turned on the heater. Can't blame them.



Dave, a great friend from High School, is over-seeing the finishing work of the Howells' home.



Even with the cold, they had great support.

Conference Weekend in St. George

St. George is always such a fun getaway for our family. We can always count on blue skys and the weather being warmer than home. The kids really love it when their cousins happen to plan to go over the same weekend. There is always something exciting to do.
From tallest to smallest...so many girls!
Stations were set up all around the house from pet store, nail shop, bike store, hair salon, snack center, to my favorite... a bunk bed foot massage. Girls don't ever lack in the area of creativity.
After General Conference we were all entertained by a wonderful dance concert.
The kids were out of school Monday so Grandpa and Jake joined all the girls for a picnic lunch while...
...we took Mom out to a little cafe on Main Street.
We all met later for a tasty treat:
Self serve frozen yogurt is so fun for the kids as they get to create a yogurt extravaganza...but too many choices of flavors with too many toppings combined can make a yogurt colored nightmare.
IT'S ALL GOOD-
My cute Mom and Dad really enjoyed the grand-kids being around.