Our Yoda puppy is 8 months old!  Man, oh man....we LOVE this little dog!  Best decision we ever made was to get a pet for our kids to love and take care of.  Although I will admit that Mike and I probably take care of him more often than they do.  Let's face it...it's a work in progress and they are doing great.

Yoda now weighs 11 pounds and is such a good dog!  He is a great watchdog.  He barks whenever the youth from the neighborhood toilet paper our house, so we will keep him around!  He waits patiently by the door everyday at 3:00 just watching for Meghan to walk in and then he runs around and gets all happy and excited.  It's so cute!!  Sidney mauls him to death and rolls on top of him and squeezes hugs him and HE LETS HER.  What a good dog!

We have taken him camping twice this summer and he absolutely LOVES that!  Yay!!  What a blessing this little ball of fur is in our home!!

Bear Lake Brawl 2011

 The story...in pictures...

waiting for Mike's heat

kids playing in the sand while waiting  (and yes, there is a random "other kid" mixed in there)

It's his turn!  Off to get into the water for the swim

He's there somewhere!

Yep!  There he is!  He's the one with the BLUE hat on! 

coming out from the swim, ready for the bike

Balance beam time

and maybe a nose-kiss or two

oh yeah....Daddy is back from the bike and ready for the run!

heading out...

Finishing!!  1:22:57    BEST TIME YET!!

 

while we wait for Dad to get his stuff, I'm just gonna make a friend...okay Mom?

 

 

 

 Let me tell you about the adventure we had on the way to Bear Lake for Mike's triathlon.....

We had the trailer mostly loaded and ready so when Meghan got home from school, we jumped in the car and set off.  We were making good time and were almost to the Brigham City exit when Mike asked me if I could hear a loud noise and I said that I could not.  He said "I think it's a tire".  So I looked in my side mirror and I could see chunks coming from under the trailer on my side and I said, "Yep!  It's a tire!"  So, he took the exit and pulled over as soon as he could find a level spot off the road.  We jumped out and the tire was just SHREDDED!  

 

Jonathan was a good helper to Mike with taking the lug nuts off the tire so that we could change it.  He thought it was SO FUN to change a flat tire.  Weird kid anyway!!

  Mike went to take the spare tire off the back of the trailer and one of the bolts that holds it on came off with it and was stuck on it.  He couldn't get it off and so he started to walk down the freeway to find some gas station or someplace that could help him take the bolt off.  A car pulled over and the nice people inside gave Mike a ride to a car dealership where they had to cut the bolt off.  Crazy.  Then they gave him a ride back.  Had someone not been a Good Samaritan to us, it would easily have taken another hour plus just for Mike to walk the whole way....in the hot sun...

little helper

car dealership that helped Mike....we like them!

wasp nest we found in with the spare tire!  YIKES!!

at least we had a good view of the new Brigham City temple

getting the tire back on...

 

and we're done!  YAY!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best part about our misAdventure was how well behaved the kids were!  Never before have they been so good in the car!  So, they all got a slurpee for a treat!  (And me too....cuz man IT WAS HOT!!!)

you never know

I have been serving as Young Women President for my ward for 2 1/2 years now and I love every second of it!  It has been a joy and I can't imagine not being able to be around the girls all the time.  This post is not meant to sound like an "I am getting released" post....oh no!  I was just sitting here thinking today about all the blessings that have come into mine and my family's lives because of this calling.  The young women are a big part of those blessings!  I love them to bits!
Know who else I love to bits?  The ladies I get to serve with!  Honestly, the most amazing part of this calling is that I am able to be guided by the spirit and call women to serve with me that are more wonderful that I could even imagine.  They touch my life in indescribable ways.  They are women that I probably wouldn't have necessarily chosen to work with in a job, for instance, and yet I chose them to work with me in this job.  We are all so different and yet we are all so similar.  I am grateful to be able to make the time to get to know them better and create relationships with them outside of church.  They are truly my friends!

the dreaded day arrived...

 ...and I was helpless to stop it.  Why oh why do kids have to grow up?  On one hand I love it because they really need to.  The farting and burping and jokes about bodily functions can only go on for so long...and yes, I am talking about my girls in that statement not just Jonathan!  But on the other hand....when they grow up it means they are just that much closer to leaving home and not needing me anymore.  That's the part I can't take!! 

 Meghan is such a good helper and it has been so fun to spend time with just her (and Sidney) while the other kids were already in school for the last few weeks.  I am going to really miss that. 

I don't want to even blink because I know if I do I will all of the sudden be standing at her wedding and I am not ready for that!  TIME SLOW DOWN PLEASE!!!!

1st day of Jr. High!

walking into the school with her bestie leaving me to take tacky pictures from the drivers seat of my car.  not fair!

Scriptures=Shakes

Doing this.....

Led us to this!

What?  You mean reading the scriptures at your house doesn't mean you get milkshakes?  HAHA...too bad for YOU!  In all reality, it has taken us three years to complete reading the Book of Mormon.  2nd Nephi and the war chapters in Alma held us back slowed us down.  You know what I am talking about!!
But we promised the kids that when we finished we would all get a shake from Arctic to celebrate.  And we did!!! (thank heavens it was Huckleberry time too!!)

Happy 10th Birthday Jenny!

 It's hard to believe that little Jenny is no longer little and is 10!  I need time to slow down because I am not ready for my kids to grow up.  Jenny is a sweetheart!  She is kind and thinks of others and is friendly.  Her school teachers tell me that she is a joy to have in their classroom because she is so helpful and nice to everyone.  As a mom, that is the best thing you can hear!


 We have to celebrate Jenny's birthday a couple of days early because I needed to be at Youth Conference.  So Jenny chose for us to go to Denny's for dinner and then she opened presents.  Her favorites were fun socks and a skateboard.  She is so easy to please.  (We like this!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY JEN!  We love you!!

Jenny's friend birthday party

 Jenny was turning 10 and wanted to have a birthday party and invite all her friends.  She is such an outgoing kid and loves people so Mike and I agreed that it would be a fun idea.  We decided on a water party theme and planned 4 or 5 games for them to play in which they could get thoroughly soaked!  Sounds awesome, no?  haha

She invited 12 kids and we only had 5 show up but they were a fun group and willing to get right in there and have fun! 

It's been picked clean

You know the old adage "Money doesn't grow on trees"?  Well, I find myself saying that to my children all the time.  They seem to think that it does!

Well, this week I found myself wanting to say it to lots and lots of people because apparently everyone thinks we have money trees instead of fruit trees growing in our backyard.  No people...there is not an endless supply of the green stuff at my beck and call!  IT RUNS OUT!!!

This week we got to pay the monthly payment for two girls wearing braces...$260
AND...a car to be fixed....$1300  (which we thought was only going to cost $100)
AND...gas in both cars...$110
AND...birthday presents for Jenny and supplies for her party on Saturday...$75
AND...piano lesson payment for last month...$80

in addition to the normal expenses of 5 kids, 2 adults, a dog and a house!  I am feeling empty.   Literally and figuratively.

I actually NEED a money tree.