So....basically I have been on blog vacation. With school and work into full swing, I haven't had time to sit down and write. I also haven't been very good at taking pictures of the family. :( So far school seems to be going great for everyone. Jordan, Brayden and Makayla seem to be liking Jr. High and seem to have pretty good schedules. Jordan is our counseling aid 6th period so I get to spend some time with him each day. Once we get back into the fall routine, I promise to do better about posting again. For now though, my focus is on kids, homework and housework! 

Messy Monday

Today I realized that my 8 year old daughter is a pig. What you ask??? Yes...you heard me....a PIG. She is living in a pig pen and despite my efforts and nagging for her to clean her room, this is as good as it gets. I finally decided that the nagging wasn't working and went into full scale freak out today. She was banned to her room the entire day or until it was clean. Six hours later, she had managed to sort the laundry. HA! At this point I decided she could stay in there for days and be fine. Let's face it, she probably has food, water and something she could use for a make-shift potty. Bottom line...she wasn't about to clean her room the way I wanted it so it was time for me to step in and help. (yes...I realize she won)



Here is a picture of Queen Piggy in her adorable little pig-pen. Note the look on her face. Yes she is embarrassed that I am taking a picture...as she SHOULD be!



Here is Miss Piggy's closet. What you can't see here is that she is harboring Mt. Clothesmore, a new wonder of the world, behind all of the clothes that managed to stay hung up. I wish I would have discovered this technique to get my mom to keep buying me clothes. All this time I was blaming my ex for stealing them. ;)



I think this is the point in the picture taking that my stomach started to feel queasy and I had to go sit down.

And Finally.....the AFTER pictures that make all the hard work worth it! (I think)



Look....carpet!







Sorry tourists...Mt. Clothesmore is currently closed for construction...I am sure it will re-open in a few months or so. Please come back then.



I also tackled the pantry today but forgot to take before pics. Trust me....it looked like a bomb went off in there. I think I had 5 garbage bags full of old food and other things that needed to be thrown out or passed along to the DI. It was a long day for me and left me exhausted but it feels great to have accomplished something. Here's to hoping it actually lasts at least a few weeks.

Doctors, parades and fireworks...OH MY!!!

My last post was all about getting Jordan ready for trek. Well...we managed, with the help of my awesome brother-in-law, to get him all packed and ready to go. I have to admit, I was a nervous wreck the entire time he was gone. To think of your child in the middle of nowhere, hiking, packing and experiencing the things that the pioneers had to go through while I was home with all the modern comforts of the world was too much. So many times I wanted to pick up the phone and call his cell to make sure he was doing OK...only to realize that pioneers don't have cell phones. DUH! ;)

Well Friday afternoon my little trekker finally made it home. Unfortunately, he was sick as a dog. Apparently he spent the entire week battling the flu. Thankfully Steve & Sue Williams (our neighbors) were his parents and they took good care of him. They kept him medicated and took him to the medical station where they told them he was dehydrated and gave him 10 bottles of Gatorade to drink ASAP. According to Sue...Jordan didn't let his illness bother him too much and he made it through trek alright. But...when he got home, he crashed big time. He came home and got straight into bed where he slept for about 3 hours. When I woke him up, I realized he had a high fever and the glands in his neck were super swollen. He also ached all over so we decided it was time for instacare. :(

Unfortunately, it was July 23rd which, in Bountiful, means Handcart days. This was a challenge since the instacare happens to be right along the parade route. Matt managed to find a back way that allowed us to get into the doctor. After a few tests we found out that Jordan just has a nasty virus and so he was given some pain meds to cope until it got better. While we were there, Matt decided he might as well take in a little of the parade and he snapped some pics with his phone. Hey... at least one of us was having fun right? ;)



Here is Wendy & Frosty......hmmm...seems this picture makes me crave ice cream.



The Dicks Market car



Here is my friend Ashlan on the Cookie Cutters float handing out otter pops! She MUST be crazy! ;)



Since Jordan wasn't feeling well, we decided Chinese take out and a movie at home was the way to go. Matt did take a minute however, to climb out on the roof and take a couple pictures of the fireworks we were missing.



Here are some of the fireworks with the temple in the view...what a pretty sight to see. Here's to another Pioneer weekend. As I sit and think about all that Jordan went through on trek, I am more grateful then ever before to my ancestors for all that they went through coming across the plains. I am so thankful that my son was able to get Tylenol, ibuprofen and Gatorade to be able to make it through the journey. I am sure had we been true pioneers, he would not have made it and the thought makes a huge impact in my heart. I am thankful for all of the MANY things that I have in my life to make things easy and comfortable. I am down right spoiled.

WILD Wednesday!

Recently I have been reading the Lazy Mom Blog and today, I realized just what a lazy mom I am. (I will get to that in a minute) Several months ago we found out that our 14 year old, Jordan, will have the opportunity to go on a pioneer trek, where they will walk the route that the Mormon pioneers walked. They will visit Martins Cove, cross the Sweetwater River, hike along Rocky Ridge and other cool things.

Of course none of these "cool" things sound cool to a 14 year old boy. Especially when he finds out that instead of hanging out with his best friend Drew the whole time, he will be separated into a random "family" with random volunteer "parents". After a whole lot of begging and a ton of mind changing he has decided (by his own free will) that he actually WANTS to attend.

Well...here is where my lazy parenting comes to play. Let me remind you that several, probably 6 months ago is when we got the list of all the items they would need to bring. Here it is Wednesday and do you think I have him all packed and ready to go???? NOPE...Today is the day that I decided that two pages worth of obscure pioneer-roughing-it-items have to be purchased because they have to be to the church by Monday. This wouldn't be so bad except we are leaving to go camping tomorrow and wont be home until Sunday. SO....today is the day for panic! I have been to nearly every store within a 30 mile radius looking for the most peculiar items. Some that I am not even sure what they are asking for so I have found my best interpretation of it and thrown it in the cart. It will have to do!!! To top it all off we are also sending Makayla off to girls camp with a long list as well and an even bigger challenge...trying to get ready for our camping trip. Am I OUT OF MY MIND???? (Don't answer that) Thankfully, I have a wonderful loving husband that knows how stressed these things make me and he offered to meet me at Wally-World on his lunch break to try to help. (Thanks babe...you rock) The rest of the journey I was on my own and 100% lost. Finally at 6:00 PM the goal has been reached and he is ready to go. What does one need for Trek you ask? Let me just show you.



Here is all of the stuff he has to take. The sleeping bag, coat and blanket go in a big plastic bag. All of the rest of the stuff has to fit into the 5 gallon bucket shown in this picture. As much as I DO realize that the pioneers didn't have even a fraction of these amazing items such as, bug spray, flashlights, hand sanitizer, deodorant, band aids etc. I sit here looking at this stuff, scratching my head and thinking how rough its going to be. We truly live in a blessed time with so many luxury items. I am thankful for all of the millions of things that I take for granted every day. I also have a greater appreciation for my pioneer heritage. I can't wait to see how Jordan feels at the end of this experience without his cell phone, XBOX, PSP, Tivo and all the other things he uses daily.

While he is gone hiking in the 100 degree weather...I will be home in my air conditioned house, sitting on my nice soft couch, watching my big screen TV and playing on my laptop. :) Because after all, I AM a lazy mom! ;)

Ain't no party like a Bear Lake party!

Bear Lake has become our new "summer home" and we can't seem to get enough of it! This year we were in there over the 4th of July and it was a blast. Matt and the kids went to the fireworks show in town and I stayed back at camp and just watched them from the hill. Golf, food, fun and of course La Beaus shakes! (a Bear Lake must)



We found this awesome "relaxation station" at Costo and I have to say...good purchase. What better way to get a tan than sitting on this thing in the middle of the lake?



Of course with the kids around...the relaxation station turned into the play zone. It became a game of dodgeball.




Makayla trying to get the ball away from Jordan.



Jordan pushed it over on top of Makayla and made himself a "Makayla burrito"



Mady had fun looking for seashells at the beach.



Look at all the little sea shells she found! YAY



Makayla & Jordan diggin in the sand.



Playing a little football with Matt! Dear Bear Lake...thank you for all the fun so far this summer. You never disappoint. We look forward to the many summer weekends will will spend with you until school starts again!

Monday Mayhem

As most of you know we have 2 cats, Oakley and Rocky. For the past year Rocky's hair has began to clump. We have tried brushing, bathing, cutting and ignoring but nothing seems to be helping. It has gotten progressively worse and had finally reached the point where he was ripping his fur out in clumps. The poor thing has also become shunned. He has become impossible to pet and he is constantly leaving huge clumps of ripped out hair all over the dang house.

Well today, I decided enough is enough...its high time for the dreaded LION CUT. Being the tightwad that I am, I refused to pay someone to shave him. So....with the help of Makayla and the unknown lending of Jordan's clippers, I took a whack at it. We put him in a laundry basket to hold the hair and I took after him. I have to say it really took a LOT longer than I had expected and I felt like I was in a hairball snowstorm. However...It was well worth the fight. I now have a normal, healthy looking cat that we can actually pet. The added bonus??? No more shedding and he will be nice and cool this summer!!! YAY! I also have to admit, he looks a LOT better than I expected. Here is a blurry picture that I took with my cell phone.



So here's to the not-so-nappy cat and a happy Monday to you all! :)

Hot, Hot, Hot Summer fun!

I have been really bad at posting lately so this is my mass..."so-far-this-summer" post. I can't help but feel a little bit ripped off this year. It was practically still winter until the end of July. We had so much rain and such cool temperatures that it felt like we didn't even get spring. However, Mr. Sun finally decided to show his beloved face and I couldn't be happier about that. All I know is, if he doesn't stick around a little longer in the fall...I am going to be PISSED!!! ;)

Anyway, here are some pictures of the fun we have had so far this summer.





Here is my niece Aspenn and my nephew Braker at Ryan and Courtney's wedding.



And here is Stryker with his little cheezer grin.




Nothing really "summer" about this picture but I just love it. This is my baby Oakley. We were just laying on my bed and he was giving me loves while purring in my ear. I just love him.



This is a picture of a Bentley. Jordan has decided this should be his first car. At around $150,000 why not? (HA HA) Well.....at least he'll always have this picture right?



On June 17th Megan had her baby Cyler Eli Fritzsche, 6lbs. 18oz.!!! He looks just like his big brother Kash and we can't wait to play with him and watch him grow. Congrats Megan & Trevor...we love you guys!



This is my new summer scene. We love the pool at the rec. center! There is a ton for the kids to do while mom lays by the pool and catches up on some reading. Life is good.



The girls stopped by to pose for a picture between snacks and swimming!




For the 4th of July weekend we took a trip to Bear Lake. Since Rich and Andrea are moving we got to take my nephew Evan with us. Here are all the kids piled into the car and watching a movie. Man I wish they had those things when I was a kid.....no fair!



Here we are in my parents trailer at Bear Lake....I know, I know....you all didn't know I was such a mountain woman right? ;) I call it camping with flair!



After Bear Lake we helped Rich and Andrea move into their new house. Since they were halfway in the new house and halfway in the old house, I decided to kidnap Evan for a sleepover. We had lots of fun and it was good for me to realize just how much you forget about having young kids. He fell asleep in the car and I had to carry him through the store...I thought I'd die! Good thing moms of toddlers have big muscles.

I am sure there will be lots more summer adventures to come so stay tuned. I promise to be better about blogging. Until then...... stay cool and enjoy your summer! ;)

Silly Summer Nights

Matt had to go out of town this week for his summer sales meeting. I asked Shay to come and "babysit us" while he was gone. I figured it would be a fun time to get to know her a little better. One night we decided to roast marshmallows in the fire pit. I thought we could get it done without any trouble so I sent Brayden out to get the fire started while I gathered stuff for the s'mores. Well....one major problem...I had no marshmallows. Since it was already past our bedtime, we decided that hot dogs and starburst would do the trick. After roasting we laid on the trampoline looking at the stars and taking silly pictures.



Here is our foot circle picture



And then our star hands



This is our afraid picture



Who knew you could have so much fun staying home and playing in your backyard just being silly with your kids??? It was a fantastic night and I am sure the memory will last forever!

You just gotta love those warm summer nights!!!

Vegas Baby!

Every summer and fall Matt has to go out of town for the company summer sales meeting. This year the summer meeting was being held in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Resort. This year I decided to go with him for a little bit and make a vacation out of it. We asked our neighbors, the Bells, to go with us as well. The weather was perfect and the resort was AMAZING.



Here is the view of the pool from our hotel room.



And here is the view from my lounge chair by the pool! AAAAH this is the life!



This is the wonderful tub that has made me desire a TV above the bathtub at home. I am sure Matt is thrilled he brought me now. ;)



We were gone over Father's Day so this is the picture I took of Matt enjoying himself on that Sunday...I don't know if I will ever be able to top this Father's Day for him. We had a great trip and since I hate it so bad when he goes out of town, I am so glad that I was able to go and spend time with him before his meeting started.

As far as Vegas goes...I am still not in love with the place but I am getting better. Maybe one day I will like it...until then, I will continue living my sheltered boring Utard life! ;)