Brandon & Gayla

Awww my room!

2009-04-22T16:15:00.006-06:00

So while Brandon was away playing with some friends for a couple of days.....I re-did our bedroom and bathroom. (with the wonderful help form my fantastic sister, Staci)

We painted (not so fun), re-arranged, shopped (so fun) and decorated!

There is still work to be done (I have to wait for the funds to be replenished, lol) but for the most part...it's done.

Bran likes it....But not as much as I do!!!

Easter

2009-04-13T16:06:00.004-06:00

Happy Easter!!!!

As you can tell the Easter bunny found us!

Really mad I didn't get pictures of the kids before church...they looked so cute all dressed up in their Easter outfits.

So after church my family all came over to do Easter stuff. My mom made roast, potatoes, carrots and rolls. Mmmmmmm one of my Sunday favorites. Sara brought no baked cookies nests with jelly beans that Allie made. Yummy.

While we waited for dinner to finish cooking Grandma brought eggs for an egg hunt for the kids.

Pretty fun!

The kids and their eggs!

So its tradition to roll easter eggs. We try to come up with fun ways and games to play while rolling our boiled eggs. This year was a fun one. The kids rolled them down the hill with their noses. I am not sure we will be able to get them to do it again but it sure was fun to watch.

Aunt Staci explaining the rules of the game.

Jason and Sara brought kites for the kids to fly. As we all sat and ate the boiled eggs that did not get rolled or thrown.

It was a great Easter and a very fun Birthday. I love being all together with my family and having fun. Thanks Family for coming over and making it a wonderful day!!!

A little useless trivia: On Easter 11 years ago it was my Birthday, we were in St. George with my family, Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and cousins. We all stayed in a cabin together and Brandon proposed to me. BEST gift EVER!!!

So after family all left we noticed Harli and Sammi's eyes all red, itchy and goopy...Yuck!

Pretty sure its pink eye, so we started the drops. ugh.....

One of the cutest things for a mother to witness.....One child tucking in the other after a traumatic experience (eye drops).

Walked by and Harli was reading stories to Sammi so she could fall asleep so her eyes would stop hurting.
Awwww...the love of a sister!

Train show highlights

2009-03-26T09:18:00.007-06:00

So a couple of Saturdays ago we all woke up and put a plan together to get all our chores done so we could go do something as a family. It just so happend that the Train show was going on so......we made that our family outing.
The Ogden Train show, a nice CROWDED Saturday adventure.

The kiddos standing next to the wheels of this massive train. It was fun to go inside these big trains. They had a couple of different kinds of trains like an old mail train and an old military medical train that you can walk thru and ask questions.

This one section of the train show was all made out of legos, like Mini Lego lands.

The best part of the day was when we left the crowded Train Station and walked up 25th street for some lunch at ROOSTERS.

Good old family fun outing.

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey!

2009-02-08T16:58:00.006-07:00

I know it has been quite a while since I have posted and there is soo much I would like to post about but who has time....not me. So I have decided I will just jump in right now where we are and go from here and not worry about the last 2 1/2 months.

Brocks Hockey season for Bonneville has come to a close for now, what a fun season for Brock to get back into Hockey.

I really liked this picture of Brock going after the puck.

So the last post I posted I mentioned that I wanted to see my brother back on the ice,well...he is. Yeah!!!!! He is playing for Weber State again.

Saturday was quite a fun day. Weber State played down at the E Center against Arizona, then the Grizzlies played Pheonix Roadrunners later that night. (Weber-1 Arizona-2, Grizzlies-6 Roadrunners-1)

Seth during warm-ups

The National Anthem

Seth going after the puck

Seth taking a shot

Sorry no pictures of the Grizzly Game, I sat back and enjoyed everything that was going on.

Seth sold 26 tickets, meaning he had the most and the best fans in the stands. (yes I am a little bias.) Thanks Brother for a fun and eventful day/evening.

Awsome Hockey Game

2008-11-14T23:59:00.010-07:00

Tonight as a family we went to dinner at University Broiler and Grill (YUM!), then went to Weber States Hockey game where my Bro. Seth is an assistant coach. They played the Utah State Aggies. WOW what an awsome game. So intense! Weber won 5 to 3. It was tied 3 to 3 as we went into the 3rd period and in the last few minutes of the game we scored twice. The crowd went crazy. It was sooooo cooool!!!

Seth standing on the bench, observing.

Just a shot of the action.

A fight broke out. I don't much care for fighting but it was pretty much equal and no blood so it was okay. Its blurry cause I hurried to take the picture. I have yet to take a picture of a Hockey fight. So yes I have much to practice.

The fans. We sat right in the middle section (our usual section). Thanks to Mom, Staci & Martin, Amanda and Cannon for saving us spots. Go Weber!!!

Way to go brother, Awsome game. Thanks for the invite and reminder. It could of only been better if you'd been on the ice. Hope to see that again, soon!!!

Game in Logan

2008-11-11T21:22:00.002-07:00

Brock had a hockey game in Logan last night and well, we'll just say it was a long drive to play on some ice. We lost 11 to 1. I do have to say we tried really hard and the other team (they have a lot of players and coaches) are a really good team.

Brock getting and passing the puck.

Brocks next game is the last away game(yeah!), next Wednesday in Bountiful.

Highlights

2008-11-07T10:05:00.009-07:00

So it has almost been a month since I posted and of course there is a lot I want to post about so I am just going to post some brief highlights.

10/14 Makayla's 13nth Birthday.

Officially a teenager! YIKES!

10/16 & 17 Going down to Mt. Pleasant with my Mom and Sister and seeing relatives. Seeing the Manti Temple and reminiscing about younger years. I think the best part was seeing my Uncle Marlow (my Dads brother) and him showing us his den of hobbies. It was really good to see him, my Dad looked alot like him so it was very heart warming to see him and keep that relationship alive.

The Manti Temple

Uncle Marlow in his Amazing Den with some of his collections of Marbles.

10/19 F.H.E. at Staci and Martins to celebrate October Birthdays, Sammi, Kayla, Brandon and Martins. Happy Birthday to them!

We had delicious soups, rolls,cookies and apple juice. Very YUMMY!

The birthday kids, Martin, Kayla, Bran and Sammi.

10/23 Sammi had a field trip to Black Island farms with her school. Very fun.

Sammi and her pumpkin that she picked.

10/25 Moms annual Chili Party. No pictures, we didn't get there til later. But the chili was GREAT and it was a GREAT success. Lots of family came. Thanks mom for all the work you put into keeping your tradition going.

10/27 Brock scored 2 goals in his Hockey game. We still lost 3 to 5, but it was a good game. (How could it not be, he scored not once but twice!)

Brock scored both those goals.

Brock skating after the puck.

10/31 Halloween! Fun trunk-or-treating.

Harli- A purple witch and Sammi- A pink diva.

11/01 My cousin Jaren is getting married, So my Aunt and cousins(the sister and sisters-in-law) put on a shower for the soon to be sister-in-law. Fun to see family and new additions.

11/03 Yeah!!!!! Brock scored AGAIN! However, we lost 4 to 8. It was a good game because of course Brock scored and Our team scored 4 goals in ONE game. wahooo! Our next game is on Monday in Logan at 6:00.

Brocks goal. I was just turning on my camera when Brock scored. I was sooo happy and yet sooo mad that he couldn't of waited for about 30 more seconds so I would of had it on video. ha ha. Oh well, we will take what we can get.

11/05 For our youth activity this week we got tickets to go to the taping of the Youth New Years Eve Fireside at the Conference Center in SLC. Our YW Pres. Lynds met us at the parking garage and brought pizza. We ate, then walked a block or 2 to get to the conference center. We had a lot of fun being together and the entertainment was great. Good clean fun, can't beat that.

The 3 funny girls we had in our vehicle.(while we were waiting for our turn to get out of the parking garage we had fun with my camera that just so happened to be in my purse. yeah!!!

The 2 fun leaders in the vehicle. LOL

Well I think I'm going to call that good and hopefully I will be better at staying caught up on things so I can elaborate a little bit more.

C-5

2008-10-13T15:13:00.004-06:00

Picture: Utah weather, What a difference 24 hrs can make.

Yesterday at about 2:30 in the afternoon.

Today at about 3:00.

Blessing: A sister. Staci came up today to watch Sammi while I took Harli to the dentist to get a tooth pulled. Poor little Sammi was sick. Staci stayed a while for lunch and to watch some Grey's and Private practice. Very fun and snugly afternoon. Thanks sis!

C-4

2008-10-12T13:56:00.006-06:00

PICTURE: Can I just say... "What in the heck is this? I'm not ready for winter! I just want to enjoy the colors of fall a little longer, minus the white fluffy stuff.
I took a couple of pics this morning to what we woke up to and then what we went to church in. Brrrrrrr!

BLESSING: A roof over our head and a working furnace! Can't imagine what the pioneers had to deal with. I complained to Bran that our house needs to be warmer than 62 degrees. We have a furnace, lets use it!!! If you know Bran, you know that he likes the house to be cool almost on the verge of freezing. Well, I've decided that this winter is going to be a cozy winter. I've told him that he can set the timer control to what ever he wants, but I AM going to change it when he leaves so he should just save us both the hassle and just set it to a more reasonable temp. I'm not asking for it to be hot just warm and cozy. So we'll have to see what happens, however I am pretty excited to sit by the heaters with my kids and our blankets.

Who needs McDonalds.

2008-10-12T13:54:00.002-06:00

Who needs McDonald's when you have a husband like mine? This morning while we were all getting ready for church Bran fixed us all a sausage, egg and cheese Brando-muffin.(just like a Mac-muffin from McDonald's.) Very yummy!!! Just wanted to share how amazing and thoughtful my hubby is.

Choir

2008-10-12T13:52:00.002-06:00

Brock and Kayla had a choir concert on Thursday night and they both did Great.

It was really fun to go and see them both perform on the same night.

Just makes me want to sing....

C-2 & C-3

2008-10-11T07:16:00.005-06:00

This post is for Friday.....I'm feeling a little under the weather so I did not take a picture.
Blessing: Health. I am very blessed that my family and I don't have any real medical issues.

Saturday.....no picture. My laptop is being used for our Stake Youth Halloween dance tonight, so maybe tomorrow.
Blessing: Employment. There are times (like right now, since I'm at work) that I wished that I did not work outside of the home but I think for the most part I'm glad I do and that it is not that often.

Challenge

2008-10-09T15:30:00.004-06:00

So my sis extended a challenge of a picture and a blessing a day. I accepted, but I might
change it up every now and again. As for today......

Picture: Fall wreath on my front door, it makes me very happy! (simple pleasure)

Blessing: My sight. I like all the colors of fall. I find the seasonal changes very amazing and I am very thankful our Father in Heaven created such a beautiful and amazing world for us to live in.

I extend the challenge to all who choose to accept.

Brock hockey pics for the week

2008-10-09T14:36:00.002-06:00

Hockey pictures from this weeks game.

Listening to coach after 1st period.

Bench huddle listening to coach after 2nd period.

Face off.

Line-up.

We lost, 8-0 but it's always a good time.

Better late then never.

2008-10-08T23:57:00.003-06:00

So quite a while ago I was tagged by Babette, then Keri, then my sister Staci. Well Staci said that being tagged 3 times is like being triple dog dared so now I HAVE to do it. Thus the better late then never saying.
......OK here goes.

JOYS
*Brandon, Brock, Kayla, Harli, Sammi.
*Spending time with our families.
*Snuggles

FEARS
*Losing my husband, a child, my mom, ...well any family member for that matter.
*My family being split up due to me dying (cancer, heart attack, accident, etc.)
*Needles -getting my blood taken, shots or these things happening to my children.(usually does not end well, me passing out or getting dizzy, light headed, sick...Not cool!)

GOALS
*Stop putting off today, until tomarow and ending up with empty yesterdays.
*Be more physically fit.
*Food storage. (On our selves-not my body)

CURRENT OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS
*Taking pictures.
*Spending time with my husband and kids.
*Reading blogs.

FACTS ABOUT MYSELF
*I love salt!
*I would like to learn sign language.
*I like my bare feet between cool sheets/blankets.

My sweet little baby is 5!

2008-10-05T14:03:00.008-06:00

Samantha Mae Holmes born October 1, 2003
Sammi is...a little snuggler, quiet, content, shy, loving, quick witted, observant, quick learner, playful, pre-schooler, helper, little sister, animal lover, girly girl, and a delight to have in our family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMI

Brock

2008-10-05T13:41:00.006-06:00

Photo taken by Julie Parker (a team members mother.)

Random pictures from Brocks last game.

I really like that our team after every game lines up and and raises thier sticks in appreciation to the crowd. (great photo opp., maybe one of these times it won't be blurry.)

Happy Birthday to little sister!

2008-10-05T13:15:00.002-06:00

We had family night at Jason and Sara's (on Sept. 21st) and did Staci's Birthday. No candles but a sparkler does the trick. (although almost impossible to blow out)

Staci made her incredible edible desserts.

All the nieces and nephews singing to their beautiful and talented aunt Staci.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACI!!!!

Hockey Brock

2008-09-26T20:50:00.014-06:00

Brock plays on Bonneville Highs Hockey team. There is only 2 Freshman on the team one form South Jr High and Brock from TH Bell Jr High. He's been waiting and talking about this for years now. It's been 8 years since he's played due to ice time on sundays. (Total deal breaker!)
He's doing good and picking it back up pretty quick. It is so exciting to me because my little brother played for Northridge High, Weber State, and is now an assistant coach for Weber State. This last game Seth(my little brother) coached Brocks team, due to both coaches being gone so they asked if he would be our guest coach. Brock said it's been a dream of his that Seth would be his coach. So for one night he was. They played down at the Olympic Oval, it was very cool. This was our 3rd game and we finally scored. We lost again but we played better than before and the score was only 4-2. The other scores have been 13-0 and 8-0 so we will take 4-2. We scored the 1st goal, then tied at 2, then you can figure the rest. I had double the butterflies for Brock and then for Seth. Seth did a great job coaching (he looked pretty natural) and Brock did a great job playing. I know when it comes to Hockey, Brock wants to be just like Seth (which is great -as long as he doesn't get the mouth that comes with it!!!)

Here is just a couple of pics.

(I take a ton in hopes to get THE ONE, and to capture EVERYTHING and because its FUN.)

Brock playing Right Wing on a face off. (with his back to us, Tornblom #2)

Seth standing on the bench coaching The LAKERS in between periods.

Going into the 1st game at the Ice Sheet.

(He was nervous and was not in the mood for my picture taking, but I had to get a picture.)
(And a special THANKS to Seth for donating almost all of Brocks gear/equipment. One of the perks for us that Seth has played for so long and having tons of equipment.)

Brocks # is 2, due to his "given tatoo"(freckles) on the inside of his right arm.

Pretty funny, huh?

This last picture is of Brocks 1st game cheering section.

(3 rows of people, ok not full rows but still alot of support.)

Brocks Hockey schedule is at bonnevillehockey.com for those interested in coming to support and cheer him on.

Camping in fall colors

2008-09-21T21:29:00.006-06:00

Friday we went camping overnight in Mantua/Willard/Dock flat, whatever you want to call it. The weather was great on friday, rained all thru the night then Saturday was good right until we got all packed up to come home then it started to rain agian. All in all a good quick camping trip.

I love fall! The colors, the smells, the sounds, the feel, and don't forget the taste of the food. Its just a beautiful time of year. I just love it, I really can't get enough!

So these 2 pictures are my most favorite ones of the trip.

I'm so thankful that we went camping, so I could slow down abit and take it all in. I couldn't stop taking pictures of the beauty that I saw. The trees, the leaves, the rocks, my kids, my husband. And then there was the beautiful sound of nature, the crickets, the wind, the rain, the thunder, the rustling leaves and the cruching of leaves and the laughter of my children. There was also the sound of ATV's that was rather annoying to me at times but to my husband it was the sound of a beautiful time. We had a wonderful time enjoying each other and nature.

Feelin' better

2008-09-16T16:32:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I think I have all but 2 blogs added. I am hoping I have not forgot anyone, if so just let me know and I will get you added ASAP. Thanks to all who left a comment, it sure helped. I have some pictures and things I want to blog about so stay tuned...til next time.

A very dumb thing!

2008-09-13T08:16:00.002-06:00

I am sooo mad right now! I just deleted all my family and friends blog list. What the heck!!!!!! I was adding some new blog names to the list and I put it in wrong so I hit the remove button at the very bottom (not really paying attention) and then all of a sudden everything was GONE, gone just like that. All I could say was "Oh no, wait, come back, are you kidding me, no there has got to be a way to get them back, Really?". Seriously why do they not have an undo button or something to bring them all back. Dumb, dumb, DUMB!!!! (or maybe I'm the only one that does dumb things like this.)
So if you read this will you leave me a comment or call me so I can add you to my list AGAIN.
I haven't had time to blog (and I have a couple of things to blog about) and now THIS! SERIOUSLY!!!! Thanks for letting me throw a temper tantrum. Well better get to work and start with my list.

First day of school

2008-09-06T18:12:00.004-06:00

So its this time of year again when the kids start school and we get back into somewhat of a schedule. I have to admit I am very excited.

Brock-9th grade (a Freshman, I can hardly believe it)

Makayla-7th grade-(Junior high-Wow, where does the time go?)

Harli-2nd grade

Sammi-Pre-school

Our big family camping trip (lots of pictures)

2008-09-05T21:30:00.008-06:00

At least once a year my family tries to plan a camping trip where we all go camping together. Well this year I'm surprised we all made it. Trying to figure out when we could all go, then where we could all go and fit. Can I just say WOW! I'm a little shocked we all made it and that we were still on good speaking terms. I new once we had figured out a place and everyone got there that we would all have a good time and we did. We ended up going to Mantua and camping by the lake. It held all of us, our trailers, tents, dogs and we were by water and we were able to ride and go shooting and there was alot of shade AND there was full hook-ups. Everything that we asked for.

I think one of the best things about camping is the food!

Assembling the hobo dinners.

Brandon cooked our dinners in the community fire pit.

Mmmmmmmm, hobo dinners are my favorite!!!!

The kids taking a nightly dip.

Breakfast: Bran fixed and taste tested the pancakes. Very good.

Jason cooking the bacon and hashbrowns. Very yummy.

Mom cooking the best eggs in the world.

All the guys(minus Doug and Martin) rode a couple of miles and went shooting and just did what guys do while the rest of us hung out at camp. Our good friend Mandy (close enough to be family) came up with her 2 very cute kids and hung out most of the day and into the evening. (I didn't get any pictures of them, I don't really know how that happend I always take pictures of everything:( )

Setting up the targets for shooting practice.

The kids taking a swim and trying to catch fish. (key word-trying)

Sammi catching sand, rocks and mossy weeds. No luck with fish.

Everyone sitting around hanging out while dinner is cooking. My Aunt Marilyn (my dads oldest sister) and Uncle Gary who live in Brigham and my cousin Teresa who lives in Mantua and 2 of her kids came to visit and hang out. Very funny story behind it all but I will spare you the details. However it was really nice to see and talk with them since we only see each other about 1 or 2 times a year.

Dutch oven Tatoes. Mmmm another of my favorites.

Dutch oven chicken.

And you can't forget peach cobbler. Mmmmmm yet another one of my favorites!

Roasting star mallows. We ended up using the uncooked mallows (a.k.a. ammo) for throwing it at each other. Very fun times. I don't think me and my brothers and sister will ever grow up. When we are together its just a natural thing to revert back to childhood to tease and fight and play around. I kind of hope we never get to old for that.

Bran teaching Nathan how to ride Brock and Kayla's motorcycle.

Harli having a go at it. Not sure who had more fun, the kids or Brandon.

Our humble abode. My mom stayed in with us. (Dougs not much of a camper but came up when he could.) Waking up and being able to wave at my mom across the trailer while everyone was still sleeping or waking up was really fun. It took me back to earlier times. Oh the fun memories we have and make.

The Peterson's humble abode. Both nights the adults played games in here, it is really rather roomy inside. We had alot of laughs. We had the kids watching a movie in our trailer with 2 way radios to communicate back and forth. Very, very fun!

Seths tent that housed Seth, Puck, Staci and Abbi. (Martin didn't stay over, he's got a bad back.)A house for four or better yet a house for 2 and 2 four legged friends.(ha ha ha)

Mom

Sara, Jason, Allie and Nathan

Brock, Gayla, Brandon, Makayla, Harli and Sammi.

Seth and Puck.

Martin, Staci and Abbi.

Family: I love you all very much and am very thankful we were able to go camping and strenghten our family bond and make more memories together.

Cousin time with Gma Reyna

2008-08-15T14:20:00.005-06:00

We met up Ogden canyon at Perception Park.

We paid for a picnic spot.

Went for a walk.

Watched to river.

Played on the playground.

Even Gma played.

Enjoyed cousins.

Our picnic spot.

The dads roasting hotdogs.

Eating.

Roasting mallows.

Mmmmmm smores.

Went back to Gma and Gpa Reyna's house for some more time together. We ate popcorn and watched some Olympic swimming and sat around and talked. I really really dislike the last moments when we have to say good bye to family when we don't know when we will all be together again. ( Its been so GREAT having Jen and Joe and kids here. We miss them so much but are so greatful for the time we get to spend together.

Southern J's - Thanks for comin'. We enjoyed spending time together. Ya'll come back soon now, ya hear? Travel safe. Miss ya already. Lots-a-love, the Holmes'.

Tuna casserole

2008-08-15T13:37:00.002-06:00

What do you get when you cook egg noodles, add some cream of mushroom soup, a little milk, corn and some tuna?

Tuna casserole and happy kids!!!!!!!

So the story behind this is.... Allie and Nathan came over last week and I fixed a little bit of Tuna casserole for lunch. Apparently it was not enough for all thier hungry bellies but we made due and I promised when they came over this week that I would fix it for lunch and I would make alot of it. Sara called me and reminded me that Allie and Nathan where excited for Tuna casserole. I thought it was so funny that they were sooo excited to have this for lunch that I made sure there was enough for them to take the left overs home. They thought that was so cool.

Oh the simple things we do to make kids sooo happy.

Fun cousins time with Gpa Holmes

2008-08-15T13:30:00.003-06:00

We met up at McDonalds for some lunch then.....

we went to the Solomen Center walked around and watched i-Fly and the Flowrider then went in and played some glow in the dark miniture golf.

After we played a round of golf we went to a park then back to our house for pizza. The kids wanted to go up to the school and play, so we went up and the little kids and Gpa Holmes played on the playground while the rest of us played ultimate frisbee.(a game we learned how to play at a combined YM/YW activity. Alot of fun!!!) I really enjoy hanging out with family. Good times!!!

Cousins

2008-08-12T16:56:00.011-06:00

Always fun when cousins are around.

Jaxon 2

Jaren 4

Sammi 4

Harli 7

Jacey 8

Jonah 10

Kayla 12

Brock 14

Sooo Silly!

Soooo cute!

Family Fun and Games

2008-08-12T15:59:00.009-06:00

Brandons sister Jen and her husband Joe are in town with thier 4 cute kids, Jonah, Jacey, Jaren and Jaxon. You know what that means.....Family Fun time. With Joe and Jen living in Texas they don't get out here as often as we'd like(we wish they still lived here) but they come when they can, which we are very grateful for. They moved to Texas about 8 yrs ago (I think) and have been doing very well for themselves. They just upgraded to a bigger house and we are very excited for them. We wish we could see it in person but video will have to do for now. Maybe someday we can all make it out there. They've managed to come out here with 4 kids a couple of times so we know it is possible. Anyway we are very glad they are here and we love the time we get to spend with them.

Sunday evening we got together at my mother in laws house and had a good dinner then spent some quality time playing games and just hanging out talking. We played some relay games, piggy back and shoulder ride races, and soccer. We had soooo much fun. Then we went for a walk to see and feed the ducks. We didn't see any ducks but we did enjoy our little walk together.

Mommy Daughter Date

2008-08-08T00:11:00.005-06:00

Me and my beautiful girls.

Sammi

Harli

Makayla

We went to Walmart and got lunch then went to the park and had a picnic, read our books and totally enjoyed ourselves and eachother.

Breaking Dawn

Mother daughter bookclub

Charlottes Web

Froggy learns to swim

It was so much fun, just me and my girls at the park. Its one of those moments where you don't want things to change, a moment where you want to stop time and really soak it all up and commit the time to memory. Anyway enough of my gushy, gushy stuff. To sum it all up I love my girls and feel very blessed to be their mother (I love my boy too but this post is about the girls.)

Dad is the coolest!!!

2008-08-07T17:33:00.005-06:00

For the last few weeks Harli has made it very clear to Brandon and I that she wants a typewriter for Christmas. She talks about it all the time (mainly to her dad) but we all know how bad she wants one. So apparently Brandon has been a little more proactive about checking into and finding a typewriter for our little girl who has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

He called me and told me that he went to the D.I. on his lunch and found .... oh yes a typewriter for only $5.00. I tried to get him to wait but when he walked in the door he just paced back and forth until he couldn't take it anymore. The girls are so excited. They fight over whose turn it is.

They really like the sound of the keys typing and pretending that they are so busy typing away. We've figured out why it was only $5. It is very tempermental but the girls think their dad is the best! Harli says she still wants a typewriter but one with the things that pop up. So if anyone has any old typewrite sitting around that they want to get rid of let me know.

Fun and Games

2008-08-07T16:05:00.007-06:00

Cousin day this week we ate pancakes. Nathan out ate everyone by eating 10 pancakes. Pretty impressive, I do have to say.

Then we played some games like clothes pins in a jar (a favorite from my younger years) and guess the the color, shape or animal.

Once again a very fun day.

Camping and Four Wheeling

2008-07-28T12:33:00.008-06:00

Ok, we posed for this pic but this is how we road on our ride. It worked out really well, not very safe but hey we're camping.

This is the little road to get to where we camped. Its out of the way and not much traffic.

Bran and the girls going for a ride.

Can't you just see the sisterly love? I think this is one of the only times when they didn't get along on the whole trip.

Seth and his friend Shyla and her daughter Alliah(?) on our four wheeling adventure.

Us. (Brock and Kayla wheren't able to come, they were with Bobby)

We all went for a ride to see Doug's other property and the wild life. I really do love the wind in my hair, not so much the dust. My Mom and Doug came down for a suprise visit, so Mom and I took the fourwheelers for a ride and let the wind blow thru our hair(cause we both have such long hair ya know) any way we had a good time even though we got all dusty. A little dirt don't hurt, unless its in your eyes. lol.

Jason and Sara's plans changed so we had them come down and stay in the trailer with us. We missed Staci and Martin, they had plans with friends:(

We had a campfire to roast marshmellows and tell ghost stories.

Roasting mallows. Mmmmmmm

Not a good picture but I like it anyway cause it shows us all around the campfire.

Jason telling his part part of the story. Jason started it then passed it on to Seth then to Brandon to finish. It had something to do with big foot prints, sheep, a cave, blood drops, a guy disapearing, and ending with the cave having strawberry jam. It was a little scary and I was so worried about the kids (ok, and me) that I kept saying "keep in mind they are kids" but it ended up rather funny. I was holding Harli on my lap cause she was scared before we even started. Then after the story Sammi came over to me and was so worried that some one was going to find us and steal our camp. Nathan thru in there that there is no such things as monsters and ghosts but there are such things as serial killers. It was so funny and so just out of the blue. Jason covered it by saying "we don't have to worry but our cereal that we are going to eat for breakfast better worry." hahaha Oh the memories we create. It turned out to be a very fun weekend and look forward to our big camping trip at the end of Aug. with my WHOLE family.

July 24th

2008-07-28T11:34:00.009-06:00

FIREWORKS!!!

Sparklers, Fountains, Flowers, Crackle Balls and Snaps are our favorites.

Happy 24th of July!

Adventures up Ogden Canyon July 18,19,20

2008-07-23T11:07:00.006-06:00

This last weekend I had to work but Bran wanted to take the kids and trailer up camping. He invited our friends Chris and Jen and thier cute family to go. When Bran and Chris get together and plan things, you never know what is going to happen. Anyway long story short Fri. night we set up camp and had hobo dinners, then I came home.

Sat. Bran and the kids played in the river and around camp, when I got off work I met up with Chris and Jen, went up the canyon met Bran and kids at Pineview went boating and BBQ hamburgers on the beach. It was a little stressful in the beginning but ended up being very fun. After boating we all went up to camp and got everything settled then Makayla and I came home.

Sun. Makayla and I went to church while everyone else had a nice big breakfast, then cleaned up camp and came home.

The kids all said it was a very fun weekend and they love the trailer!

Our Anniversary week of adventure.

2008-07-10T17:33:00.017-06:00

Yea for us, we've passed our 10 year mile stone with hopes of many many more to come.
Well now for the mysterious and secretive details of our adventures.(I'll spare you some)
July 1st Day 1.
*HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE. Met in Park city at 6:30 am, drove to Heber city, Bran helped set up the hot air balloon and off we took.(With 10 people total in our balloon) We got as high as 8,888 feet up in the air. It was exilleratiing and very beautiful. Bran and I both had our camera's that both do pictures and videos.(Bran was more the videos and to no suprise I was the pictures).

*2 HR HORSE BACK RIDE. Suprisingly not my favorite. I was looking forward to this cause I've riden horses plenty of times, the last time being in high school when I was bucked off. I never got back on the horse so to say but I really didn't think it would be an issue but we soon found out that it was. We (Our trail guide, Bran and I) went on a nice trail with nice tall grass to temp the horses oh and yea my horse liked to stop and eat every few steps, putting his head down and making me feel like I was going to fall off the front of him right over his head and down into the trees and yes I was being very dramatic and frantic but I stuck with it and after we got down on the flatter part it was much better however still terrified of being bucked off and that is really not the way I wanted to die.(like I said very dramatic)I felt bigger than the horse and that I was going to get bucked off but I survived and it was very fun. One of Brans favorite adventures.(I think he enjoyed it so much cause he got alot of good laughs at me.)

*ALPINE SLIDE, ALPINE COASTER AND ZIPLINE RIDE. The Alpine slide, cool but slow. The new Alpine coaster, very fun and very fast. The Zipline ride, soooooo fun.(I actually video'd with the camera around my neck and it turned out ok.)

*TUSCANOS. Dinner at the Gateway in SLC. Very yummy.
*U2 LASER CONCERT AT CLARKE PLANETARIUM. Enjoyable and relaxing.
Then home to sleep in our own bed.
July 2, Day 2.
*SCUBA DIVING. Scuba West in South Ogden, very fun-highly recommend it. Learned to scuba in a 12 foot pool. I absolutley do not like any water in my ears(it's a phobia of mine, my ears are very sensitive) but we were under water for about 30-40 minutes and I had no problem at all. We thru a torpedo back and forth and swam thru triangle hoops and played around all on the bottom of the pool. We took pictures but they didn't turn out very well, kinda dark.

*iFLy. We wanted to jump out a plane and skydive but it didn't work out so we did the next best thing, iFly at the Solomon center in Ogden. This too was one of my favorite things to do and I also highly recommend this adventure. We both flew for a total of 5 min. each and wow it takes it out of ya. Soooooooo so fun.

*1 HR COUPLE MASSAGE at massage envy just down the street from us. Very relaxing I liked it very much, Bran however did not like it. He's not one to be touched. He liked his hands and feet a little but that was all. They both had very strong hands and we felt it for the next day or so.
*Opted to get take out and rent movies instead of going to Layton to Go Cart race at Speed Street. We were pretty relaxed and tired and just wanted to veg out at home.
JULY 3, DAY 3.
*NEW TRAILER. Our trailer was ready so we went and picked it up and did all the walk thru and bought the stuff that we needed for the trailer. Very Fun and exciting.

*PLANE RIDE, or I should say-Bran flew a Plane. Bran has always been interested in airplanes and flying his remote control planes and they keep getting bigger and better and keep challenging Bran to fly them but he always seems to do it. So anyway went to Ogden airport and we were going to go for a ride to see if Bran might someday learn to fly a plane. It was very hot and harder to fly a little plane in the heat so I opted to stay behind so Bran could go and have more of a chance of surviving. I was not happy when he landed and He informed me that he did not get any pictures or video like I had asked him to. Well after pouting for a minute Him and the pilot told me that he couldn't cause he was flying. WOW!!!! I backed off and am happy with the pictures that I did get.

JULY 4,5,6 DAYS 4,5,AND 6.
*CAMPING in our trailer with the 4wheelers. Very fun and very relaxing just doing our own thing. We went down to Doug's (my Mom's husband and/or my Step Dad, and kids grandpa) anyway... we went to his property down in/by MountPleasant around Nephi area. My mom and Doug showed us the way helped us get to the property (getting the trailer up the steep hills and to the property was an adventure in and of itself.) Mom and I rode the 4wheelers, the guys changed a flat tire on the truck, got set up and then I just could not keep the secret anymore and told my Mom and Doug of our adventures while we all ate lunch. Then they were on their way with our secrets to our family BBQ and fireworks at there house. We enjoyed nature, rode the 4wheelers, played house in the trailer (ok I played house in the trailer while Bran was out mapping the land.) We really loved being together(just the 2 of us) and enjoyed all our many adventure and look forward to our many more adventures now that our vacation is over and we are back in the real world of reality. Bran put together alot of our pictures and video and made a slide show. We had family over on Tuesday for dinner and a movie of our adventures, it was lot of fun.

A big THANK YOU to STACI, GRANDMA REYNA, and GRANDMA CHEEVER for having the kids overnight and to Codee and Sara for always helping out. Thanks so much for making it possible for Bran and I to be together, to reconnect, to be young and crazy, to relax, and just enjoy being married to each other. To my husband who I love so much and am very fortunate to have. Thanks for being the man you are, a husband, a Dad/Father, a friend, a hard worker, a provider, a student, a manager of our finances, calm and patient, teaching, fun, loving, young and crazy.......you are so much more but I will spare the bloggers and tell you in person. Just know that I'm thankful for you and all that you do. I LOVE YOU. XOXOXO

OK to get caught up on June.

2008-07-10T16:24:00.010-06:00

June is one of our Birthday months. My younger brother Seth's birthday is the 10nth (he is now 27), Brock's is the 17nth(he is now 14), Harli's is the 26th(she is now 7), and my Dad's is/was the 30th(he would've been 54). We got together and celebrated thier B-days with cake and ice cream at our monthly Family Home Evening with my family.

So on the 17nth Kayla and I left for girls camp. Brocks B-day, how not fun for him. He babysat his younger sisters almost the whole time. He did an awsome job.(as usual) I've been the Y/W Secretary for 2 and 1/2 years and love it. It is fun being in young womens and now with Kayla being 12 it's even better. It takes me back when I was a youth and my mom was always in young womens doing various callings.(She has really done it all and I hope I am doing even half as good as she did. It was really fun having her in there with me and have come to realize all the DRAMA! WOW! anyway Love ya mom and Thanks for being a good example and always being so willing to help me out. Ok, ok back to Girls camp this year was on stake level so us leaders really didn't have to do to much. We only had 5 girls and 2-3-4 leaders depending on the day and time. Well I won't go into too much detail but it was really amazing. We all went on a hike for certification and wow what a butt kicker that was. I really thought I would die on the hike and be like a pioneer and have to be barried along side the trail and I really would not have cared if there was any flowers. It was hot, steep, and very long. There was several times when I really, really wanted to quit but I was suposed to be a leader and set an example not only for the girls but for my own daughter. The scripture keep going thru my head "ENDURE TO THE END" I couldn't even think of what came after that but with Kayla there encouraging me along the way and the many, many thoughts of a reward at the end, like a truck at the top to take us back down or a zip line right to my tent would have been really nice but there wasn't anything like that, just the overwhelming feeling of endurance and the reality of the plan of Salvation. We are here on earth to go thru our trials and it seems like up hill most of the way with people along side us to encourage us and help us along the way and some times its really rocky and sometimes its a breeze but knowing and believing that the reward is so worth it and its bigger and better than we can even imagine. Well ok, If you can't already tell I do have a strong belief of the Plan of Salvation and look forward to seeing my Dad again. Alright I'm done. To sum it all up, we had a great time- minus the infestation of all the silk worms falling from the trees all around us and getting into everything and a big THANK YOU to my mom for bringing up the pop up netted tent to put our tables and chairs in so we could sit and eat with out our friends dropping in our food or climbing all over us.

Fun Cousin Tuesday the kids fixed up their bikes and ran through the sprinkler and ate popcicles to cool off. We had a great day!

June 27, was bring your child to work day at Brans work so he took Harli. (She was just the right age) Boy oh boy did she have fun. She came home with a whole bag of goodies and stories.

So much to blog about, so little time!

2008-06-30T10:35:00.002-06:00

I have so much I want to blog but soooo little time. It will probably be about another week before I will be able to blog. We (Brandon and I) will be out on an adventure for our 10th anniversary and the kids will be with their Aunt Staci, Grandma Reyna, and Grandma Cheever. So enjoy the quiet until next week when I will get all caught up on my blogging. Love to you all!!!!!!

Finally got slide show to work. Yea for us!!!

2008-06-27T21:32:00.001-06:00

Park day Thursday

2008-06-13T10:44:00.008-06:00

We went to Beus pond park and enjoyed each other and walked around the track and listened to the sounds of nature. (The kids getting after each other is a sound of nature too, I guess.)

BROCK'S EVENTFUL DAY! 6-12-08

2008-06-13T09:43:00.006-06:00

It was Mom and Brock date day!

1st-Get rid of the long hair. (Way over due)

2nd- Lunch at Goodwood!
(Sirloin Steaks and Baked potatos, Mmmmmmm!)

3rd-Braces! (Before)

(During)

(After)

Braces for a year!

We had a good time and Brock is looking forward to our next date. (I think he's hoping it will be a little more fun for him and not just fun for me.)

Cousin Cooking/Baking Day (or not really)

2008-06-10T19:51:00.012-06:00

The Boys! Brock and Nathan playing with their Bionicles. They really can get along without wrestling and fighting and being mean, it was GREAT!

The Girls! (minus Kayla, she was babysitting at the time) Sammi, Allie, and Harli playing on the landing with their girly toys and purses!

For the most part they all played really well today. I really enjoy being a fly on the wall when they are getting along and playing good together. Its times like these that I really wish there was more of them. (That usually doesn't last to long, but we have fun and I do love them all so much!)

So today was supposed to be cousin cooking day, well I slacked off and we didn't really do it. Well ok, here is how i justified our cooking/baking day. Today is my younger, not so little than me, brothers birthday. The BIG 27! Wow he's getting old. Ok anyway We went to Macey's BAKERY and got Uncle Seth his favorite cake, German Chocolate. We also got a poster to make a birthday card that we all signed. Staci signed her name 1st then all the kids then me. Well stac tried to out do me (Tried) so she then put "Your favorite sister" Well then I had to out do her and I put " Your bestest most favoritist sister EVER! (cause I am), then Stac had to finish by writing "Its ok you don't have to tell Gayla and hurt her feelings". Well I didn't have anything , other than-I'm the BIG sister and I say who is his favorite......and it's ME! (ha ha ha he he LOL I think I'm funny) Ok back to the story, when we were at Macey's we also bought party plates, napkins, some party poppers and some balloons. I took the Burb with all the kids and met Stac at Seth's and we called him from the street in front of his house and sang our birthday songs to him, then we told him to come to the door. (poor guy only had about 1 hr of sleep from working graveyard and not being able to sleep) His house IS the party house! We went in the back yard and pulled the poppers, had a little party then saw his basement that he is re-doing. It is turning out really nice I like it alot!!!!! Then we left so he could get some sleep and Stac had to go to work. On the way home guilt that we really didn't bake anything was starting to set in, so I decided to go to Papa Murpheys pizza and get Bread sticks that you cook and raw cookie dough. We came home and baked them. And THAT was the extent of our cooking day.

Suprising Seth with a little B-day party at the party house.

Mine and Staci's competition for love and being the the FAVORITE.

Happy Birthday Little Brother!!!

No cousin day next week, due to Kayla and I going to girls camp. But on the 24th we are having a car/bike cleaning/washing day. Yea for us or better yet, yea for the cars and bikes.

A Day At The Park

2008-06-05T17:02:00.029-06:00

The kids and I decided that we need to get out more. So we are going to go to a different park every thursday. This will give us a some free entertainment and togetherness time. We were in Roy today, right in the area where I lived until I was about 11 years old. I took the kids on a tour of my younger years stomping grounds, my old house, my school and the route I walked rain or shine ( my kids have it so easy compared to what I had), my church I went to, where I took swimming lessons, piano lessons, got my hair cut, where my friends lived, where we would ride our bikes ( almost everywhere we went), where would go to get slurpees and candy cigarettes (until my mom caught us walking on a main road acting like we where smoking-not a good day) where we played soccer, and where we hung out. It was very fun going back to those times. My kids don't think its fair that they don't get to go all over town on their bikes and go wherever they please. My response to that is it was a different time back then (now I sound really old) and I do let them do stuff, but I worry alot and would rather have them close by. Anyway, we went to a park and played baseball with waffle balls and plastic bats that Grandpa Holmes brought us. We also played kick ball, soccer, pyramids and layed back and did some cloud watching. We really had a fun time.

We then stopped in and saw my little sis, (Aunt Staci) at work (Radio Shack) and got treats (1 Kit Kat, 2 Snickers, 1 Reeses, and 1 bag of Peanut M&M's). We then went to get some dinner at Central Park in sunset (I really like their fries). Then we came home and sat around and relaxed.

What a day!!!

P.S. I need someone to show/tell/explain to me how to do a slide show on my blog, cause I love taking pictures and it takes up so much room on a post.

Cousin Movie Day

2008-06-03T16:00:00.007-06:00

With cousins, pajamas, pillows, blankets, and our own goody tray how could it get any better than this? Well add the movies Hannah Montana and Water horse and it doesn't get any better!

After a day of movies and ALOT of sugar we needed to use up some extra energy so we decided to go outside and play super heros. The good heros were Suuuper Mom (me, keep in mind we were pretending), Blue Ocean Boy (Nathan), Babylicious (Sammi), Flower Power Girl (Harli), Plaid Glad Girl (Allie) and there are always evil heros which were Hockey Jockey Boy (Brock) and Vine Girl (Kayla). Oh and our names coinside with our capes (blankets).

We had alot of fun running around the yard and coming up with our powers. We where quite amazing and our abilities we had were out of this world.

Some other fun pictures from our day. Don't they look so dang cute?

All in all we had a very adventful day. We're looking forward to next weeks adventure......cooking day!

Fun with cousins

2008-05-27T14:05:00.007-06:00

So tuesday's are going to be cousin fun day! Sara works on tuesdays so Allie and Nathan get to come and play for the day. Some of the things they've done today are watch cartoons, play board games, build huts, played hide and seek, tag and just hung out!

For lunch Brock BBQ ball park hot dogs. (very Yummy!) He sindged is eye lashes while starting the grill but cooked the hot dogs to perfection.

Next week we've planned to have a movie day with pillows, blankets, popcorn and candy.

Harli and Mom date day

2008-05-27T13:28:00.005-06:00

This morning Harli and I went to breakfast at my work. We both had a full breakfast for the total amount of $5.00. After we ate we went to get Harli's retainer, she is having a very rough time getting it in. Once the retainer is in, her top and bottom teeth do not touch and she has a hard time with some words. It will take some getting used to, if she puts it in and leaves it in.

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T13:13:00.004-06:00

A day of family, memories and making new memories. 7 years ago my dad passed away very unexpectedly of a heart attack. I think we all miss him very much and oh how things would be so different if he were still here. Do I think things would be better? Yes and No. Yes, cause he would be here and there wouldn't be the pain and longing for him. But on the other hand, I think when we as a family lost him, we have become closer to our mom and to each other. I feel like we have always been close but it is a different kind of closeness that we have now. I think for the most part, my dad would be proud of his family for how we have and are handling life. well enough of that.

All my family came over for our 7nth annual memorial day BBQ. This year we shared our togetherness with my brother-in-laws mom, Monika and little brother Kevin and Kevins girlfriend Whitney.(their like family) So there was my Mom and Doug, Jason, Sara, Allie and Nathan, me, Brandon, Brock, Kayla, Harli, and Sammi, Seth and his dog puck, Staci and Martin, Monika, Kevin and Whitney. We had a full house with good food. My mom, brothers, sister and I went to the cemetary together to pay our respects. We laughed so much! I don't think we will ever grow up. I love my family sooooo much and am very thankful that I'm in the family that I am in. I also feel very blessed to be apart of Brandons family and love them too. We get along so great and have fun whenever we get together.

School is Out!!!

2008-05-24T20:53:00.011-06:00

This last week has been crazy with school events, Sammi finished pre-school with Mrs. Aunt Sara. Sammi is going to miss her friends and Mrs. Sara (but she'll always have Aunt Sara).

Harli had her 1st grade end of year program. She did really good and sang really loud.

She is going to miss her teacher, Miss Carter.

Kayla had 6th grade graduation. Wow I can't believe she is out of elementary. Kayla's teacher was Mr. Skeen.(He was also Brocks 6th grade teacher-we love him.)

Brock was a true teenage boy getting his yearbook signed by girls. It was fun, Brock came home and handed me his yearbook. Brock let me read thru his yearbook and it took me back to my younger years when I signed year books (I don't think much has changed-"Have a good summer" "Your so cool, don't change" "Call me" "I'm going to miss you" "u r 2 cool 2 b 4 gotten" "see ya next year" "don't forget me". I think the only new things in his year book that was not mentioned in my days were "E-mail me" and "text me".

Well enough of that. Summer is here and there is only a couple of months til school starts again, but who's counting?

F.H.E. @ Staci's 05/19/08

2008-05-24T19:38:00.015-06:00

So we went out to Staci and Martins and had meat and rolls, salads, chips, fruit and pop.

Staci also made us snow cones they were delicious.

We celebrated Allie and Nathans birthdays,

played rock band, games, watched and talked,

surfed the net on computers, scrapbook projects,

And well, we just had alot of fun!!!

SUNDAY A DAY OF PEACE AND REST

2008-05-18T15:02:00.005-06:00

WHAT A DAY! RUSHED TO CHURCH , HARLI GAVE THE OPENING PRAYER IN PRIMARY, BROCK WAS SET APART AS SECOND COUNSELOR IN THE DEACONS QUORUM (FOR A MONTH UNTIL HE GOES INTO THE TEACHERS QUORUM.) KAYLA WAS A YOUTH SPEAKER IN SACRAMENT MEETING AND SPOKE ON THE SUBJECT "LATTER DAY SAINT WOMEN" THAT BRAN HELPED HER WRITE. MY MOM (GRANDMA CHEEVER) CAME TO LISTEN, OF COURSE WE BOTH CRIED LIKE LITTLE BABIES. SPEAKING OF BABIES, ALL MINE ARE GROWING UP SO MUCH WAY TO FAST. WHILE I WAS HOLDING SAMMI IN SACRAMENT SHE STILL CUDDLES ON MY LAP AND I ROCK HER AS I'VE ROCKED ALL MY BABIES. THE THING IS I THINK I MIGHT LOOK A LITTLE FUNNY ROCKING MY 4 YEAR OLD IN SACRAMENT BUT I GUESS I REALLY DON'T CARE CAUSE I LOVE IT. I AM REALLY MISSING THE BABY STAGES RIGHT NOW. (NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE ANOTHER ONE THOUGH.) ANYWAY, I AM NOW ENJOYING SOME PEACE AND REST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THINGS ON MY BLOG WHILE PASSING TIME UNTIL WE GO OUT TO MY LITTLE SIS. STACI AND MARTIN'S HOUSE FOR F.H.E. AND DINNER AND TO CELEBRATE ALLIE AND NATHANS BIRTHDAYS (MY NEICE AND NEPHEW).
WELL AS MAKAYLA SAYS G.T.G., B.F.N. (GOT TO GO, BYE FOR NOW)

WOW, I'M A BLOGGER

2008-05-15T10:59:00.000-06:00

SO I MADE A BLOG! I'M TRYING TO FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT, WHAT A CHORE.
WELL I'LL BLOG MORE AFTER A WHILE.