Our Family

New Family Blog

2009-11-04T19:44:00.002-07:00

You may have noticed that the name of this blog includes 2 of our kids' names. However, we're expecting #3, so here's the link to the new blog...

http://jonnyandheather.blogspot.com

Randolph Quick Trip

2009-11-04T19:01:00.008-07:00

On Halloween, my mom knew something was wrong with Grandma. Grandma had been staying with mom for a few days, working on histories. She became really short of breath, and couldn't move around without sitting a lot. My mom rushed her up to Randolph, where she could be home. They stopped and got oxygen and grandma had taken a water pill, to alleviate the pressure around her heart and lungs...etc. The rest of the day was very scary for my mom. She was worried that grandma might pass away.
So, Sunday, we packed up and went to Randolph to visit. Grandma was doing great! What a nice surprise. Lisa, Dad, and I rode up together, along with Lisa's 3 oldest kids, Tyler, Ashley and Daxton. I loved showing the kids around, telling them about my memories of that special ranch. Here's the pics:

The boys' room...The girls' room...

On our adventure, we found a bunch of cow bones. This was so fun! Lisa and I helped the kids gather some bones, and we explored around the place.
This is my favorite woman ever! Grandma holds such a special place in my heart. She is amazing. I listen to Ronan Tynan's "On Your Way To Passing Through", a song he wrote about his mother's passing after her struggle with Alzheimer's. I bawl my eyes out each time I hear his beautiful lyrics. "But her strength still burns within me, like the day she bade me stand. Put some courage in your dreaming, carve your footprints in the sand. For the dreams are for the dreamers, and the goals for me and you. Light a candle, say 'I love you', on your way to passing through."
We are so lucky that Grandma's mind is alert and quick. She's totally 'with it', but her eyesight is fading, and her heart has a faulty valve that could give up any time. I feel blessed to have her in my life, and will miss her so much when she passes away. Back in August, I blogged a little about my trip to Randolph then, and mentioned something about her love of her siblings. She longs to see them again. Of course, she also misses Grandpa. I have to set aside my own selfish desire to keep her here as long as possible, and rely on the Lord's timing. I'm so thankful that we know about the plan of Salvation, and where she will be when the time comes.I just LOVE HER!!!!!

Fall Fun

2009-11-04T18:25:00.009-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!!
If you were wondering...there's a dead lady, a fireman, the white ninja "Storm Shadow" from G.I. Joe, and Cinderella.
The fireman arrived too late! She's DEAD!

There's Halloween, now: October flew by so fast! Here's a few lil' pics to update y'all...

On my birthday, Jonathan surprised me with a delicious lunch at The Chef's Table, with a beautiful necklace and huge bouquet of red roses. He's such a sweetie!!! Nelly came with me, since I didn't expect such a nice surprise...I should have found a babysitter!! However, she was adorable and well-behaved (for once!!!). It was awesome.
Nelly...the HAM!!!!! She's becoming more and more fun every day. I love watching her come into her own personality and sillyness. She keeps life interesting!!
Here's Nelly cleaning bathrooms with me. She loves this! Every few days, she'll say, "mom! We forgot to clean!!!" She wants to do it all the time. Watch out for bum cheeks!
At Marc and Karen's, we had a delicious turkey dinner. They sang happy birthday to me, too. Jerry, DeAnn, and Kyle were there, and it was so great to see them again. It was so fun!
Here's my bragging moment: I HAVE TONS OF MATERNITY CLOTHES!!!!!! The day I organized these: I cried the whole time. Grateful am I for my sisters and my friend, Shanna. Without you: I'd be naked. Or wearing skin-tight size 6!!!! I have so many comfortable, cute, and FREE clothes!! I had to take a pic, to share in my joy. All of you who have been preggers will understand the joy that comes from even ONE new outfit that fits. Thank you for your generosity!!!

At Hee Haw Farms with Logan and Kristi's boys. We never could get them to look up at us!! It was so fun. It was great to see them again. Isn't it nuts that we always see our bestest friends the least!?
Up on the hill at Grandma's house...

At Grandma's house, playing Play-Dough and loving every minute!

It's a Boy! And some tender moments!

2009-10-12T09:11:00.002-06:00

For those of you who are laughing right now: I know. You saw it coming. We truly believed we were going to wait to find out the gender of our lil' babe until the birth. Yes, we had tricked ourselves into thinking this ridiculous thing. About a week ago, Jonathan and I were talking, and I asked him, "remind me: why are we waiting to find out the gender again?" He said, "I have no idea." So, I took that as a green light, and called Fetal Foto. On Thursday last week, we met there, and were THRILLED to find out that it's a BOY!!!
We would have been excited either way, but it's SO nice to know who's in there! We hope that it's a healthy boy! Everything seems great for now. We're very thankful that I'm feeling much better, and that he is growing and developing well. Here's some of the VAGUE shots.

That shows the 3 little circles, representing the jewels.

This pic, if you can see it, made me laugh really hard. Since it just shows skeletal-type images: he looks like a Halloween skeleton man! He's looking right at the camera here. Psycho!!!

Another "I'm a boy!" shot.

Profile view: so sweet! I watched him stretch, move, suck his thumb, open and close his jaw, flip over, and wiggle. He even had his legs in indian style for a while. I can't believe, at such a young stage of development (14 weeks), he is soooooo real and human! I forgot how fast they change and progress. It's so reassuring to see him moving in there!

On to the TENDER MOMENTS:
Jeffrey R. Holland's talk about the Book of Mormon...if you didn't see it: Click here

Here's a link of Seth Adam Smith's edited version with music and beautiful images along with Holland's talk: Click Here

This powerful, bold, and true testimony of the Book of Mormon changed me. I cannot deny the impressions and witnesses that came to me when I heard his talk. I realized many things. One of which: I love the Book of Mormon.

I have been eating up the Book ever since this talk in a very different way. I have been loving every minute. Last night, Brigham came to lie next to me while I was reading in Ether. He said, "what are you reading about?" I told him that I was reading about the Brother of Jared. He said, "oh, I know him. He built ships that could go under water, and he had lights in them that were stones." I said, would you like me to read some of it to you? He nodded, and snuggled up to me. "Wait, I also know who helped him get to the land," Briggs said. "Who?" I said. "Jesus Christ".

Then, I read Ether 3. As I came to verses 13, 14, and beyond, I became a blubbering mess, and could only stop to cry. Briggs held onto me. I told him that I knew this was true and that I believed in Christ. After I had read out loud the conversation between the Brother of Jared and Jesus Christ, when he learns that his faith is what brought about this miracle of seeing the Lord's finger, then asks the Lord to show himself to him... Ether 3:14 Jesus Christ says "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."

The faith of the Brother of Jared overwhelms me. Jesus Christ told him that no one had such great faith as him. What a humbling experience for the Brother of Jared. Moroni explained that the Brother of Jared "had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting".

I learned so many personal things from this particular study. Having Brigham with me brought the Spirit so much stronger. I hope to have some of that same faith. I appreciate Elder Holland's testimony, now that I've been able to see things differently, and learn new things for myself.

Thanks for letting me share something so personal.

Here's another sweet experience: this morning, before Jonny boy left for work, we knelt for prayer. Chanel wanted to say it. This doesn't happen often, b/c she usually will freak out after volunteer TO say it, by yelling that she does NOT want to say it! We let her say it, and it went something like this:
"Dear Heavenly Father, thank thee for this day. Thank thee for grandmas and grandpas, and Charlie, and Brigham. Thank thee for Daddy go to work. Thank thee for our play. Thank thee for Jesus gets betters. Thank thee that Jesus has no owies. Thank thee for President Monson. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
There were a few repeats, like Charlie, and president Monson, which make it so much cuter! But, I was a boob again! I was so proud of her. This was a prayer that she was thinking about as she gave it. She's not even 3 yet. What a doll baby.

As an aside: one reason I share these experiences is because they so RARELY occur!!!!! I'm not trying to say, "here's exactly what our home is like 100% of the time! Eat your heart out!" ha ha ha ha ha ha. Tender moments is ALL we get sometimes. I just had to put them into words, trying to express how awesome they were to me.

San Diego

2009-10-01T15:29:00.012-06:00

Since Jonathan had to go to San Diego for a fireside and a few meetings, we all decided to come along. What a fun trip!!! It was a long drive, but not too bad. The kids were great. We drove to San Diego, went to the beach, Sea World, and visited some old friends. We only wish we could have stayed forever!! The people in Escondido were FABULOUS. They hosted an amazing fireside, where several hundred (like 700) came to hear about how they can get involved as a stake in online missionary work. It rocked!!!

These Sea World pics are awesome. I love Chanel's face on this next one...
Jonny and Briggs were brave enough to sit on the 3rd row!!! They were right next to that platform in the middle. Nelly and I sat waaaayyy up on the billionth row, to avoid the water. It was a great show, though. I filmed a lot of it...even caught the boys getting really wet!
Our favs: dolphins.
Looking at the otters.
This was the only way to get Nelly to stand by them for a pic...I had to stand there.
Pets Rule show...pig.
Our only full- family pic at Sea World. I was pretty possessive of the camera to avoid any awkward preggo shots.
We had such an amazing time in San Diego. Here's the church where the fireside was held. The members were soooo hospitable and sweet to us. Jonathan and Karen did a great job in their presentations.

Here's a pic of the kids at the stake president's home, where his cute daughters took care of them.
Here's the poster the Escondido stake made for the fireside. They must have done a ton of work to publicize this event. We were shocked at the amount of people who came. Awesome. They were all fired up to get involved in the online conversation about our church.My ideal day: beach!!!

Strawberry Reservoir

2009-10-01T14:58:00.010-06:00

We knew we wanted to go on a family trip with Jonathan's parents and brothers and their families. We just didn't know where. We all had about 10 ideas, but finally: Strawberry Reservoir was the place. We heard the elk (and the cows), wondered about the large hole that was freshly dug near the cabin, boated, BBQ'ed, laughed, s'mored, and all agreed that we HAD to do this again. It was absolutely beautiful there.
Briggs looks so proud here...

Jesica was reading Fablehaven, and was somewhat disappointed when the ending wasn't quite an "ending"...but she looks forward to reading the next one.

Jared always makes us laugh. He's the party man.

Chanel loves his Uncle Jared. He can do no wrong.
Gorgeous view. We saw deer right here, and 3 elk a little further.

Tagg and Grandpa. G & G were sweet enough to stay with Tagg whilst the rest of us partied it up on the boats. Thanks, sweet Marc and Karen!

Here's Chanel with her twin, Grandma Karen. Chanel's middle name is Karen...maybe that's why they look so alike!
Spoiled dog! Charlie was in heaven here!
Chanel in the dog cage...for fun?
Cutie sis-in-law buds! Bridget and Jesica.
I'm so glad I caught this lil' moment of the hand-off. So sweet!
Boston had enough of the tube! What a good sport, though!
Jesica's dad's boat. It was fun to have 2 boats, b/c we could film (and laugh at) each other.
This was the best. Boston and Chanel had a great time together.
Sea monster? Fish? No...it's Uncle Jared..."Lt. Dan!" Yes, he did the Forrest Gump jump of the boat. It was the funniest freakin' thing ever.

We love our family!!!

Passing out at the temple & First Baby Pic!

2009-09-06T19:35:00.002-06:00

Friday was an interesting day. My cute mom drove down from Farmington to babysit my kids, so Jonathan and I could attend an endowment session at the temple. After the temple, we would have just enough time to go to my first doctor's appointment for this pregnancy.

We arrived at the temple a little late for the 7 am session, so we were able to sit in the chapel and just be still and quiet for a while. It was very peaceful. We were asked to be the witness couple for our session, so we accepted. During the endowment session, we were kneeling at the altar together. I started to feel queasy and gross, but didn't know if it was because I was going to vomit, faint, or die! My head started to drift downward, toward Jonathan's hands on the altar. He asked, "are you okay?" and I said, "no." I stood up, Jonathan helped me turn around and sit down. The temple workers all came to help me. They escorted me out, and as they did, I apologized to the people who were sitting there, confused.

They sat me down outside of the endowment room, and called security. They brought a lovely wheelchair, and took me to the first-aid room. I was crying the whole way from embarrassment. I felt soooooooooooo dumb! I was given OJ and crackers, and Jonathan told me to lie down on the bed in there. (It's nice to have an EMT for a hubby during times like this). He was very comforting to me.

Then, we walked down an obscure hallway back toward the locker rooms...and bumped into our friend, Bronson. He looked at the OJ and crackers in Jonathan's hand and said, "did you just get hungry, Jonathan?" We laughed, and then were dressed and headed out to IHOP for food.

Doctor's appointment: all is well! Although, I had to experience both arms getting poked at the lab! Ouchy! Baby has a heartbeat! We're due on April 8th! So excited! Grateful! Glad that day is OVER!!!!

Back to School & Yoda

2009-08-31T14:38:00.003-06:00

Brigham's First Day of School: I thought I would cry, or at least I was told I would cry. It didn't happen. He was fine, I was fine. It was no big deal. Is something wrong with me? Maybe. He's a confident little guy, which made me feel okay about the whole thing. Here's some pics of the day:
With Jordan, his buddy
Mrs. Ball, his teacher
With Matthew
Cameron, Briggs and Matthew
Jordan, a new friend, Cameron, B, and Matthew
Kesley (his sweetie pie), Cameron, B, and Matthew, with Jordan and Ethan in front
Okay...here's the cat. Yes. He's really weird. He's ugly. He was named Cocoa when we got him. We've called him several different names...such as: Smeagol (the character on the Lord of the Rings) and Yoda. He has a smashed-looking face, bright green eyes, and dark brown fur. He's sweet, but makes the strangest snoring sounds. We'll put up with him, I guess.

Payson Lakes, Rainbows & Randolph

2009-08-25T09:51:00.005-06:00

When I got into our truck after church, Jonathan said, "I have an idea." Uh-oh. What could it be? I wasn't in the mood to go home and make a big meal. I didn't want to go visit anyone (I know, I'm grumpy). He said, "we're going to pack a picnic, and drive up to Payson Lakes." Oh. That's cool. So, we did. It was so fun. We loved it. We had a ton of snacks and food, and put on "Annie" on the DVD player for the kids. Here are a few pics of our adventure...

"Somewhere over the rainbow..." dreams really do come true... Okay, enough cheese!!! We get some awesome storms in S.S., but what's really cool: we get rainbows. It's so beautiful! Here's our symbolic "pot of gold" at the end of our rainbow. Again, we love it here.

Last week, I was starting to really miss Grandma Thornock. She just makes me happy. So, I called her on Monday to see if we could come visit for a bit on Wednesday. She was so sweet, and said "of course!" We drove up there, eating the whole way. We chatted as we made "dinner" (the Randolph version of lunch...it was noon), then ate a delicious homemade meal. Did I mention that she's 88 years old? It was fabulous to see her. I love her so much. A tender moment: Grandma and I were looking through her books of family history and pictures. As I listened to her tell me about her siblings, I teared up (good thing she can't see very well). She told me that her brothers always treated her with kindness and respect, even though she was so much younger than all of them. When we looked at a picture of her beautiful sister Donna, who died at 19 from diabetes (frustrating, that we now have so many medicines for this!), Grandma told me how much she misses her and all of her siblings. She told me that she looks forward to being with them again. (drip, drip! I was a boob!) My grandma has a sincerity and purity about her that is unlike anyone else I have ever known. I am so blessed to still have her in my life.

Out on Grandma's porch, where we painted her fingernails...

Briggs took this one:

Grandma was so excited that Chanel finally warmed up to her. It was a great trip, and well worth it!

The Return of Nelly Goosey

2009-08-25T09:26:00.005-06:00

It has happened AGAIN!!!!! Chanel has another big fat goose egg. This time, it's right next to her eye. Awesome. I'm doing dishes last night, and I hear a "BAM!", which turns out to be the sound of Chanel's head hitting the coffee table after her jubilant leap over the ottoman. Jonathan was right there, so he grabbed her to check out the damage. "Holy crap! It's really bad!", says the not-so-calm EMT-Intermediate Firefighter. I grabbed ice, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen asap, and we just cuddled her. Jonathan let her watch Dora (he had to change the channel from one of his classic TV shows, like "Scariest Police Shootouts" or "The World's Dumbest Criminals"). She got to have a warmed-up chockies (chocolate milk in a sippy cup). I went upstairs to be with Briggs, and Daddy and Nelly had some bonding time watching Dora.

She only cried for a few minutes, but I think her parents were a little traumatized. I mean, COME ON!!! This little crazy girl is going to get us a few more stares from the stranger at the grocery store, I'm sure! These pictures were taken this morning. You can't tell that the bruising continues across her eyelid. So sad!

Baseball, new truck, more yard work, baby, Anniversary!

2009-08-13T11:22:00.011-06:00

We had so much fun watching Brigham's first season ever of baseball. He's an incredible athlete for only 5 years old! It's almost comical watching him take it so seriously. We're very proud of him for working so hard, practicing whenever he could with Daddy, and for trying his best. Okay, there. I'm done bragging.

Jonathan's new love... A Toyota Tundra. It's like some sort of manly right of passage. ? I know. We just don't get it. However, I love driving it. I feel invincible and HUGE on the road.
Daddy was holding Nelly and she fell asleep...
Crazy girl loves her necklaces!!! Thanks, Ethan, for giving her the most treasured gift she's ever received!!

At the Bees Game! This kid loves baseball. he watched the whole game, and even moved down a few seats on his own, so he could see better.
Nelly and Mama.
Sorry this pic is turned! This is Riley, our friends' lil' babe. She's a beautiful, easy, and snuggly baby. We got to babysit her for a few hours last week. It was a great experience! I was so baby hungry that day!
Brigham said, "can we keep her, mom?"

After babysitting Riley, I was thinking a lot about how much I really want another baby. Later that night, I realized that I was having weird symptoms (like PMS), so I took a pregnancy test, just for kicks. (you ladies out there know this feeling...you know it probably will be negative, but you just take it anyway!!!) It was positive!!! I started to cry, and went upstairs to our bedroom. Briggs, Nelly, and Jonny were up there, just hanging out. I set the preggers test on the bathroom counter in our master bathroom, then went back into the bedroom. I watched Jonny's reflection in the mirror, just waiting for his reaction. He walked back and forth, looking at himself in the mirror, about 5 times!!!! I was laughing quietly to myself. Then, I asked the kids, "wouldn't it be fun if our family had our OWN baby?" They were like, "ya!!!" Then Jonathan says, "ya, kids, wouldn't we love to have a baby?" I said, "ya, like our OWN baby." He looked up at me and his face read mine. He was like, "really??" I nodded and we hugged and giggled and told the kids that we REALLY were having our own baby!!! We were so excited!!!

The next day, we left on our anniversary excursion. Lisa and Rusty took the kids (and the dog!!!)...thanks, guys!!! Then, we stayed one night at the Grand America, where we thoroughly enjoyed a couples massage at their spa. We felt like we had the hotel to ourselves. It rocked. We ate at Settebello Pizzeria (awesome!!!), which was absolutely delicious! On Saturday, we went to Transformers 2 (yikes. don't take your kids), then picked up our kids and headed home.
The next day, this past Sunday, we got to sing in church with April Moriarty and Todd McCabe accompaning us! ????? Seriously!!! We had such an amazing experience with them. When we were practicing, I was lucky enough to be guided by April as she suggested various pauses, note changes, and where to emphasize words...etc. What a spiritual and fun opportunity for me!!! I loved it. She was very sweet to me, and we instantly became soul sisters. Todd is an amazing talent on the piano, and April was on the piano. They offered to play anytime we needed them! Huh?? Us? The amateurs!?? Awesome. I haven't had really awesome musical experiences for a loooooong time. It meant so much to me.

Enjoying the yard...and dollying up the Dad.
Poor Charlie. He puts up with SOOOOO much!!

Pouring concrete in the walkout basement. Rich, Lenny, Jason, Tony, Heber...and others came to help!
Jason and Crystal...the yard experts! Jason helped us with sprinklers, concrete, the walkout basement...and much more. Crystal: thanks for dinner!!! You're so sweet to us!
Zack, helping his daddy.
RV pad pour...the last of our concrete adventures!
Yard pics...for those who want to see our hard work finally finished!!! (we don't really have plants yet...that will come later. We're tired!!)

Summah, summah, summah-time!

2009-07-23T19:01:00.007-06:00

Brigham's tee ball team...

Brigham on his bike...

On a walk with the Blood's. Love them!!

July 4th at the Callahan's. Fun, illegal, fireworks...courtesy of Matt. hee hee.
Me and Rebekah with our lil' princesses...
Briggs and his poses...
Bee sting....I felt so bad. He needed to change from his swimsuit to shorts... he said "I'm afraid of getting stung by a bee". I impatiently snapped, "you WON'T get stung by a b..." You guessed it: he got STUNG RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT!!!! on his calf... so sad!

Luau Family Time

2009-07-22T22:02:00.008-06:00

Chanel and her bangs...attempting to grow them out...poor thing won't keep a clip or elastic in!
Joshua (Holly and Creston's oldest lil' boy)

Swinging high!!!

Killing time during family pictures, to keep the kids' attention...and to keep them from running down to the trampoline.
Dax, Briggs, Isaac...being patient.
Candid cheeser of me...
Nelly and Joseph. Her bestest buddy ever.

Joshua, Joseph, and Nelly

All the kids on the swingset...Cutie pie...
Lagoon!!! Holly in the background...looking like she DIDN'T just have a baby!!!

Nelly and JosephNelly, awesome Grandma, and lil' Will

Ka-pow!!!
Grandpa's had enough of Lagoon.
Baby Reese (Holly and Creston's new baby girl!!!) with Grandma. Grandma wasn't able to visit right after Reese's birth due to G-ma's painful health issue (which is getting much better...after about 75 days of shingles...she's ready for a break!!!). So, as you can imagine, seeing Reese for the first time in person MADE HER WEEK!!!! Reese has a very special aura/glow/temperment/cute face...she's adorable. We love her so much and are grateful that she's healthy and sweet!!!

Briggs enjoying cousin time on the hill.
Joanna...16!!!! So beautiful and fun! Love that girl.
LIMBO!!!
SURFER DUDE BRIGGS...
Faith...contemplative.
Alan...or...1/2 of Alan. He looks fabulous after losing weight. Handsome brother of mine!!
Carol!!!?? This is basically the opposite of her usual pleasant smile. I caught her off-guard, and she had some fun!!! Love her!
Dad...awake and in his usual happy mood!! Thanks, Dad for a great week!! xoxoxo
Rusty. The funnest brother-in-law ever. He can make you laugh when he gets the giggles...his eyes water and he just brings joy to all of us.
John...the eldest and most awesome guy ever. Smart, fun, and an amazing example to all of us. We miss you already, John!
Charlie got in on the hula action.
Ashley and Chanel.
Dancing with the girls.
Hiking to Pretty Valley. Jonny and Me.
Dad pointing out the scenery.
Race track day...Jonny took the kids and Creston took Joshua to see the Mustangs on the track. They sat in Lincoln's car.
Cuties!

Ragnar Relay

2009-07-10T22:01:00.009-06:00

Here's some more pics of Jonathan's team: Jonathan, Dave, Debbie, Britt, Rusty...Abby's taking the pic.

Honey Bucket laughs...Jonathan's van.
Debbie, Dave, J, Rusty, Britt, Abby (who is possibly getting married??)

Heck yes, that's me!!! I'm actually a "runner" in the race. Our van consisted of Dal, Ben A., Ben L., Andy, Mandy and me. We laughed the WHOLE time. Loved it.
Here's our whole team. (left to right) Dave, Ben and Ben, Dal, Rusty, Andy, Jonny. Front row: Debbie, Mandy, Brittany, Abby and Me.

Here we are again! Finished!!!! At last! We did great!

Beautiful Mandy and tired Heather...we ate the yummiest chocolate and strawberry crepes at the finish line. Yum!
Dal and Heather...Surprised we're alive! Dal had some toughy legs, people! We're so proud of him.

Here's some pics that are actually in chronological order....
The night before, a bunch of us "Legstrong Armstrong" team members gathered on the hill. After the delish dinner made by the aunties (xoxoxo), some of us waxed sentimental, and went on a walk up to the barn, then around and up to the water tank, and pond. It was such a sweet lil' experience. Ben, Dal, Mandy and Angie. I was there, too. hee hee

Ben, talkin' blue gill.

Morning of the race!!!! In Logan, Mandy and I had fun goofing off. Surprised?
Dal and Ben.
Ben and Kimber (Andy's bride of 7 days!!!)
Ben Lundy. And Ben Armstrong
Sistas!!! Lisa was runner #1, and was sooooooo nervous before she ran. However, she had a ton of kills (people you pass, ha ha!!), and felt so great after she accomplished that first leg. Her 2nd leg was a nightmare. Soooo hot, up and over Trapper's Loop (near Snow Basin), 7 miles downhill after a CRAZY uphill of 1 mile. No shade, just hot hot hot hot hot hot asphalt, and hardly any support from her van...due to lack of pull-out spots where they could park. I'm so proud of her! She's my hero!

Andy, our cutie cousin who rocked!

Lisa and Andy, preparing to start the race!

After Lisa finished her first leg, when her "rumblies" were gone. She was so fast!

Poor Andy, barfed next to the van right after this pic. Kimber was like, "what do I do?" We encouraged her to be a good lil' wifey and pat him on the back, offer him sweet whisperings of love...she's new at this, ya know!

Here's our blurry pic at Exchange 12, right after Andy started off on that killer Trapper's Loop run. Jonny and I rarely had the opportunity to snuggle during the race, being in different vans 'n all.

Okay...hold your breath....
Yes, I know...isn't it DREAMY!? Dallas and his name-sake necklace gave us plenty of entertainment throughout the 27 hours. He's the best. Love that guy!
Here he is, as I almost fell out of the Suburban. He ran up 8 miles of straight up hill. A stray dog followed him. We hope the dog didn't end up dead on the busy road.

At the end of the longest 2 days ever!!!! We're at the finish line, awaiting our last runners to come. We were exhausted. Especially Jonny here. He ran the "Ragnar", the leg of the race that goes up 2000 feet in elevation in just under 4 miles. He hauled up it! I'm so proud of him. He had one of the hardest legs of the race. That's my hot husband!!! :)

Who's happy with the grass? Well, all of us. Including Charlie.

2009-07-10T21:32:00.004-06:00

We pretty much have the best neighbors ever. I don't really care if you're sick of hearing that. It's just plain TRUE! 10:30 am, the beloved SOD was delivered. Lo, and behold: the neighbors and friends trickled in, and we rocked it! I can't believe how fast we put down that sod. Ya, it was pretty awesome. Let's just name the names, shall we? Jay, Emily, Crystal, Emerson, Jordan, Matt, Jacquie, Shauna, Devin, and Shadd. Are you for realsies (if that were a word)?!?!?

Shellie, my neighbor, came outside and said, "would you like me to watch your kids while you work?", before the sod even arrived. ???? I know! Awesome possum.

Everyone worked so quickly, yet we had fun, too. It looks so beautiful now! Charlie, as soon as he could, ran outside and rolled, stretched, clawed, sniffed...enjoyed the grass.

Here's the happy 3.

Monster face!!!! Yikes! It's like she's so happy, she'll kill you!

Great wind, clouds...hair.

Charlie seems pleased.

Buddies.

I love this pic!! Poor Charlie gets more "love" than any dog on the planet!...and he loves every second of it.

See??

AWWWWWW!!! Love my boys!

Look at that sly dog!! He's like, "oh, you just don't understand what it's been like with no grass for FOUR straight months!!!!...oh yes, life is GOOD!"

The "sandbox" (or soon-to-be sandbox) under the deck.

Briggs and Nelly

Um...I just had to throw this one in, because Jonny was nice enough to take it of my better side. Um, yeah.

As you see, the grass is in! The left side you see with gravel is going to be an RV pad soon. I'll put more pics up later, when that is completed. We are thrilled!!

Check it out, baby! Freshly laid LAWN! You are like, "um, ya, Heather, that's what it is."

"Animal"...but a cute one!!!

Seeeeeeeee????? Freak. She's gorgeous. I know!

I'll keep you posted!!! Loves to all! xoxoxoxoxo

Doctor Visits, No More Training Wheels and Yard Fun

2009-06-16T08:45:00.010-06:00

Brigham had his Kindergarten doctor visit, and he was Mr. Excited on the way there. However, on the way home, he was shooting me some pretty intense glares in the rearview mirror. He had 5 shots, each one getting progressively more painful. The last one made him whimper, but he didn't scream or anything. I was so proud of him. I felt so bad! I could tell he was a little bugged at me for building up this doctor's visit into something wonderful and fun. Oh well.Brigham loves posing....can you tell?
The doctor was really nice. I hope Brigham will trust me next time we have to go to the doctor!

Thanksgiving Point "Sheep Festival" with the kids...
Nelly on a big horse. She is in heaven here!
Big boy.
On the wagon ride.
Watching the sheep get sheared. They were soooo into it.
Cutest lil' baby horse.

Posing Nelly:

One of the WORST experiences ever: Chanel needed dental work...on every tooth. Maybe it had something to do with the chocolate milk bottles we gave her from age 1 to 2? Every night? Multiple times a day? hmmmm....it makes me wonder what I was thinking!! Well, we realized that the only way to do dental work on a spunky 2 year old is to SEDATE HER!
So, Chanel went to bed the night before her appointment at about 8 pm. In the morning, I woke her up early and got her dressed and we left. We arrived at 8:15 am at the Riverwoods Surgical Center in Provo. When we checked in, we were informed by the sweet receptionist that our appointment was pushed back 2 hours due to a delay (the first surgeon of the day decided to make his 30 minute appointment a little longer. Plus, the anethetist was over an hour late).
I knew that this wasn't going to be a good day. I asked the receptionist if I should just reschedule, and she wouldn't really give me an answer. So, I decided we should just kill a couple of hours around Provo. We went to Barnes & Noble to read and play, after it opened (we waited for about 15 minutes in the parking lot).
Keep in mind, that on the day of surgery, the patient is NOT able to eat or drink ANYTHING. So, Chanel was BEGGING me for food. I was so sad for her! I couldn't even give her water to drink. Jonathan had Brigham at his work (I thought he only would be watching him for a couple of hours).
We got back to the surgical center at about 10:15, to learn that there was still quite a delay. I told the receptionist that this was not a good thing, and that the owners of the center should be made aware of what had happened. I asked for their phone number, and sat down with my little hungry girl. She kept asking me for a cupcake. I was starting to tear up a little, knowing how uncomfortable Chanel was, and due to the anxious anticipation of the actual sedation and stuff.
Finally, at about 12, we were called back into another waiting area, where we found cute Joey Caldwell, the mom of Jonathan's good high school friend, Stephanie. Joey was so sweet and kind, and had a movie playing for waiting kids. Some of the anethesiologist crew came to get Chanel at about 12:30, and she went screaming and kicking in their arms back into the operating room.
I started to cry. The whole morning had been a big nightmare.
I went back to the waiting room, and sat down, alone, to cry. Right at that moment, the manager came to talk to me about my experience at his center. Really? Did it have to be at that moment? He tried to console me, and talked me through the whole day, and why they had the issues they did...and gave me a PF Changs gift card and Movie tickets. Then, I was alone again, waiting for my girl.
Fortunately, all went well while she was put under. She came out of the sedation like a freak, but I'm so grateful that day is over, and we made it through. Only another mom would understand how horrible this day was.

On to a brighter topic: our unfinished yard is now being finished!!!!! Yeah! My amazing parents brought their equipment down. My cute dad searched his whole mountain to find the best rocks, collected them, and trasported them to us. He found over 100 rocks. I can't believe the time he spent, planning, finding, working... I feel really lucky to have such supportive parents!!! They came down, taking time Thursday through Saturday (meaning: dad did not go into his office on those days!), brought in gravel, dirt, tools, and 2 of their ranch employees to help. Awesome.
Don't I look hot??? Ha ha.
Dad and Jonathan, moving dirt around.
Crystal, my sweet neighbor, who always is happy and helpful! We love her and her sweet family. Her hubby, Jason, is doing our cement, basement door, and sprinklers. How did we get so lucky???
We have had many neighbors come over, just to see how we're doing on the yard. Many have come and grabbed a shovel to help. We are amazed at these people!!! Our neighbors are the BEST!!!
Basement is almost ready here.
Trampoline hole!
Jonathan building yet another rock wall.

Here's some exciting news: Brigham rides on 2 wheels! It took ONE try. Seriously. Jonathan held onto his back, but let go after one ride. We were laughing so hard, in amazement! We hadn't even tried to teach him how to ride a bike, and hadn't even had him practice. Jonathan was a proud daddy.
Happy boy couldn't take that smile off his face. He would call out to neighbors, "hey, it's Brigham here: on 2 wheels!!"

At the park, we let B ride around more on his bike. Charlie got in on the action.
The biggest rainbow ever.

Toad found near our house....
We feel blessed that our family is not struggling with major health concerns right now, and our children are growing up happy and healthy. To catch you up on our family: yard is still not done, we have soooo many rocks, it's insane. Oh, Jonathan finally received a calling in our ward! He's the gospel doctrine teacher. He will be great at this. He loves to teach and study. I'm still on the enrichment committee and a girls camp assistant director.
We're running the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back this Friday and Saturday! I'm more than excited about it! I finally worked up to a 10 mile run! I can't believe I'm actually talking about ME! I really think that elite runners want us all to stay fat, so they don't tell us that after the first 1 1/2 miles, running becomes easier.
Our team is Legstrong Armstrong, made up of all my cousins, hubby, and sister! My cute cousins will be the best cheerleaders ever. I can't wait! My wonderful mom offered to watch our kids. I hope we will be able to repay them for all the things they do for us.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO HAVE HELPED US MOVE, WORK ON THE YARD, AND WHO HAVE TAKEN CARE OF OUR KIDS WHEN WE NEEDED YOU!!! We love you!

Chanel's hair (styled?!), Briggs last day of school, & HVC

2009-05-20T13:20:00.003-06:00

Yes, Chanel sometimes has her hair styled. I promise! It seems as though every time I actually style it, she will rip out the bows and elastics, and will most likely collect some sort of food item in her hair as the day goes on.

Briggs will be missing "Circus Day" on Friday, so today is his last day. Mrs. Fairbourn has been fabulous. He loves school!

Grandpa Pedro was walking down the road, so we stopped to let see him. Nelly hadn't seen him for several months, but remembered him right away!

Heber Valley Camp: Legacy Lake. We are sooooooooooooo lucky to be able to take our Young Women here this summer for Girls' Camp. Holy moly. It's gorgeous, clean, new, and we even have a stream that runs behind our cabins. I love these cute leaders that I will be going with.
Maria, Dinae, Mandy, me, Valene

Mother's Day Fun

2009-05-16T20:20:00.003-06:00

"Teent-ter-beohls", said really fast...(Tinkerbell) and Chanel: thinking happy little thoughts.

The best treat ever!!!! Uncle John came to stay with us! Chanel's face in this pic is priceless. She LOOOOOOVED him. Here they are, bouncing on horsey knees!

Nelly's turn!

Mother's Day Program at B's school. He was a champ.

The kid next to him looks so funny in this picture. Briggs loves his class.

Mrs. Fairborne, Briggs's teacher, tells what his favorite thing about his mommy is: "my mommy plays games with me"...the answer that about 70% of his class gave...must have started somewhere, and the creative juices turned off.

Ready to sing a song for us!

At Mom's house: what a treat for her to have John there, along with 2 of her AMAZING daughters! ;)

I am so serious in this picture. Don't you love candids?

Baby, boat, shingles??

2009-05-16T06:50:00.004-06:00

Nelly in one of her beautiful outfits!
See my baby?
Daddy and Briggs on Ricky's waverunner
Briggs driving
Oh yeeeeeeeah!
Nelly and Mama.
Cutie.
Cutie Daddy...cheeser
Nells
Grandma has an owweee! Yes. Shingles. ER twice: no diagnosis. 4 days later, finally a diagnosis. She is in a lot of pain, but is doing okay. Get better mom! This pic was taken on the day we were up in Farmington, "taking care" of her...in reality: she was helpful to me, babysitting as I mowed the lawn. She's amazing. At one point, mom had the leaf-blower out, blowing dirt around. I know...she's so stubborn!!! :) Wonder where I get it from?

Renewed Motivation

2009-05-15T09:59:00.002-06:00

THIS IS OUR AWESOME LOGO, courtesy of Dallas Graham, my AMAZING cousin! Our Ragnar Relay shirts will have this logo on them...and seeing this just made me renew my energy and excitement for this race. I've struggled this week with motivation, and I had a sort of bad run on Tuesday...but now: ROCK ON, BABY! I'm all in.

Tree lifters and the fright of the carwash

2009-05-08T08:44:00.003-06:00

When we moved, I hoped that Briggs would find a buddy. Guess what is so awesome? There are tons of kids his age. He is loving life! There is always someone to play with. At the park the other day, they all marched off to find ladybugs, then came upon a huge tree that had fallen. What do you do with a fallen tree? Lift it. Move it. Grunt.

Matthew, Cameron, Briggs, Brig (yes! So fun for B to have a twinner-named buddy!), and Zack: the muscle-men.

Carwashes are a mixed blessing. They give me time to quickly clean the inside of the car, text, pay bills...etc., but Chanel can make things interesting. She gets really excited/scared/crazy whenever we go into a carwash. She's really afraid of it, but we turn it into a game. I'll pretend that I'm scared too, and this was her reaction to the game:

She is ALL PERSONALITY!!!!!!! Goodness! She makes us laugh all of the time, unless she's making us crazy! We love her!

I wanted to write down a couple of quick things about Briggs...

My friend, Sheri, was the primary chorister for Briggs in our last ward. She reminded me of something funny that B said in primary once. When the kids were asked, "what is the daddy's job?" Briggs raised his hand and said, "to keep the mommy happy!"
This morning, Briggs explained to me that our dog, Charlie, had a "dried-up piece of cow" in his mouth. It was one of those raw-hide pieces. Ewww. Hearing it described that way made me sort of vomit in my mouth.

Catch up time!

2009-04-27T21:44:00.013-06:00

I know! I know! I am a slacker! Fine. Whatever.

Here is a lil' update. First off: I must jump to the important thing. I am now running in the Ragnar Relay with my family! (24 of us!)

"Bahhhh!", you say? Well, for those of you who know that I am a Diet Coke addict who HATES exercies of any kind: SURPRISE! I guess that's not who I really am anymore! Ha Ha! Gotcha! Okay, enough of the dramatics. Let's just re-cap...Mandy called me a week ago. She told me that her brother, Ben, wants us to run in the race, since there are only a couple spots left. I thought I was being PUNKED, but nope: this was real! Mandy, the bestest friend ever, who convinced me to audition for A.I. (American Idol for those of you who don't live in this world)....anyway, Mandy is theeeee ONE who forces me to live my life. We all need a Mandy.
She convinced me that I could run a minimum of 12 miles (split into 3 legs over 2 days time) in this crazy relay in June. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Yes. Me. (Sarah! I know what you're thinking!: Heather won't stick to this...she'll be begging to be back in the DC co-op asap). Guess what???? I haven't had a caffeinated beverage in over a week! How do ya like them apples? I have only wanted water. Weird!
However, I am committed. I have been running right on the training schedule for the Wasatch Back, suggested on their site ragnarrelay.com . I am so excited about this, that I am jumping out of my skin! I can actually run for 35 minutes straight without vomiting! I have shocked myself. Today was the hardest run so far. I ran straight up a hill for about 15 minutes without stopping. Me. ME!!!!!!! Needless to say, I am very proud of myself! I cannot believe that I am a runner now! Wednesday is a 50 minute run...but Saturday's will be 80 minutes!!!!! Yikesters! I am loving me some "Gu" and my new running shoes! I listen to Coldplay's "Prospeckt's March" album every time I run. It's the perfect mix.

By the way...my disclaimer: I am vying for THE EASIEST SET OF RACE LEGS AS POSSIBLE: RUNNER 7.

So, there are other members of our family. oh!

Jonathan has been coerced (by me!) to also run in the race! He already is a pro. He ran 9 miles on Friday like it was a stroll on the beach. Nutty man! I am very excited to run with him. He's a machine!

Okay...on to the fun: PICTURES!

This is lil' man Briggs. Such a good boy! He's been really sensitive lately, which is sometimes cute and other times: annoying! However, he is all boy and very friendly to everyone he meets. He loves all of his buddies out here in SS. Zack (a.k.a. "Zacky") is his fav. They are little explorers.

Nelly with her Snow White toy. She is really being cute lately. I think she's pulling out of the terrible 2 phase. We laugh at her every day. She is really into singing, and does it very well (phew)!

In their element: at the cousins' house! Joseph, Nelly, Dax, and Briggs

Nelly's new bestie: Savannah. They are 5 days apart. Our front doors face each other (well, at least until someone builds on the lot on the corner that separates us).

At Gardner Village last week. The kids were so cute! I watched Lisa's kids while she met with her designer for an hour. They played and ran and giggled the whole time!

Check out these best buddies! Joseph and Nells.

Joseph is full of animation! Excitement, enthusiasm, and happiness...

Briggs, Joseph, Nelly and Will

Briggs

Watching the ducks and fish

Will was perfect the entire time! He's such a sweetie.

There goes Joseph again! ha ha

Joseph on his horse

Nelly in her comfort zone....thanks to Grandma "Horsey"!

Yee-ha!

Briggsy the Cowboy!

Okay, here's the thing: Wal-mart + Oversized Barbie on sale = trouble. Barbie is Nelly's dancing partner, movie buddy, and friend. They dance a lot. Especially when that Barbie movie is playing.

Drum roll please.......................................................

We went to WICKED!!!!! I have hated all of you who have seen this without ME! Now, I don't hate you anymore. We saw it and were blown away. The traveling cast was out of this world good. Talented beyond belief. I was brought to tears many times, with an overwhelming shock at the gifts these singers/actors have. Whoa.

It didn't hurt that Kyle Korver was there! Hallelujah! He's so cute. He wore a maroon colored sweater over a crisp white w/ thin stripes button-up shirt, dark flat-front chinos, and adorable white (hip! ;) "I'm too cool to be 'completely' dressed-up" shoes. Awwwwwww!

I tried to get a paparazzi shot, but too many peeps were in my way! Argh! And, I was a little nervous to talk to him...so I chickened out.

Okay. I loved this pic, until Faith pointed out that there is a nose-picker in the background! Dangit! What a nerdy dude.

Blurry shot at BOONDOCKS for Briggs's friend's party. Nelly was awesome.

Riley and Briggs: break-dancing.

Aw-yeeeeeeah!

Nelly outside of Boondocks

Daddy and Briggs after the bumper boats: they were soaked to the bone! They had a blast!

There they are!

This was the funniest thing! Nelly put a token into a machine and hit the jackpot! It was one of those silly machines that just steal tokens, but her token hit the thin line on the jackpot! 260 tickets came flying out, and she was trying to keep them off the ground. I was laughing so hard, I almost fell over! People were staring and laughing too. Nelly loved every minute.

Brigham on our driveway, busting a move on the scooter.

Nelly on her scooter!

I know! She's growing up! Sooooo crazy. This was at B's school, while we waited for him to come out.

Look at her HAIR!!! She HAS hair! Yippy!!! We love our goose!

Brigham's 5th Birthday!!!

2009-04-04T09:47:00.009-06:00

Dax is so happy for Briggs! He knows all about the Wii!

Happy Birthday!

Boston and Briggs

Sweet kid...a little overwhelmed with gifts, but still sweet.

The party! Family from both sides came all the way out to our house to support Briggs!

Grandma Karen lovin' on the birthday boy!

Tyler, the awesome cuz.

Daddy-O

All the healthy food...

Brooklyne

Nothing bonds mother and daughter like a big yummy chocolate cupcake.

Jared is at his usual (and appreciated!) post: the BBQ grill. Mens corner out on the deck.

Cute preggy Bridget and preggy..., um, Dad. Just kidding, Dad! Love you!

Daddy gives Briggs a boat toy on his birthday morning.

The criminals. Nelly and Joseph.

Awwwww!

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Cuties.

Chockies bobbies. (Chocolate milk)

Best buddies

Fun pics

2009-04-04T09:20:00.004-06:00

Here's Nelly with an "ow-eee" on her hand, eating lunch with Mommy at Kneader's...yum.

Here's Nelly posing. She's a lil' show-off. I don't know where she gets it from...

Snuggles!

Motorcycle at "Cookie Cutters"...waiting for Briggs to get his hair cut.

More snuggles. This was our last Sunday at our Alpine ward. We will miss all of our sweet ward members and neighbors!!!

Snuggles again. We are loving this new phase for Chanel. She finally is nice to us. No, I'm serious. She was a mega-beast up until the past month or so. She now can have a tickle war while giggling the whole time. She used to laugh for about 2 seconds, then find something insanely dangerous to throw at her opponent, while growling and screaming. We are holding our breath on this one. Let's just HOPE she remains a sweetheart!!!! Pray for us! Ha ha.

At Cookie Cutters. Briggs loved it. He sat in a race car and had suckers and balloons...nice touch. Sorry it's all out of order. It does that when I get pics off my iPhone.

This was an adventure: stuck in the McDonald's drive-thru. Why? You ask? Well, I had nowhere to turn, after finding the note on the board that stated, "Our system is down, thank you for your patience". The problem: it was 11:45 am. Brigham has school at 12. I was trying to get a "quick lunch", so he wouldn't starve through school...by 11:56, we were finally at the ordering window. I saw an opportunity to cut right, so I bailed. I hurried to B's school, fed him a piece of bread that we found in the car (I'll admit: it had a teeeneeeey lil' bit of white-ish mold on it). At this point, I was desperate, okay? Anyway, he is still alive, and I made it to lunch with my friends.

One more story. I went to my first girls night out with some Saratoga Springs friends, which was totally awesome. They are all so fun and nice. Some silly things happened though. Crystal, my adorable neighbor, planned for us to go to a musical at the Scera Shell Theater in Orem. It was called "Bugs". I was really excited, because I love musicals. I hadn't seen it before, but was ready for something new and fun. All 7 of us sat in our seats, and waited for the show to begin. A teenaged girl came out and welcomed us to "Bugs", and thanked us for supporting this kids, and announced upcoming summer camps. We all looked at each other, and put it all together. This was a childrens theater group. I got the giggles, and couldn't stop laughing (as quietly as possible). Poor Crystal! She thought this was a normal musical, since the man on the phone told her that it was a wonderful show, and well worth our $6. We could barely contain ourselves. She kept saying, "I'm soooooo sorry! I'm so sorry!" I thought it made the night even better than if it had been a normal play or musical. The kids came out on stage, wearing really shabby bug costumes, and sang their lil' hearts out. It was ironic, since many of us like girls night out for the fact that we get away from children for a couple of hours.... We sneaked out at intermission, laughing our guts out.

I was so excited to meet another Heather, who was in Latter-Day Celebration (the same choir Jonathan and I met in) the year before me. We had a ton in common and tons of people we both knew. It was great. Well, we went to Chili's, because we were starving. I ordered salmon. Bad idea. I ended up with a fishbone stuck in the back of my throat! Ewww! I went to the bathroom, to see if I could see it, and pull it out. It looked like a white sliver stuck back behind a tonsil. Yuck. It was so creepy! I was a little scared, so I called Jonathan. He said he had the tools to take it out (my cute EMT). By the time we got home, though, it was gone. Weird.

Well, things are off to a fun start, I know! Ha ha!

March went out like a lion

2009-04-04T08:33:00.003-06:00

Hi friends and family!

I wanted to update all y'all on what's been going on for our family for the past month. As I said before, we have moved. Love it! Saratoga Springs is beautiful and we have fallen in love with the people already. We have adorable neighbors, who have stepped it up to help us out a lot. We have a few old friends out there who are wonderful too.

On moving day, we had an army of people who showed up to help. What a nice surprise! I cannot believe the amount of time my friends put into our move. Some spent well over 10 hours packing, driving, organizing...etc. Unreal!!! Listen, you Alpine-Nay-sayers: there are many amazing, solid, Christ-like people from Alpine. I love my Alpine friends.

The house that we moved into is so fun. It is very open and roomy, light colors, lots of windows...we feel at home already. We didn't have to buy any furniture, because it all just sort of works! The only thing we're saving for is a big ol' flatscreen TV. (whatever, Jonathan!)

We have planned out our yard, and are begging for the weather to change so we can start digging. My first goal is to put in a garden. I don't even care about the grass as much as the garden. So, we'll have to get it all piped and plumbed and built...but I'll be happy if I can have a full-blown garden this year. I'm really excited about it!

We have felt very welcome in the stake and ward. There was a new stake formed, called the Saratoga Springs South Stake, which we are a part. The stake conference was amazing. We were surprised to find our kids were almost perfect for 2 whole hours. The spirit was strong. Most of the talks were testimonies, since many were the newly called presidency members. The ASL translator was fabulous. We watched him most of the time, especially during the songs. Wow. He was so expressive and awesome. Jonathan bumped into Jason LaRue, an old mission buddy. That was cool, because Jonathan went and stood by him when we sang "Called to Serve", as a surprise. They hugged and had a lil' moment. ;)

Our Bishop came over the other night, and we chatted for about an hour. He is so cool. The next day, he called us to ask us to speak on Easter Sunday. Mixed blessing! I have already loved studying for my talk, but can't put it all together. I am speaking on Christ's Ministry on the earth. Jonathan is speaking of the Atonement and the Resurrection. Kinda big topics, eh? I'm thinking of focusing on the Savior's power to heal. I hope I don't bawl through the whole thing!

So, the kids are adjusting well. Briggs is in the same preschool, but at their Saratoga Springs location. He loves it. And I love it, since it's $35 bucks cheaper every month! ?????? I know. I guess I didn't realize how expensive the other location was...oh well!

Thank you to all of you who helped me so much! You have made this move soooo easy and fun. And I feel blessed to have kept so many good friends, even through all of my ups and downs. I don't deserve you. xoxo

My alibi...

2009-03-03T10:07:00.006-07:00

It's been a LONG time since I've posted anything on my blog. I can explain.

We have sold our Alpine home to the cutest, nicest people. Ned and Cindy. They came to our home with my friend, Charlyn, the week after we took our home off of the market. We had felt so bugged with how the market was going, and how much effort went into every showing. Any of you who have sold a home before...you understand. It's a nightmare.

They walked through our home and loved it! They kindly offered to allow us to stay while we find a home. We found one! It's in Saratoga Springs (shown above). It is a 2-story, cute house. What's even nicer: it's 1/2 the price of our Alpine home. Translation: we're finally down-sizing. However, it doesn't feel like it, because the home is so darn cute! It's very open and spacious inside. I'll post some pics soon. We should be closing on it within the next week!!!

Ned and Cindy have been so wonderful to work with, we can't believe such honest people actually exist!

I have not had much time for blogging, emailing, calling, or really ANYTHING, other than packing, cleaning, running errands to get both houses in order....the whole bit. I appreciate all of you who have shown us such support! We are so thrilled to be moving, but will miss our ward and neighbors here in Alpine. We have grown so much here and have met life-long friends. I hope Saratoga Springs can handle us!!! We're a little crazy!

xoxo

A day in the life...

2009-03-03T09:59:00.004-07:00

Here's Chanel....she's 2. Enough said.Brigham always cheers up Chanel. He's a champ.

Loves!

Trying to kiss each other.

Watching the David Foster concert on PBS. Holy cow, it is an awesome concert. The kids were dancing all over the house.

I love this one.

Chanel on the trampoline.

Oops!

Strut your stuff, girl!

Chanel in her new Sweater.

2009-03-03T09:49:00.004-07:00

Our wonderful friend, Alicia Guerrero, made this sweater. Yes, it's hand-made! Many hours of labor...just look how adorable!!!!!

2009-01-19T08:28:00.006-07:00

Here is a wide array of pictures (poor quality courtesy of my iPhone) of the last few weeks. I'll get that battery charger for our real camera soon! Enjoy!

Dino Museum with Grandma!!!
Note B's leg.

Cutie pies!

The Fam!

Brigham's first swimming lesson last week. He loved it.

The kids before school. Jessica is Brigham's buddy.

This is Chanel, taking after her name's sake in fashion...

Brigham wrestling with L.E. out at the Haynie's home. Blurry, because they were going crazy!

More Dino Museum...

Sleeping in the car on Christmas Eve, in new PJs from Grandma and Grandpa

Brigham is zonked, too....and with his trust "Brown and Green" to comfort him, there's no turning back.

More of L.E. and Briggs.

More fashion....

Bubbles!!!!

Shaved head...like Dad.

Christmas Eve...we had some visitors to our home. Mr. and Mrs. Claus!!! John and Sheri Sundwall from our ward. They are always so sweet to our kids!

Grandpa John-John, or Santa Claus with B.

Why no pictures of Chanel? Oh, because she was screaming in fear.

B and Joshua at Grandma's house.

Happy kid at the doctor's office.

He had just come from the dentist, where I noticed a scratch on his eyeball. He got drops and we went home...the whole time...he was happy. Chanel was happy too, because she had the full attention of the Neeleman kids at their house. She didn't want to come with me when I went to pick her up! Thanks, Christine!!

This is our most prized possession. It's a print on canvas of Mark Mabry's "Ascension". It is huge!!! We were honored to receive this print from Mark a few month's ago. Jonathan and I hoped to get it framed, but knew it would cost some bucks! I sneaked it to Robert's in early December to get framed for Jonathan. A few days later, J's parents were here at our house, and he wanted to show them this awesome print. He couldn't find it in our house, so asked me where it was. I said, "oh, I put it up, so the kids wouldn't bother it." He was like, "soooo, where is it?" I said, "It's put away." Then, he caught on. His mom just smiled. We laughed about it, and I told him that it was SUPPOSED to be a surprise. Oh well. It looks so great, we don't care that the surprise was ruined.

Jonathan's Fire Academy Graduation

2008-12-24T19:52:00.007-07:00

At UFRA (Utah Fire and Rescue Academy) for graduation!

Putman and J

Lawrence sitting behind J

Jonathan running across the stage to receive his certificate.

At Tepanyaki with our parents to celebrate graduation and Jonathan's 31st birthday!

Brigham's Christmas Program

2008-12-24T08:30:00.004-07:00

That little cutie behind B in the black dress his Jonathan's cousin's daughter, Taylor. She goes to the same preschool!

Daddy came to support Briggs.

So did Nelly, the crazy hair girl.

She loved it, and danced and sang along.

Itchy hat! He did a little dance with 2 buddies, acting like a train engineer. The video didn't work. Sorry.

Brigham was the train engineer. He had so much fun...even though he looked like he might fall asleep by the end.

Brigham's stitches this past summer

2008-12-23T09:28:00.004-07:00

The back of Brigham's head...at the doctor's office.

One joyful kid, even when he's been hurt. He felt pretty cool in his head-wrap.

I finally retrieved these pics off of my cell phone, even though this was during the summer. He fell out of Grandma Armstrong's wagon, onto a small rock, which split his skin on his scalp. He was so brave at the doctor's office. It was scarier for his mom, I think.

Christmas is Almost Here!!

2008-12-22T14:41:00.007-07:00

Ready for church on the Sunday before Christmas!

Brigham went sledding, and was a mad-man!

Chanel is cheering on Briggs

Ready to sled!

Beautiful snow!

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this one.

Charlie...

Nelly

Nelly in her Wall-e pjs

Dancin' around the Christmas tree!

2 Surprise Visits!

2008-12-08T23:54:00.004-07:00

Can you see the baby-fat that's coming back? Yep, we're back on bottles! Yikes!
Charlie, looking longingly out the door...but is ever loyal and obedient...waiting there for the call.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!! I am learning how to use photoshop, and will hopefully improve shots like this in the near future. This pic is Nelly, all the way.

Caramel corn from Grandma!!! Such a great visit. We love Grandpa and Grandma!

Look at the love...you can just FEEL it.

Lots of laughs! Sorry about the color on this one...I don't know what I did.

Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dimples to share.

Big ol' kid is gonna break Grandma's back! He's growing so fast.

Sweet, beautiful Grandma Karen...

Uncle Jared stopped by! Nelly thought she'd get more of him than she did...when he left, she cried and cried.

Feelin' the love.

Kisses? With all that hair!? Oh, yes. She loves every minute.

Here comes Daddy...

For the grand FINALE!!!

Grandpa and Grandma stopped by on Saturday to bring the kids a treat...unfortunately, I ate most of it...Karen's homemade caramel corn. Then, Jared came Monday morning before Jonathan had left for work for a bit. Hey, these kids will take 'em any way they can have 'em! Oh, how they love the Johnsons...all of them! Grandpa and Grandma just love on them like crazy! Uncle Jared gives hairy kisses, that make Nelly giggle...it's just way too much fun. We love our family!

The Fake Santa

2008-12-08T23:25:00.003-07:00

Oh goodness. This was fun. Brigham was so excited to see Santa, and sit on his knee. When his turn finally came, Santa asked him if he was a good boy, and if he slept in his very own bed, and other cute little questions. Brigham came to me after and said, "Mom, that was the fake Santa". When I asked him about it, he said, "he was wearing human clothes underneath". Awww! So sad. His face was really bummed out. He is 4 1/2, and thought that the black t-shirt underneath meant it wasn't the REAL Santa. I explained as much as I could about Santa's helpers, but he's still pretty disturbed by the whole thing. We need to watch "The Polar Express" again...

More B-day pics

2008-11-30T19:45:00.003-07:00

The birthday girl at Gardner Village

Briggs eating lunch at the Naborhood Bakery...yum!

Elves! ...oh, and the Barbie piggy-back rides...

Sweet kids. Excited to see everything!..p.s. that cute cabin in the background on the right is my favorite building there. It's so pioneer-ish. Love it.

4 Generations: Grandma T, Grandma Gloria, me and Nelly. Again, this was one of those days when I never had time to look in the mirror. Not lookin' so "with it." But nobody really cares, right? I had such a great time, when Grandma T helped me get the house straightened up before Nelly's party. She polished my tables and chairs while we talked. She is such an amazing example to me. She has gone through A LOT in her life, and is now faced with more challenges in her family. I asked her how she is holding up through it all...she told me that she has faith that the Lord has a plan and she is comforted by that. She said that she just takes what comes, and realizes that she should submit to His will. I stood by my sink, trying to fight my tears. She has so much wisdom and purity. I just love her so much!

BG w/ the B&B (Birthday girl with the balloons and blankie, you know?)

Maaaaaahhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeine! (mine)

Uh!

Nelly's 2nd Birthday!

2008-11-30T08:23:00.006-07:00

The balloon hog!

Lovin' on Grandma!

Cute Briggs

Playing with those darn balloons again!

Grandma Horsey is pooped! Long day....but ain't she gorgeous!?

Grandpa and Nelly Goose

Grandma, Maddy, Jesica and Brooklyne

Silly Uncle Jared...Nelly's buddy

Ready to blow out the candles!

Devin and Bridget! Aren't they cute!? And...we just found out they are having another boy next year! Congrats!

This is a bad pic...but there to prove I was somewhat involved.

Oh yes...the girl's got style!

Uncle Jared and Brooklyne helping Nelly read her new Fancy Nancy book

She sat like this on Jared's lap for a long time, just enjoying every minute!

Cute Jesica!

These iphone pics are far from clear...sorry! Our other camera's battery died after 2 pictures...I'll post those once we figure out where its charger is. Grandma Thornock was there, and the other camera has pics of her...so I'll post those asap.

Chanel is giving us a run for our money. We are trying (I repeat: trying) to get her off of the bottle...I mean...she's 2, for crying out loud!!! But she does not like drinking out of anything else...which makes our lives somewhat crazy for the time being. She screams and cries most of the time. We are wondering if any of you have any suggestions? Helps to get off bottles and try something new? Last night, Jesica gave Nelly a sippy with one of those straws in it...she did pretty good. I think that she's just used to the bottle as a night-night helper! So, nap and bed times are crazy. She'll just sob in her little crib, "no wan it!" (meaning: don't want this stupid sippy cup you gave me...it's not the same). What do we do!??? Help us!??

Chanel was adorable on her birthday.

2008-11-19T21:21:00.008-07:00

Nelly gets an early birthday gift from Aunt "Weesa" and fam. She is thrilled!

Barbie...and a horse that walks on its own!

So sweet! Thank you, Cannons!

Joseph and Nelly get the water play table to themselves!!!

What is she putting in her mouth? I don't know...but, she and Joseph later were trying to put their faces in the water and then they sprayed each other with water while giggling!

Cheese! Will and Nelly...enjoying the warm weather... in November!

Feeding Will his food!

Cute Will!

Crazy boys! Briggs and Dax

Wiggly Will!

I loved babysitting today! I got to just hold him and snuggle him! He is the cutest, sweetest baby! He was so lovey-dovey to me! So sweet!

Cute boys.

Nelly, B and Joseph

Joseph and Dax

Having a great time!

Hilary called and asked if Briggs could go to "preschool day" at her junior high for one of her classes. He was sooooooooooo excited, and had a blast! Thank you, Hil! Briggs feels like he's one of the big kids now!

Ready for Christmas already!!!! Oh yeah!

Lookin' good!

We have had some fun times around here lately. I am sure my children think I have become "monster mom", "the cleaning nazi", or "naggy mom of the century". Having our home on the market does not make me a very nice person to be around. I am so self-conscience now about how clean my house has to be every morning. For those who know me: you know I DO NOT usually care about having everything perfect. However, this selling house stuff has changed me into an OCD crazy mamma!

We went up to the Cannon's while Lisa competed in her tennis league. The kids love being together. We just wish we had all of our cousins nearby, so we could build these fun memories with all of them! It was so beautiful today outside. I cannot believe that it's almost Thanksgiving...it feels like early September. It's gorgeous.

Life is good...even when it's less than perfect!!!

Jonathan's "Mini-Me" Argument Put to Rest

2008-11-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

As you can see on the 2 previous posts: my children look more like me than they do Jonathan. It's settled, then!

Ha! I strongly disagree, though! If I could be the judge, I would say that they are way more Jonathan than me!

Johnson Look-alike Meter

2008-11-12T16:14:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Old photos - Roots

Johnson Look-alike Meter

2008-11-12T16:10:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family heritage - Black and white photographs

Too messy?!

2008-11-07T17:44:00.002-07:00

Um...have you ever been told that your home was messy?...and it was another adult, not one of your kids? Ya. It's not fun.

My real estate agent called today to update me on the feedback we've received from the past couple of viewings. He said it went great, but they thought the house was too messy.

This is coming from a family whose agent called 30 minutes before they were coming to our house. Did I mention that I was not home? Did I also mention that the kids WERE home? With a babysitter? I had called my awesome neighbor, and she ran over and threw stuff wherever it would fit, and cleaned up as fast as she could. Love her!

However, after all of this...we receive this stupid news from some sort of picky snobs who cannot see what the house could possibly look like if that one basket of laundry weren't in the laundry room. BOO HOO!

Can you tell I'm upset? You're right. Selling a house is NOT FUN AT ALL! Oh well, I'm done venting. Thanks for reading.

Halloween!

2008-11-05T10:09:00.007-07:00

Daddy and Nelly

2008-10-22T20:55:00.002-06:00

Nelly looked so cute this morning, I just HAD to take pictures of her. Jonathan's pretty dang handsome, too....if I do say so myself!

Okay, so I'm weird

2008-10-22T20:47:00.002-06:00

Sarah told me that I could just keep this blog, and make it private. So, that other blog make just end up being some random thing I do for fun. Maybe I'll start putting on posts of my favorite things on that one. I don't know. But, for now, just keep coming to briggsandnelly.blogspot.com

Sorry I'm so confused! Love all y'all!
Heather

New Blog...

2008-10-22T12:36:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone! I have made a new blog, that doesn't include the kiddles names in it. http://gooseyloo.blogspot.com It's private, so if anyone was not invited that would like to be invited, just email me, and I'll invite you.

Thanks!
Heather

briggsandnelly@gmail.com

Kitties and Horseys!

2008-10-22T07:58:00.003-06:00

Nelly is alright, now that she's having her turn.

All the kids are in the truck!

Hide and seek!

Grandma Gloria helps the kids all have a turn!

Nelly with Salt and Pepper

Conference Weekend!

2008-10-09T16:24:00.002-06:00

Cute Grandma Thornock came down for Conference weekend. It was fabulous! Thanks for your hospitality, Mom and Dad! We always feel so welcome and loved at home!

Fun times with the kids

2008-10-09T16:08:00.004-06:00

We met up the canyon to play in the leaves and in the stream! The kids ate PBJ's and watched falling leaves...a little piece of heaven. Plus, Elizabeth and I had a great time chatting and catching up. We love our family!

Lunch out with Daddy!

2008-10-09T16:04:00.002-06:00

We got to spend time with Daddy for lunch! It was so fun! The little greek place was soooo cheap and very yummy!

Nelly's Usual Fashion Statement

2008-09-30T15:28:00.003-06:00

Every woman has the dream of having a daughter. She hopes to have the kind of daughter who loves girly things...such as dancing, singing, coloring...etc. Every once and a while, though, a girl is born who not only loves all of the girly things in life, but loves all of the boyish, gross, messy, disgusting, and dirty activities. Chanel is one of these specimens. See for yourself...

I was downstairs getting out the Halloween decorations for about 5 minutes. That's all it takes for this suspect in crime...she was covered in dirt in the backyard, wearing only her diaper. Yep, that's Nelly.

Motorcycle Kids

2008-09-27T07:49:00.002-06:00

Nelly loves to sit on the motorcycle!
Look at that belly!
Proud little girl.

Just thought I'd make you jealous.

2008-09-18T23:02:00.001-06:00

This is a picture we took at the Coldplay concert. This was such an amazing concert. In Vegas in July...it was hot outside, but we were rockin! Hope you music lovers can get to this concert in SLC in November. Chris Martin is an amazing performer. Love him!

Race Car!

2008-09-11T22:56:00.003-06:00

Robert installing Brigham's pedal extender

Daddy and Nelly

Nelly cheering for her brother

Lincoln, Brigham, and Daddy...thank you so much to Lincoln for our lil' go-cart!!!

Racin' kids

Brigham was surprised when he received his new race go-cart! Jonathan asked Brigham if he liked the go-cart with the flames on it, and asked, "what if it is your race car, Briggs?" Brigham's face lit up and he jogged in place while smiling really big! He was adorable. He loved it. He was a little scared of the loud engine at first, but is getting used to it and is getting more and more confident. We equip him with a neck/spine protector, chest-protector, helmet and protective clothing when he practices...don't you worry, people. We'll do our best to keep him safe. Rock on.

Gratitude

2008-08-30T13:59:00.005-06:00

I usually just post pictures and exciting things on my blog. Today, I feel really grateful for many things. I thought I'd list some...I may add more later. Who knows? But, I have to preface with a disclaimer: I don't allow myself to feel grateful like this every day...dang it! If I did, I wouldn't be writing about it. I feel different today. My gratitude list today is:

My children: I have felt that each moment counts with them. The adorable family in Saratoga Springs, who lost their little boy when he was run over, has given me new perspective. Like most of you who heard about it, I was devastated and saddened by this tragedy. My cousins are close friends with them, and wrote about it on the Graham Clan's blog. When I read about it, I cried. So, I began to think about my own kids. They are 90% fabulous. I am trying to not let the 10% get in the way of enjoying them every minute I have them. I learned a couple of weeks ago at a choir practice led by Sister Webb that every time you enter a room, you either add to it, or take from it. Especially when entering my own home, I'm trying to remember this important lesson. I want to generate good and great things to my children. Believe me, I have a long way to go.
Health: our little family has not faced a serious illness yet. How can we possibly know how hard it would be to not have our health, unless we loose it? Even with this stupid viral cold thing our family had a couple of weeks ago, now Jonathan has it...that thing threw us for a loop. No energy, nothing is getting done around the house...etc. I feel very blessed right now for our family's health.
Safety: we pray for it every day, don't we? Do you? I truly feel that Heavenly Father has blessed our family with this simple blessing. Both of our kids have had head injuries in the last few weeks. They are both OKAY! How can I dismiss this as just "luck"? I can't! I am overwhelmed that they are both healing fine and doing great.
The Resurrection: today in the car, we saw a dead deer on the side of the road. Briggs was so sad. But he told me that he thought its spirit was with Jesus. I agreed with him, then watched him in the rear-view mirror, as he was quietly thinking. Then Briggs said, "Mom, I don't want my spirit to leave my body when I die". We talked about Jesus Christ, and how his spirit left his body, then came back to it when he came back to life. In testifying of this beautiful gift we have, I gained further strength and testimony of it. Brigham was clinging to ever word I said. I felt a HUGE responsibility to get it right as I was telling him about it. He got it. I think he already knew it, but it comforted him when he was thinking about how scary death seems. Whoa, I'm teary right now. I feel like a rock is in my neck!
Jonathan: nothing in my life would be the same without him. He is my best friend. He is an amazing dad. He misses his kids so much right now, because he's not home much. He is in the Fire Academy, and really is only home 3 evenings a week and Sunday...the rest of the time he's working or in his classes. He has so many idiosyncrasies that used to drive me BONKERS!!!...such as... (I know your spouse has some of these things, too): carrying his toothbrush with him around the house while he brushes, then leaves it somewhere new each day...forgetting where exactly it is the next day...; he takes off his shoes and socks wherever he wants to...and I have the privelege of detecting the smell in order to find them a day or two later, shoved between the cushions of the couch; he never know where his wallet is, or his keys...it's the biggest mystery to him how they end up where they do once he finds where that is; he schedules dinners/parties at our home with friends, and fails to mention it to me until the day of the dinner...they usually fall on the day when my house looks like a bombed-out bunker with toy/clothes/papers/garbage-shrapnel everywhere; he buys motorcycles and sells them months later, only to buy another; he always asks me, "where's that one belt of mine?"...I have no clue, where did YOU put it, Jonathan?; he double-books things A LOT!...and I'm usually the lucky one to call to flake on one person or the other...the list goes on and on! HOWEVER, these little quirks and pet-peeves have become more than endearing to me. I wouldn't like him if he didn't do these things. It's who he IS. I wouldn't have him any other way. Because, these things are only 1% of what he does. Jonathan is amazing. I don't care who is reading this, going: oh, come off of the CHEESE, Heather!...truly, I just don't care about you right now people! I just love my husband. I love that he's not perfect, because I sure as heck am far from it. We sort of weave on and off of our paths, but we always, always, always, can find each other in the middle of the path again. No matter what. He hasn't failed me yet. I always can depend upon him: not necessarily to find his keys, but in all of the important stuff. That's why I am grateful for Jonathan. I love him! (okay, cheese session is over)...
Time: because I'm out of it right now, but I'll possibly add more to this list soon. Thanks for reading!

Brigham's fun day that ended at the Instacare...

2008-08-29T17:41:00.004-06:00

Cute Briggs and Baby Will
Briggs is always the kind and considerate brother that we hoped he would be...okay, maybe too considerate.
Proud Nelly! Grandma's little permanent lap fixture. Nobody else is allowed, in Nelly's book!
Holly is having more fun than Joshua!
Staples in Briggs's head...poorly done by the rent-a-doc at the Instacare in Bountiful. Dang.

We are so excited that Holly and Creston are in town with lil' Joshua! He's so cute. He's almost a head taller than Chanel, and she's older!

The kids had so much fun riding behind Grandma in the cart...until tragedy struck. While it was parked, the boys stood up and somehow lost their balance. Grandma was shocked to see them all on a pile on the ground. Blood everywhere, thanks to Brigham. Dax was scraped up with a bump on his head. Joseph was okay. I took B into the Instacare and he received 2 staples to close up the hole in his scalp. It was not fun. However, he was so brave and didn't even cry once we were in the car and on our way. He had cried to not go to the doctor...but I think he just didn't want to leave Grandma's house. He's doing great now. It only hurts if he bumps it. He doesn't complain, otherwise!!!

This was his first injury-visit to the doctor in his life! Can you believe we made it 4 1/2 years!?

Briggs's First Soccer Game

2008-08-23T13:33:00.004-06:00

Check me out! Briggs, Kade, and Landon
Ready to go!
He's got it!
And...face-plant! He jumped right back up. It was so funny.

Brigham amazed us! We know that he's a cool kid, and tons of fun...but we didn't think he had caught on to soccer, since we haven't really practiced much. However, Briggs kicked the ball up and down that field! He was an animal! We loved watching him rally his team and cheer for the others on the field. He was such a great sport, and loved every minute. His team didn't win, but he had a blast!

Campin' with the Capels!

2008-08-23T13:07:00.003-06:00

Daddy and Brigham putting up the tent.
Dan and Valerie...expecting their third baby in a month!

Brigham and Pierce
Daddy and Nelly
Heather, the pyro, stoking the fire. Caroline, Val, Briggs, Pierce, and Nelly hanging out until dinner's ready.
It all started with the idea that the men were going on a camping trip for the night. Great! The girls get a break, right? No. They tell us to come up and have dinner together, then we can go home to our own beds. Okay, but that's it! We finally get going up the canyon at about 5:30 pm, Val and I with our little girls in her van and the boys in our van ahead of us. We follow them to a campground that appeared to be perfect...until we notice they are turning around. They think it's too busy at that one, so they want to drive up to Cascade Springs and find another place to camp. Ugh! Okay, fine...but hopefully they find something quickly...the baby's are hungry, we're ornery...it's time to find a place and stick with it. We turned onto a dirt road, or shall I say "sharp rock" road. Oh yeah, off-roadin' in the Odyssey is awesome. We drove for about 15 minutes on this road, to find several great campsites they could use...but they kept on drivin'. We were losing patience, and it was about 6:15 by now. Then, they decide to turn around on a single-lane dirt road, and help us do the same. They weren't sure that we'd even stay with them (in marriage or on the campground). However, we finally found the place. It was beautiful there. Aspens and pines all around, and a small stream nearby.

We had a spectacular meal, courtesy of Chef Dan. Perfect steak, corn, and fresh-herbed potatoes. We had smores and snacks and enjoyed our time together. Then, we left the men and Charlie to fend for themselves, and the girls went home. Maybe they will talk us into following them to go camping sometime....just maybe.

Brigham's first day of school

2008-08-23T13:02:00.003-06:00

Brigham is ready to go to school! 3 mornings a week. He's lovin' it!

At the park after school on the first day. Nelly, Brigham and Jessica

Nelly was 1/2 laughing, 1/2 crying...because she couldn't get her whole face above the table to see the camer.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Karen!

2008-08-19T07:37:00.003-06:00

Here's you and the kids this past March...
Hugging Jesica at your "Happy Retirement" party!
Mr. Fireman at his 3rd bday...
This is a tender picture of Nelly Goosey when she was only about 2 months.
Happy to be with grandma!
We miss you way too much! On your birthday, we thought about you and wished we could see you and hug you! We know you'll be back, but it couldn't be soon enough! Please know that we love you so much. The kiddles miss you too! Have a marvelous time, and feel better! Love you!

Happy Birthday!!!

Brigham's amazing surprise...shhh!

2008-08-17T14:33:00.004-06:00

Check out this face: he has no idea!... Brigham pretending to drive such a cool car...not knowing that Garrett is checking to see that it fits the cute kid!
Oh yeah!
What is with this hat? Dude!
The king of the world!
Brigham has no idea what is about to hit him. We are overwhelmed, too! Our amazing friend, Lincoln Watkins, has been busy building a customized race car for Brigham. Seriously. We are so excited and grateful for this chance to get Brigham into racing (don't worry...just for fun, supervised, with all the protective gear...etc)! On Saturday, Jonathan and Brigham went with Lincoln out to Tooele's Miller Motorsports Park. Garrett, the manager over the small race cars, measured Brigham as he sat in his (not knowing it's his) race car. Brigham will be totally blown away. They have never built one for such a little guy. In a couple of weeks, he will be gifted with the nicest thing he's ever been given ever...or probably ever will be gifted. I will be keeping you posted on the race car. Shake 'n bake!

Did I mention that I like the slip-'n-slide?

2008-08-17T09:06:00.003-06:00

I have no idea why I did this...in the heat...at the reunion in Logan...I just did it. Who knows why.