It's Contagious

We have a serious illness at our house . . . and it's catching!

At first I seemed to be immune to this malady, but last night I was up until after midnight due to a fever. The worst part of it was that I went to bed earlier than everyone else in my family. Thank goodness it's summertime because . . .

Everyone in my family has caught Olympic Fever!

Your family may become infected too. Here are the symptoms to watch for:


Intense family discussions about the ages of Chinese gymnasts.

Your 10 year old can recite every word of the Visa card commercial that ends with "Visa, a proud sponsor of the Olympic games and the only card accepted there."

Your new goldfish is named Phelps.

You suddenly don't have a problem with your husband and teenage sons watching women play volleyball in bikinis.

Your daughter has become a huge Michael Phelps fan. (Case in point: As I typed this, I said, "Wait, what's the last name of that swimmer?" With a shocked look on her face Marianne replied, "Mom, you forgot Michael Phelps name?! Everyone knows him!!")

If your family catches this disease, don't worry. It will likely go into remission for 4 years (well maybe only 2. We love ice skating & skiing too.)

I'm back!

Busyness seems to be epidemic today! If you ask someone how they're doing, most of the time they reply, "I'm so busy." I have even heard teens and kids competing in the "I'm busier than you are contest."

So at the risk of sounding like a whiner, I have to tell you how busy I've been!!

Maybe you've noticed that I haven't spent much time online. (If you didn't notice, just pretend that you missed me. It will make me feel better.)

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth, nor did I give up blogging. I have just had an incredibly busy summer. In fact, I was only at home 8 days in the month of July. For a homebody like me that is a big change!

I have lots to post about our summer, but I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought of getting caught up on all those back posts. So I decided I'll start with today and then work to get caught up a little bit at a time.

It has been great to be home this week. Here are a few of the things we've been up to:

Marianne has been busy with creative endeavors such as:

Taking great pictures of her little brother

and making really cute cards. Here is a sample of some she made for her Grandma, who requested a set of "thank you" cards.

Evan has been busy playing hard.
This picture cracks me up. He had two friends over to play and here is how I found them. All three sitting there playing DS. In their defense , they did spend quite a bit of time outside too. Evan has also been busy with swim and golf lessons this week. John is thrilled that one of his children has finally taken an interest in his favorite sport!

Aaron has been busy studying and spending time in the great outdoors. Here he is with an onion he helped Evan grow.

Aaron is also working on his Eagle Scout project. Here's a close-up of one of the park benches he'll be replacing.

Ryan is busy working and getting ready for BYU Idaho. I helped him order towels and bedding online from WalMart. Then we'll pick them up in September in Rexburg. I laughed when he told me that he wished they had laundry soap in little tablets like they do for the dishwashed. I was very proud of myself when I found these online. You can read all about them here.

Ryan was happy about the laundry supplies, but for some reason he is a little more excited about the new laptop we're going to order next week. He doesn't really want one of course, but he HAS to get one because BYU-I has a Laptop Initiative and is requiring all students to have a laptop this fall.

I'm wishing our family had a laptop requirement, because I could really use one. Maybe I wouldn't be so busy if a had a laptop. Whatdya think?! Unfortunately, the laundry dropps fit in better with our budget now that we have a college student.

Evan the Pilot!

Evan had an amazing opportunity! His Cub Scout pack participated in the Young Eagles program. Evan got to actually fly a Cessna 172 airplane!

Thanks to the pilots who so generously donate their time to this program.

Family Reunion

Our July started out with a bang! We spent lots of time with family in Utah and Wyoming.

Marianne was very popular with cousins Max & Maddie. Their Mom Julie used to play dress up in these very same outfits!

Fireworks were a highlight of the trip. The kids went wild with fireworks. Evan & Josh even lit a firecracker outside of church on Sunday. I just looked around saying, "Whose kid is that?"
The fireworks in Evanston were unbelievable. We tried to watch the display put on by the city, but we kept getting distracted by fireworks from other areas. We were surrounded by 360 degrees of fireworks. We weren't sure where to watch. The explosions were everywhere. It was definitely more exciting than California, where even sparklers are illegal!

This is the big tree planted by John's great grandpa out on the family ranch. The family still owns the property and we had a fun reunion at his aunt & uncle's house.

The egg toss was a highlight of the reunion. John & his cousin Connie were the winners.

My kids were thrilled when the thunder and hail started. Only in Wyoming!

Fortunately the weather cleared up and I took this picture of the family!

Evan and Josh loved these cool sculptures and had to try making their own.

I love family reunions!

My Little Girl!

Having a daughter is one of the great joys of my life. After two sons, I wasn't sure I would ever have a girl. I had an ultrasound, but they couldn't tell the baby's sex. Then in the last month of my pregnancy I had another ultrasound and my doctor was sure it was a girl. I wasn't convinced, but I did go buy one girl outfit "just in case".

Marianne was a "mommy's girl" from the beginning. She wanted me to hold her all the time, even when she slept. Thankfully she did love her swing, so I could put her down occasionally!

4 months old - She looked like a little angel in this outfit.

2 years
Marianne's planning & organizational skills were already developing. She knew exactly what she wanted for her 3rd birthday party and she planned the whole thing.. My boys didn't even know what a party was when they turned three!

7 years

Marianne has always been a thoughtful girl. She often sends get well cards or notes of encouragement to friends and she never forgets a birthday.

She is still planning great parties. She had a luau at the beach to celebrate her 12th birthday!

She decorated the cupcakes herself.

As pretty as a mermaid.

I love you Marianne!

My Favorite Colors!

This is the time of year for red, white & blue!

My Aunt Muff brought Grandma for a visit and it was wonderful to see both of them.
Here we are out by Jenny's pool.

Thanks to Marianne, our house is decorated for Independence Day!

More of Marianne's work

Only in Wyoming . . . the wind makes for some great patriotic photos.

I am blessed with a great national & family heritage.

Happy 4th of July

My Mountain Men

John & Aaron had a great adventure in June. They went to Yosemite with the Young Men in our ward. The trip started out kind of rough when the group got off the trail and spent many hours struggling to get back on track. John lost his sleeping bag along the way and spent the night beside the fire trying to stay warm.

Fortunately things got better! Another hiker found the sleeping bag and the climb up half dome was amazing. I think that Aaron's favorite part was bringing home those "over the edge" pictures that make me sick to my stomach.






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