Finally Done!

I always say I am going to get a head start on this!  I never do!  So here it is summer, and the 2014 blog book is done!  When will I learn!

Starting Over

So this year we decided to redo our bedroom.  I thought I had pictures of the yellow walls, but I don't.  They were not very good.  What were we thinking?  Think of macaroni and cheese!  Enough said!  Also, we have had this bedroom set for 26 years.  Not the mattress, but the set.  In fact we have had this set since the beginning of our marriage.  Don had it before that.  It was in his bedroom.  How sad!  We had children and we just kept spending money on their bedrooms!  We kind of forgot ourselves.  Last year, we decided we needed to change.

Don painted the walls a light grey, but up crown molding, changed the floorboards, the fixtures, and got shutters.  It took a lot of work, but he did it all himself.  We decided to try and sell our bed set.  Who would want it?  We honestly didn't care.  Well someone called us and wanted it.  They took it off our hands for $175.00.  They redo furniture and this was her new project.

We sold it a little too quick.  Our new furniture was not in yet, so we had to live like poor college students.  Don didn't even have a dresser!  It was pretty funny!

Then our new set came in and everything came together.  We love it!  The bed is so wonderful.  It is comfortable and it is a king!  We needed the space.  The kids love coming to bed and snuggling  with us.  Don doesn't like that part, but I do.  The room came out great.  Now Don is off to his next project!

 

 

 

Father's Day!

It's Father's Day, and we already celebrated last week.  We have to get Aubrey up to dance camp, so we had to celebrate early.  I didn't want the day to go by without acknowledging my husband.  Don't worry, even though Don is speaking in church this Sunday, and Aubrey is leaving for camp, we still made the day special.  Oh yeah, he went out to dinner yesterday and got some Queso Ruffles. (He fell in love with them in Mexico.)  So, it is still a special day for him.  Anyways, on Father's Day I totally focus on him.  There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is because he is the most amazing father.  He loves his children with all of his heart.  From the moment they were born, he was amazing.  I don't think there was an adjustment period for Don, he was a natural father.  The moment our babies were put into his arms, he loved them and took care of them.  I know, when he is at work or doing other things, his heart is at home.  It is where he wants to be.  He loves to be with his family.  He gets involved in everything they do.  He does scouting with them, goes to airshows, plays video games with them, hikes and camps with them, and just love spending time with them.  When they said they wanted to be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, he made it happen.  I am sure he didn't know anything about rugby, lacrosse, or dance, but now he does.  He is the best dad on the sidelines.  Drives to practices all the time.  He is the best dance dad.  He will go and sit through competitions, dance shows, and drive to dance camps!  He will never miss concerts, award ceremonies, performances, homecoming and prom pictures!  He is there! He will sit on a computer for hours just to make sure his son on a mission will have the best college schedule when he comes home! Most importantly, he is the spiritual leader of our home.  I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man.  My children are blessed to have such a wonderful father.  Don, we love you!  Nobody can ever say you are a bad Dad! You are perfect!

 

 

 Enjoy this video!  Happy Father's Day!

 

Father's Day, A Bit Early

So last Sunday we celebrated Father's Day.  Why??  Well, unfortunately we have to leave on Father's Day to take Aubrey up to dance camp. (Yep, another one!) We have to leave right after church, and that didn't make it relaxing for Don. So we decided to celebrate the Sunday before.  I am glad we did because it was relaxing for him.  He also has to speak on Father's Day, so this Sunday was better.  He wanted a turkey dinner, so that is what he got.  He also got his favorite no-bake chocolate cheesecake!  I hope he had a good day.

Love this picture of the three of them.  How cute are they?

Of course we can never be normal during anything!!!

We got Don an Alabama t-shirt.

He also wanted a Alabama jacket.  All of his jackets have his middle school on them, and he wanted something different.  So I found this light jacket for him.  He seemed to love it.

Of course I have to interview the kids.  I love getting their answers to questions about their dad. Here it goes.

 

Ian

1.  What is something Dad always says to you?

Turn off the lights and I'm gonna clean your plow

2.  What makes Dad happy?

Alabama beating Auburn.

3.  What makes Dad sad?

Auburn winning.

4.  How does Dad make you laugh?

When he says his Idahoen sayings.

5.  What is Dad's favorite thing to do?

Watch football, hike, and camp.

6.  What does Dad do when Mom is not around?

Acts like a child.

7.  What's Dad's favorite food?

Chips and Queso

8.  How are you and Dad the same?

We both like camping, hiking, and watching Alabama football.

9.  How are you and Dad different?

I have hair.

10.  What makes you proud of Dad?

That he is a good person.

 

Aubrey

1.  What is something Dad always says to you?

He always greets me as "daughter".

2.  What makes Dad happy?

Alabama

3.  What makes Dad sad?

Alabama loosing

4.  How does Dad make you laugh?

When he goes all "Dance-Dad" at shows and competitions.

5.  What is Dad's favorite thing to do?

Play games with us.

6.  What does Dad do when Mom is not around?

He becomes a bigger kid.

7.  What's Dad's favorite food?

Snickers

8.  How are you and Dad the same?

We both have OCD, but Dad's is way worse.

9.  How are you and Dad different?

Dad doesn't understand girl talk.

10.  What makes you proud of Dad?

He is always in-tuned with the Spirit and serves so much in the church.

 

Austin

1.  What is something Dad always says to you?

Hello

2.  What makes Dad happy?

Family time.

3.  What makes Dad sad?

Not being able to do a back flip

4.  How does Dad make you laugh?

He is just my dad, he is hilarious.

5.  What is Dad's favorite thing to do?

Watching Alabama crush Auburn.

6.  What does Dad do when Mom is not around?

I feel like this survey might just be a trick to ask this question.  So I plead the 5th.  You really don't want to know!

7.  What's Dad's favorite food?

Ribs!!!!!!!!!  (I said that in a barbaric Viking voice.)

8.  How are you and Dad the same?

We both love sports and video games.

9.  How are you and Dad different?

I am stronger than him!

10.  What makes you proud of Dad?

My Dad's the jam, so anything he does makes me proud.  I like when he says, "lame sauce".

Working Girl!

A couple of months ago Aubrey got this email about a job.  It was for Hokulia Shaved Ice.  She applied and got the job.  We are super proud of her because she did this all on her own.  It is a great job and her boss is great about the kids taking days off during the summer to go on vacations, EFY, and other things.  Aubrey started her job today.  She loves it.  It is fun.  We went by to give our support and see her.  She was embarrassed, but oh well.  She will love it. 

Dance Camp

The real reason we went to St. George was to see the dance team dance at Dance Camp.  It is Aubrey's last one.  She is a senior, so this is it.  Also, she is captain and we wanted to be supportive. of her and the team.  They had a great time.  It was fun seeing what they are working on.  I think camp is good because the new team really gets to know each other.  It is great!  Now some of the Utah drill teams are very serious.  They dance different than us.  They are drill, where we are more dance.  You know that show Toddlers and Tiaras.  They talk about pageants and then they talk about Glitz pageants.  Glitz pageants are over the top.  That is how Utah drill teams are....over the top.  They are awesome at what they do, it is just different than what we do.  The only awards we won was the spirit award and the hip hop master class award.  Aubrey loves this camp. She said it is hard, but worth it!

Part of going to see the girls at was seeing them dance some of the new choreography.  They learn new dances that they will take to perform during football games and such.  They only learn these dances in 1-3 days.  These videos are a little rough, but it is a preview to the new year!

They made Aubrey take a hip hop class!  We all know how that goes.  Well, let me tell you, she is getting the hang of it!  She is killing it!



While the Girls Danced, We Played...St. George

 This last weekend Aubrey had dance camp.  Don and I decided to go to St. George to see the girls perform.  It was Aubrey last dance camp, so we thought we should go up to St. George.  While the girls were in dance classes, Don and I kept busy.  Don has always wanted to take me on this hike, so this was our chance. We went on the Kanarraville Creek Hike, or Kanarraville Slot Canyon Hike.  (Kanarra Creek is a scenic slot canyon hike just north of Zion in Kanarraville, Utah. This relatively easy hike explores a scenic, photogenic canyon that doesn't require the technical demands of other Zion area canyons... but does require the use of some rickety, dynamic ladders which may or may not be present. Be prepared to navigate a number of obstacles on this hike and to get wet along the way.) It was a pretty hike.  I really enjoyed it.  It was so green and the river running was so pretty and nice.  I loved it. Hopefully Don enjoyed it too.  My feet were cold because of the water, but I would do it again.  I think the fall would be a pretty time to do this hike.

We also went to the St. George Temple.  It was fun to go to a different temple.

 Then we heard about this place!  It is called Sparkle Mountain, Glitter Mountain, or the Glitter Pit.  It is located approximately 10 miles south of St. George. It is a huge Gypsum mine. As you drive up the Gypsum just glitters on the ground.  You can take a hammer and chip off pieces right from the rock.  The pictures don't do it justice! This made Don's day.  He loves stuff like this.  I am sure we will be back out their with our kids.  It is pretty cool.  We were told this was used to help make the plaster of the temple, but after doing some research, I can't find any information on that.

We also went to Pioneer Park.  We were just hanging out and Don wanted some pictures of the whole valley. I think we could of spent longer there.  It was pretty cool.  A ton of stuff to do.

It was good to get away.