Thanks...

Seriously, where is the time going??

I am starting to get a little edgy with the shere speed of these birthdays - they come faster and faster....but I guess it doesn't matter when you are forever 29, right???

Just wanted to give a thanks to friends to took me to lunch on my birthday, and friends who went to the movies with me (and got me out of the yawner part of back to school night) - and the emails - I heart you, really - thanks for making my day awesome!

Spencer & Pepe

Newest news:

Spencer & Pepe's cute story is on the front page! Check it out! http://www.bestfriends.org/

Of course I have to share - I'm a proud Mama - it really is quite tender...

Read Pepe & Spencer's Story!!

We visited Best Friends Animal Sanctuary last June - and they wanted to feature him because of their story... it is so cute.... click on the link!

http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&mode=entry&entry=59325BC9-19B9-B9D5-9D952507B6C0FA75

How sweet, right?!?!?

Bad Mom or Horrible Addiction - or both...

I was totally freaking out last night....

So, while I was sick, I decided to re-read my most favorite book series --- yes you guessed correctly, Twilight - I am getting butterflies just thinking about it - just kidding... Whooo.... :)

ANYWAY ---

So, in bed for a couple days - and I got through 1, 2 and half of 3 -- I (of course) couldn't stop there, and had to finish 3, right?!?!? When I finished, I went down to put 3 back and grab 4, of course I had to finish the whole series! That would be like getting to the SuperBowl and bow out at half time!! Well, I went down to my bookcase where I proudly display all 4 books, and Breaking Dawn was missing....WHAT?!?!??!?!!??!?! So, I started to panic...thinking, have I lent it out? have I put it somewhere? what, what, what??? I asked the kids - nope. Asked the hubby - nope. And nobody would help me look!!!

Bribery. I'm terrible.

So, I said, "I would hate to not find it tonight and have to buy a new one tomorrow" - well, my plan worked, that got my hubby looking. I'm terrible.

I told the kids that a huge reward would be in full force for anyone who found it. Then I heard it. Spenc said "not interested" WHAT - bribery always works with him. Then I realized it. I am a bad mom. addicted. at least with dr pepper I can walk around, do my things, talk. But, Twilight - on the couch, nose in book. All 1500 pages or so. I'm terrible. So, I promised that they wouldn't even know I was reading this time - they obviously remember the last time I read those addicting pages. 800 or so pages - less than 48 hours. Whoa.

About 30 minutes of frantic looking (and a little guilt) --- Allen found it!! Then I heard it - another pang of guilt. Cam & Spenc - almost in unison - "how did you find it??" What??? They had HID it from me?!?!?! Can you say bad mom - So, needless to say that was a HUGE wake up call for me. No more reading when they are home. That is ok - as of right now - I am home during the day with no kids!! (That is why I am half way done) So, if you don't see or hear from me after tomorrow for a while, it is because I am spending all those hours with no kids, catching up on the things that didn't get done during those 5 days of reading....the sacrifices. I'm terrible.

Happy reading....

Yum....

Fun Summer Pics...

Here are some pictures from our summer...

Band Night - June.
Megan did her drill team routine to "Footloose"



She also played her clarinet with the 5th Grade Band



And, Austin played his trumpet with the 7th Grade Band.



Bryce Canyon...breathtaking. I wish our pictures did it justice!



Moqui Cave - in Kanab. Super cool.



Zions National Park - awesome - again, I wish our pictures did it justice!

We did a lot this summer - it was great! We all had such a good time!! I just wish gas wasn't so much - so did my wallet. We practically had to take a 2nd on our house just to pay for the gas!! sheesh!! But, with all the craziness - the memories are priceless!!! We miss it for sure!! Can't wait for next summer!!

I love my church....

I love my religion. (http://lds.org/) I love being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. (http://www.mormon.org/) One of the things I love is that you can sign up to have inspiring thoughts and quotes emailed to your inbox each day! There are ones that focus on the family, the youth, young single adults, and church history. Today, I love my church even more than I did yesterday. Because I got this in my inbox today...

Family Prayer Is Powerful and Sustaining

"The Savior told us, 'Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed' (3 Nephi 18:21). In our day, the Church urges us to have family prayer every night and every morning. . . ."Family prayer is a powerful and sustaining influence. During the dark days of World War II, a 500-pound bomb fell outside the little home of Brother Patey, a young father in Liverpool, England, but the bomb did not go off. His wife had died, so he was rearing his five children alone. He gathered them together at this very anxious time for family prayer. They all prayed . . . earnestly and when they had finished praying, the children said: "Daddy, we will be all right. We will be all right in our home tonight."" 'And so they went to bed, imagine, with that terrific bomb lying just outside the door half submerged in the ground. If it had gone off it would have destroyed probably forty or fifty houses and killed two or three hundred people. The next morning the whole neighborhood was removed for forty-eight hours and the bomb was finally taken away. On the way back Brother Patey asked the foreman of the A. R. P. Squad: "Well, what did you find?" "Mr. Patey, we got at the bomb outside of your door and found it ready to explode at any moment. There was nothing wrong with it. We are puzzled why it did not go off" ' Miraculous things happen when families pray together."

James E. Faust, "The Lifeline of Prayer," Ensign, May 2002, 60-61

I hope we can all feel the love of our Heavenly Father and the power of family prayer. I know that our families will be blessed when we pray together. I am so grateful to belong to a religion that recognizes the necessity and power of family unity. To me, there are very few things that match the beauty of a family kneeling in prayer together.

Have a great Monday - and don't forget to pray!!

First day of school...

The first day of school was a success!!

Austin is in 8th grade now...yikes!! That means that next year he is in High School - double yikes!! How can I be old enough to have a kid in High School next year?!?!?!? He likes his classes and teachers.

Megan is in 6th grade - Middle School now...again, yikes!!! She was really nervous but had a great day. She loves her classes and teachers as well.

Spencer is in 3rd grade - loves it - misses Ms. Gullotta from 2nd grade but he has a great teacher and will like her just as much!

Ok, so do you want to hear a funny story??

At the end of each school year, there is always alot of switching around of the teachers. There is at least 1 teacher from each grade that moves somewhere else in the school. One of the teachers that switched was Mrs. DeLaura - she switched from Special Ed to a regular 1st grade teacher. Well, Cam ran for the mailbox every day for 2 weeks before they got their new class/teacher assignments for the new year - they were so excited!! Anyway, when Cam opened his, he started to cry! I was like, Cam, what's wrong, he said "I must have done really bad in Kindergarten, and now I have learning problems because they put me in special ed!!" I looked at the list, and sure enough, his teacher was Mrs. DeLaura, the old special ed teacher!! Needless to say, I had a little explaining to do - he was fine after I explained it - but it was super funny - and another glimpse into the mind of a 6 year old!! Now, he is super happy to be in her class - he loves her already!

They all had a great day!

Our Summer...finally

Ok, so here is a partial rundown of our super fun, super crazy, super busy summer!

The first week we went to our family reunion in Monroe, a little tiny town just outside of Richfield in southern-ish Utah. It was so great - we learned a lot about our family history, and did a mini handcart trek. For the trek, we each had a name of someone who died along the way - which was really touching - it was like a way for them to be there....even though they never made it. Spencer was harnessed to the wagon - because one of the families that crossed the plains had their 8 year old son harnessed to a wagon, and pulled it the entire way. It was neat for Spencer to feel just a tiny piece of what one of his ancestors, who was the same age as he was, had to go through to get to the Salt Lake Valley.

All the families were divided into groups - your "trek family" and we are standing in front of one of our ancestors cabins - the original cabin that belonged to them. It was so awesome!

After the reunion, we went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, in Kanab Utah - one of my new most favorite places! This was one of the most special and awesome things we have ever done. All the animals there are rescue animals. Spencer's class sponsored a pot-belly pig named Pepe. And we decided that we needed to go visit him, and that is what sparked the idea to go and spend a couple days there. It was awesome - highly recommend it.

(http://www.bestfriends.org/)

Spencer's story will be featured on their website - they are in the process of writing now, so we will let you know when it will be on!! It was a really sweet experience... All of us were very sad to leave, and got very attached to all the animals we took care of.

Megan's dream came true - to take care of the horses. This horse is Shadow. He took a liking to her as well. She spent 4 hours taking care of the different horses. She came back wanting to take them all home with us!!


Cam's favorite was the bunnies - he loved it because one of them jumped right into his lap! It was really cute. They all had such a great time. We are even more excited to go back next summer!!

I will post more later - don't want to go too crazy!!!!