The Secret Life of Bees

I finished my book yesterday. I really enjoyed it. The narrator is a young, fourteen year old girl. She is brave and triumphs through a lot of ills in her past that haunt her daily. She finds love and that makes the difference. We all just need to be loved! The book is being made into a movie, so that will be fun to see in the near future.
I decided to read New Moon next. The is the second book in the Twilight series. I know this series is all the craze, but I didn't love, love the first. Then I heard the second isn't as good, so I didn't think I would read anymore of them. However, I hear that after the second they get really, really good! My bff, Mal is really into them. She is hilarious about it. She's probably sporting a Team Edward shirt right now, wearing plastic vampire teeth in her mouth, and intensely reading her new book as I type. So, I thought it would be fun to get in on the excitement with her!

Please Don't Go!

Me and Angie B!
All our little ones...Zach, Molly, Avery, Owen (where's your pants dude?!) Payton and Elle.
Now this girl knows how to take a pic.!
Please don't go! The crying begins......
But, they must....they're out of here! What a cute fam they are!

Angie B. and her family stopped by yesterday. They spent a week on the Oregon coast and were driving through on their way home to South Weber. It was so good to see them. Angie B. is one of my close friends from New Hampshire and USU! Boy have I had some crazy, good times with that girl! I love that when we see each other it is like no time has passed. I only wish they could have stayed longer. Elle, her oldest, was sad to leave. It was really cute. Then after they drove away Payton cried because she had so much fun playing with the kids and didn't want them to leave either! I guess we're going to have to plan a girl's weekend in the near future!

Friday's Funny

Ya, it's Saturday, so my Friday funny post is late. I have had a stressful two days (this is the understatement of the year). We had our house painted. Wow, total saga......I will post pics. and story soon. Anyway, this is a pic. of Avery that makes me laugh, and boy did I need a laugh today! We are at the Hales family reunion and the kids are all playing on the toys in the park. There are some water fountains they are running through as well. After running through the fountains and becoming drinched, Avery's shorts were so heavy and uncomfortable that she took them off. Yes, just took them off, threw them down somewhere, played on the toys, walked around, and embarrassed the crap out of her mother! I was snapping pics. of the grand kids playing so well together and there was Avery walking towards me, nonchalant, sucking on a sucker without a care in the world. Yes, she is pant less, but hey, at four, I guess she hasn't had the horrifying dream where she is walking around in public shirtless, or pant less for that matter. Of course, when I first saw her, I was shocked. What kind of a mother am I? I didn't even notice my child has been playing probably for an hour without pants. Then I just had to shake my head and laugh. So, Avery J, you silly girl, you make Friday funny!

Lemonade Stand

The kids have been asking to do a lemonade stand for days. It seemed like work to me, so my answer was always, "Maybe tomorrow!" Well, tomorrow came and they asked again. Since they were having friends over to play I decided today was the day. I didn't really want them to do a lemonade stand because I thought it would be too much work. What a bad mom am I, huh? Well, it turned out simple! The kids made the signs, set up the table, retrieved the cups and ice, and were all ready to go before I had the lemonade made! I had to laugh at the 150 cups they had set out!Everyone was happy with their job. Kyle and Kate were the money takers. Avery placed the ice in the cup, and Payton did the pouring. Owen just sat there drinking the profits!The first customers arrived...boy was I glad. I hated to see them sitting there with no takers!I don't know if they were just being really nice (of course they were), but they said it was the best, darn, lemonade they'd had!
It was so stinking hot outside that they had to cool off in the pool.
But, don't worry, they ran back and forth to their little stand. Here's a drive through customer in the red Durango. Oh, and dad stopped by and bought a cool glass too! Do you think he was offered one for free.....not a chance!
Back to the pool.....Ahhh, summer........Good times!!

Cherokee Legend

My Nana sent me this story via email today. I enjoyed reading it and thought I would share. My Nana is in her 80's and more computer literate than most of us. She always sends me uplifting, God is love, type emails. She has always been a spiritual example in my life even though she does not share my faith. It's kind of funny because her name is Emma Smith and she lives in SLC, Utah, but no, she isn't Mormon! My Nana is a beautiful lady. I wish I had a pic. of her to share. She always looks so nice and put together with her blouses and clean, crisply ironed slacks, matching jewelry, etc. She not only takes good care of herself but of her home and things too. When we go to visit she makes such an effort to make sure your stay is exceptional. She gets out the fancy dishes, sets the table so nice, and cooks the most delicious meals. I love my Nana and am grateful for the things she has taught me.

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is aMAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him.Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! Finally,after a horrific night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, our Heavenly Father is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Bear Lake

We spent the last few days in beautiful Bear Lake. The McBride clan was lucky enough to stay at Jen's parent's cabin right on the golf course. They let us use their boat and jet skis too. We had a ball tubing, wake boarding, and swimming in the warm, aqua water. Our days were spent relaxing, reading on the beach, riding motorcycles, swimming, staying up late watching movies, singing along to Josh playing his guitar, driving Jared's remote control car, eating delicious meal after meal, enjoying a famous raspberry shake at LeBeau's and of course, screaming across the lake on the boat and jet skis.

Our only regrets were that we didn't have enough time to do all we wanted. We could have easily spent a week in Bear Lake. And, it just went by too fast. We love getting together with Robert's family. There are so many of them, that there is never a dull moment. Someone recently asked me how I felt about my in-laws. I told them that on a scale from 1-10, I give them a 9.5. Come on, no body's perfect! But, honestly, I enjoy and love them and am grateful for their friendships.

So, I developed a big, fat cold sore on my bottom lip. I am sure it was from getting sunburned Thursday. We were all so anxious to spend time on the beach and boat that we stayed at the lake for over 7 hours! Yes, we were fried! Robert looks Spanish, Kristen and Josh received terrible burns on their legs, and Mikkel's lips swelled up like Jessica Simpson's! But, hey it was all worth it!

Now the drive home was another story. What should have been a 5 hour drive took us 9 1/2. I will save all the adventurous details, but boy were we happy to drive into Boise! We arrived about 9 p.m and hadn't eaten. Our neighbors were at our house watering our flowers for us. Then they asked if we had eaten. Since we hadn't, they brought over the most delicious home-made soup and pasta salad. How nice was that? I was so grateful. It tasted so much better than the cold cereal we would have eaten!

So, another trip down....just one more this summer. That's right.....Hood to Coast.......here we come!

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Lilli Lou, Hales Reunion, and Park City too!

Mondays are Lilli Lou days. We get to watch Uncle Clint and Aunt Amy's adorable little one. The kids have so much fun doting over her. She really is the sweetest, cutest little thing.

Clint turned 30 on Sunday. Amy had us all over for dinner. It is hard to believe my little brother is now 30! Clint has always been so much fun to be around. He has a lot of energy and an enthusiasm for life. We love you, Clint!

We are headed for Bear Lake tomorrow for Robert's family reunion. It made me think that I never posted about my Hales' reunion we attended earlier this month. This was the first time we had a Hales' gathering in years and years. It was actually a huge event at Weber State where Elder Hales was a guest speaker. We met up with closer relatives at a park in Ogden before the big event at the university.

It wouldn't be a Hales' reunion without a foot race!

The kids had a ball playing games and eating corn on the cob!
I didn't even know they played tug-a-war. I must have been off chatting. I would have loved to have been in on that action! Here's the cousins.
Here's my dad, his siblings and cousins.
We had such a nice time visiting, looking through old photo albums, eating (of course!), playing games, learning about our ancestors, and just being together! I love my family and am so grateful for all of them.

We snuck up to Park City after the reunion. It is one of my favorite places. You step out of the car and can smell the mountains. It is so beautiful.We walked around main street, had some dinner, and just enjoyed the scenery.The next morning we went to main street again. It was happening! There were booths everywhere with incredible food and hand made jewelry, etc. It was a hot one, but we cooled off with yummy drinks. Each of us picked out one of these hand-made, leather bracelets. They were awesome. She fitted them there right to your wrist.Afterwards we went up to ride the slides. Avery, Payton and I did the coaster. It was a blast! If you go to Park City, you have to do it! The price was high, so we only rode it once. I wish we could have gone, again and again!Owen and Robert did the Alpine slide. It was a little milder, and at both their scaredy cat levels! Just kidding. My boys are both a little hesitant when it comes to heights though! It seems the girls in this family are more the thrill seekers!

I found a coffee shop named, Kristi's! I never see anything with my exact name spelling!

Avery and Owen rode the Carousel. This is Avery's favorite thing! She is riding a horse...go figure!

Payton chose to do the trampoline. She tried real hard to do a back flip, but didn't quite make it over. She had fun anyway jumping high in the air!

And can you believe we didn't have time to do any shopping at the outlets? I was bummed. I was also bummed that the trip was so last minute and quick that I didn't get to see my good friends who live in Utah. I didn't even have time to call. So, I am sorry I missed you! Robert kept saying, " This is killing you that you can't go see your friends isn't it?!" Yes, it was! Some of my favorite people live in Utah!

Spudman 2008

We pulled the camp trailer over to Burley on Friday. We found the perfect spot, right there on the golf course, under a big tree, and close to the starting line. We saved a place right next to us for the Chapmans. They pulled in soon after.These three were in heaven with the sand traps! These three can be entertained wherever they are!
After dinner at Perkins we headed back to the trailers for "skit time!"Sydney had just been to Girl's camp, so that girl had all kinds of skits and songs to entertain us!
Just chillin!It's race day. Robert and Brent started their swims just after 7 a.m. Kim and
I fed the kids, got them dressed and headed for a spot on the course. I had my camera ready, but Robert blew by us so fast on the bike that I didn't get one pic.! After he sped by Kim and I and all our kids ran like crazy people as fast as we could to the exchange. You should have seen us, it was a site! We knew we had to be quick because last year we didn't make it. We arrived just in time. The kids high fived, Robert, and I snapped a pic. of him giving me the "Ah ya!" sign as he ran by me!

Next, we were off back to where we started to see Brent fly by us on his bike. Again, no pics! But, we got our exercise for the day sprinting, once again, with 7 kids, a stroller, cameras, snacks, drinks, etc. across the golf course to cheer Brent on for his run!

After that fiasco we had plenty of time to get to the finish line. We were happy spectators (Well some of us, others whined about the heat and being bored. Can you guess who that was? Avery? No! Really?!) Honestly though, it is a lot of fun to cheer people to the finish. We were hooting and hollering!Then we got really crazy loud when we saw this hunk of a man running down to the finish line. Go Bob!The kids ran up to meet him after his finish.Next came Brent! He even ran over to give his big fan base a slap on the hand. Wow! Check out those killer calf muscles!We are the champions........ Just kidding. I think they were just happy they were done! They should be happy. Each of them beat their time from last year. Great job, Robert and Brent. Thanks for giving us a reason to cheer! We are proud of you!We'll look forward to next year, maybe without the kids?!