Trip to St. George

 We just went on a trip to St. George after school got out.  It was a lot of fun to just go and play together.  The kids' favorite thing to do was play in the pool.  We did more of that than anything.  The pool had a waterfall at one end that you could go behind.  Breanna loved playing in the kiddie pool and making new friends.

 We also went up Snow Canyon one day and played at the Sand Dunes and did a little hiking on the cool rocks.  We had to wait until evening because it was 107 degrees this day.  By the time we got to the sand dunes to play, it was all shaded - yeah!  I think it would have been fun to hike around a little longer, but it was getting dark.  Next time we will go in the Spring and spend more time up the canyon.  :)

 One day we also went over to see some Church historical sites like The Brigham Young home.  Right next to the old tabernacle is this wonderful park.  It has a Carousel for the kids to ride and a splash pad and stream to play in.  It was lots of fun.  It was a nice way to stay cool in all that heat!

 On another day we headed to a place called Red Cliff Camp Ground near Leeds.  We played for a while near the day use area of the campground in this stream.  There were lots of Crawdads, and the kids had fun catching them in cups.  I had never seen Crawdads before.  After we played in the stream for a while, we took a short (but hot) hike to a swimming hole in the mountains.  You can jump off the rock into the water.  I didn't get pictures of that, but the kids had a good time.  All in all, it was a fun trip.  Always nice to get away.  :)

Summer

We are having a good summer so far, although it is going way to fast. I can't believe it is over half way over. Not fair! I enjoy having my kids here and not worrying about school. We have done a few fun things. We went to our Stake Lagoon Day back in June. That was a blast. Turned out to be a great day - not to hot or crowded. Our oldest three were actually tall enough to ride just about everything (although one of them doesn't really enjoy thrill), and our youngest wanted to go on everything she was tall enough to ride with an adult. I really enjoyed the day.

In June we also took the kids down to the Manti Pageant. It had been a few years since we had done that. I think the kids enjoyed it, although it got kind of cold after dark and we were all bundled up together to stay warm. :) We stayed in a Motel in Nephi that night and drove home the next day.

We've also visited some Church Historical sites this summer. We went to Moyle Park in Alpine and took a tour of the home of John Moyle and then the kids got to go inside the Indian tower that the Moyle's had built. We also went downtown and took a tour of the Beehive House. Our tour guides were two sister missionaries. One was from Japan and the other was from Sweden. We all had fun seeing the house. The last time I was there was on a field trip in Elementary - long time! :) The day we took the kids to the Beehive House, we also took the kids through the State Capitol. It was a warm, but fun day.

I'll post some pictures when I get around to getting them off of my camera. :)

Family Pictures

We had pictures taken of our family at our house in October. The pictures were taken by Joel Jenkins, a friend from High School. It was fun to have the pictures in our own yard. It will help us remember our house when we move! :)

Ensign Peak

This was a really nice diversion from the stress of life! The kids never complained once on the hike up. I had never been to Ensign Peak before, but it was really beautiful! The sun was starting to set when we got up there and the way the light cast across the valley below was peaceful. I am really grateful for moments like these. :)

A few more Cakes

This is a cake I did for my neighbor for their softball team. The "home plate" is covered with Graham Cracker crumbs to make it look like dirt.
This one I did for my niece, Megan, for her son, paxton's, soccer team. It was a lot of fun. We made the ball the color of their jerseys.
I am in primary in my ward and so I made this cake for our baptism preview. I need a few lessons from my mom on making the frosting smooth. That was the most stressful part - the rest was really fun!

Rootin' Tootin' Roundup

We just celebrated Dustin's Birthday with a Rootin' Tootin' Roundup. We played some Western Themed games and gave all the kids cowboy/cowgirl names. We had a few little snags in the plan but I think Dustin had a good time, so that is what mattered.

I was planning on putting together a little Western Town with a Jail and such. It was going to be made out of Refrigerator boxes. I finally figured out how to get a hold of some and left to pick them up 1 hr and 15 min before the party started. Well, I had a little bit of a time trying to find the place (it was in North Salt Lake - which, apparently, isn't 100 N and up in Salt Lake). I finally figured out that North Salt Lake was it's own city with its own coordinates. So, by the time we found the place, loaded the boxes, and got back for the party, we were 5 minutes late. Luckily, Trent was already here so he could let in all of the 4 & 5 year olds. I was afraid they all would have come and left when no one was here. Needless to say, the western village didn't get put together, but we have since built a playhouse with the boxes in the playroom. We still need to paint or color some things on it, but the kids have had fun in it. Anyway, what is life without a few hitches.

More Cakes

Well, here are my next three cakes. This first one was one I did for Trent to take to a Court of Honor for his scouts. It turned out okay, but it didn't turn out like what I had originally planned. I realized too late that I should have gotten more information from my mom before doing this one. It was supposed to have an eagle on it, but I guess it was good that it at least still looked like a scout cake. The colors weren't exactly what I was planning either, but it did turn out to be a lesson about thinking on your feet! :)
This second one I did for Trent's mom for her birthday. I thought it would be fun to try a fondant frosting, so I looked up a recipe on Wilton.com and tried it. I learned some things to do and not do next time with the frosting. The frosting took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it was cool how it just laid over the cake. At least it did turn out to look like the hat I was trying for.
This third one was one I did for Logan's teacher for teacher appreciation week. When I did the one for Emily's teacher, she shared it with the other staff in the teacher's lounge and Logan's teacher saw it. After that I tried to find out when her birthday was, but it had already passed, so that is why I did it for teacher appreciation week. Next time, I would figure out how to do bigger sunflowers and do a few more of them. I enjoyed doing this one though. I will be doing another one this weekend for my neighbor. It will be a softball one. We will see how that goes. :)

Cake Decorating

I made this cake for Emily's teacher's birthday. Emily was really excited about her teacher's birthday and wanted to do something special. I remembered back when I was in Elementary and my mom would always make a cake for my teacher's on their birthday. So, I decided to try a cake. It was a lot of fun! Now I am looking for other opportunities to do a cake! I am making a scouting cake tomorrow for Trent to take to a court of honor and I am going to make a cake next week for Logan's teacher. I will take pictures of them and post them here. Hopefully they will turn out, but I am really excited to try.

Star Wars

Logan got this cool Star Wars spaceship for his birthday from Grandma Newbold. It took him several hours to get it all put together, but he did it all by himself and it looked really cool when he was finished! It even has a little Darth Vader sitting in it (I am not sure if you can see it though).

Pirate Party

We just had a swashbuckling party for Logan complete with a Treasure Hunt to find the buried belonging of "One Eyed Willie." The kids were outfitted in Pirate props complete with a pirate name. (Logan - Cap'n Logan Flint, Emily - Maiden Emily, Dustin - Dry Bone Dustin) I think all of the kids had a good time and I had fun planning it, but it is sure nice that it is over with. Kids have so much energy and excitement! I was so tired after it was over. Grandma Jackson made him this cool Pirate Cake. Well, I guess I will just regroup and start planning a Western Cowboy Party for Dustin. If anyone has any cute ideas, let me know!

"Oh, what a Beautiful Morning!"

I woke up this morning, opened my window, and was amazed at this beautiful sight! I am really anxious for spring to come, but the white branches against the blue sky was just breathtaking! I had to grab my camera and take a few photos.

This one is probably my favorite.

Good Old Days

These are two friends of mine from High School. Back then, I didn't drink regular milk (I have never really liked it). In my cereal I would use rice milk. This was all happening around the same time as those "Got Milk?" commercials. So these two friends had this clever magnet made for me. I thought it was pretty funny. I ran across it the other day, so I thought I would share it with you.

Sick Week

We have had the flu at our house for the past nine days - and counting. We have one who is feeling better but still has the nagging cough that seems to last forever. I didn't realize until now that the flu is a respiratory sickness. What people called the stomach flu isn't even the same thing. The real flu is 7-10 days of feeling miserable with fever, chills, cough, congestion, body aches, headache, etc. That is what we have had. I have been feeling very exhausted trying to take care of the constant needs of four sick kids. It is so draining! Last night looked as though it would be a long sleepless night with the baby, and I was at the very end of my emotional rope!! After pleading with Heavenly Father for help, the baby finally settled down and had a normal night's sleep. It has been a little easier to face today after having such a blessing. I am grateful for prayer!

Breanna's Birthday

Grandma made me a cute cake for my Birthday!

I had a good time opening presents. Once I opened one I just wanted to play with it and all of my older sibling would pull in out of my hands and make me open another one :). It all worked out though.

I love my Baby!