Gutter washin

 
For the record, I do not usually allow my kids to lay in the gutter during a torrential downpour... however, I was not home when these were taken by my trusted babysitter... My sister Dana!

Paige did not want to get her clothes dirty, so she sat on the curb the entire time. Smart Girl!

 However, the kids had a blast and I was left with a pile of wet clothes.

Things NOT to do on a Saturday afternoon with the family...

HIKE MNT TIMP!!

I was told this was an "easy" hike.

I was told that kids do well on these hikes.

I was told it was paved the whole way and you can bring strollers.

NONE of this was true!!

Neil and I thought that since the summer was quickly coming to an end and the weather was starting to cool down, that it would be fun to take the kids on a nice Saturday hike up in the mountain. We could hike up Mnt. Timp and go see the caves, something I have been wanting to do for years now. Paige and Jacob could walk and we could push Kallie on the stroller. It would be a fun thing to do.... wrong. It was not until we got there that we learned we could not bring the stroller. The path was too steep at parts and it was too easy for something like that to fall off the side... nice thought. So, we decided that since we were already there, we would just carry Kallie and do it anyway. For some reason I never was told or I never listened when it was mentioned that it was 2 miles each way. 2 miles up and down STEEP hills.

For the most part the kids did great! I had to carry Kallie the whole time. We did not have a carrier for her, so it was all in the arms. By the end, our backs hurt, our knees hurt and we wanted to be home!!

Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

This is Paige no more then 20 yards from the start of the path. She started jumping up and down, crying and whining to be held, that her feet hurt and she was tired.... all we could do was laugh!

*** Now it is a real fun joke to tell Paige that we are going hiking that day. She immediately starts to whine. ***

$2 for Tuesday.... Thanksgiving Point Museum

Ok, so I thought that if I waited until the day before school started then the lines and crazy mobs would not be as bad.... and... I was wrong!!

Every Tuesday in the month of August, Thanksgiving Point has $2.00 admission to all of their venues. Since the Dinasour museum is usally $8/child to get in, I was going to take advantage of this. We had already went the first Tuesday of August and the line was soo bad, we went to the petting zoo instead. So this time, we waited until school was about to start and we went earlier....

Still we got this.....
The line was out the door, around the side and down the back of the building. Fortunetly, we were towards the front of the line and it only too 30 minutes to get in. The line was still like this when we were finished and walking to the car.

Although it was crowded, the kids had fun and it was a good finale to the end of summer.

Nama's Funeral... we will miss you

The thought never entered my mind that I would be attending my mothers funeral at this point in my life. It is so hard to describe the feelings and emotions you go through when you experience a loss like loosing someone so close to you. The emptiness you feel is indescribable. We thought we prepared ourselves as much as possible for my mom to return home, but when it happened, you realize how unprepared you really were. I think when someone close to you leaves this earth to return home, they take a piece of you with them. A piece that will never be filled. I miss my mom terribly. I know my Heavenly Father needed her home. I know she has a greater work to do there. I have faith and a knowledge that I will see her again.

The funeral service was beautiful. My mom planned the entire thing. She planned the program, the speakers, the musical number and she even wrote her own final talk, which she had her sister read. I know my mom was there. She always told me she would be.... right there sitting on the end of her casket smiling down on all of us. I was so so touched by the number of people that came in love and support of my mom. We had people from all different points in her life. Childhood friends, college roommates, neighbors, former ward members, friends from the different areas we lived, missionaries they served with and family. It was really touching for me to know that they loved my mom so much that they would come and pay their respects.

I want to thank all those people that have helped and supported my family at this time. You all brought such strength to us. Thank you for your kind words and deeds.

To my mom: I love you and will miss you! Work hard and I will see you soon.

I am so glad to have a recent family photo.... this was taken the morning before my mother funeral, but it is the first picture we have taken of all of us together in a long long time....

Saying Goodbye is hard

This is going to be the hardest post I have ever had to write... so far.... It has been over two months since I have gotten some news that has changed my life forever. I have hesitated to make this information public because I still have not been able to wrap my mind around it. It is something that is very personal to me and very emotional. I guess I have struggled because I do not even know how to say it... or what to say... About two months ago my parents received a wonderful mission call to serve the Lord on a 18 month mission to Finland. A week after receiving the call, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. At first this did not scare me. People beat cancer all the time... right? Life was going to change, but we would work through it. I had the faith that the Lord was going to heal her. She wanted to serve him here on Earth as a missionary so why would he take her now? Very quickly my mom started tests and within a few days they came back that she was already in stage 4 with melanoma cancer. The cancer was so aggressive that it was quickly overtaking her and she only had a few short months left. My mom, my best friend.... I was going to loose her. I am too young to loose my mom. I am a young mom myself and the thought of loosing her has been too hard to take. My mom has been a wonderful strength to me. She has always remained faithful and strong. Even now, as she faces leaving this earth to return home, her faith has never wavered. I am so grateful for the Gospel and for the knowledge that families are forever. Without that knowledge I do not know if I could go through this trial. It as been just over two months since we received the news and we do not have as much time left as I would like. I want to cherish every word she says and every moment we have. I am grateful the Lord has given me and my family some time to say the goodbyes and ask all the the questions. Despite this trial, I am grateful for the growth I have experienced. My love and appreciation for the Gospel has grown.

Summer Anderson Party

Yes, I spelt Anderson right. Some may know that my mom's maiden name is Anderson. It always causes problems when I am asked the security question on an account of my mothers maiden name. They say, "no, YOUR mothers maiden name"
anyway, we had a traditional family party at my Aunt Kay's house recently. The kids had a BLAST! It is always fun to get together. With recent changes in our family, it was nice to get together and spend time. Paige fell in love with a baby kitten that was there and she was NOT happy with me when I told her we could not bring it home. She has a great love for animals.
I just wanted to post a few pictures.

Christmas 2008

Christmas was such a fun time. My brother drove in from Oklahoma with his family to spend Christmas with us. Although that week consisted of ALOT of snow, we had fun spending time together and enjoying the season. Here are just a few pictures... I only got a few... and they really are not that good. Oh well.

First look at the GOODS Santa left

My Dad and Kallie

She got her Kitchen

He got his nintendo DS

Matching Pj's

Pretending they are asleep... still with a smile :)

Snow Fallen

I wanted to get some quick pictures posted. My brother and his family came in town for Christmas. There were just a few days that everyone was here at the same time, before some of my sisters headed off to their different places for Christmas.

Here are some fun pictures of all of us as we went sledding down the hill in my parents yard.

Annual Pumpkin Patch

It has become a family tradition for us that we take a trip to the local pumpkin patch. The kids get to pick out "their" pumpkin to take home and display on the front steps.

This year we went down to the Red Barn in Santaquin. If you have not been there.. it is a fun place to take the kids. At this patch, you get to take a hay ride down to the field where all the pumpkins are sitten hoping to be chosen.

Paige found her pumpkin right away. Poor little pumpkin... it was disfigured and discolored and did not even have a very good stem. But Paige loved her little pumpkin and that is all that matters!!

Jacob got a nice round, perfectly orange pumpkin with a great stem. Funny... these pumpkins are alot like their little personalities. Paige is crazy and goes against the grain with most things and our Jacob tends to be a perfectionist and likes things just the right way.... um... interesting.

We took my mom and dad with us this year. Not as exciting for them I am sure, but my kids loved having them with us on our little "family tradition."

*** Yes, this is the best picture we got of the kids... none of them have the kids looking at the camera!! Paige is holding her poor discolored pumpkin but the one Jacob has was for picture purposes only. He found "his" pumpkin later.