Night Out

Dan & Heidi Lowe

Casey, Larry (CEO), Chan (Larry's father), Sherri, Jim

Cory & Lisa Linton

Erica & Rusty Bentley

Photo by Hillary Tebbs!

I always love to get out of the house and have a date night with Kelly, no kids, just the two of us!Last night was extra special. Kelly's boss, the CEO of Access Development, was nominated for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award last night. It was an honor to be invited to the award ceremony and support the business! Larry has put in blood, sweat and tears...and many, many years to build this company! I'm really proud of all the work Kelly does for his company and excited to see where things go in the future! He works with amazing people and it is always a treat to spend time with them! The banquet was held at the Salt Palace. As we walked into the elevator to go up stairs from the parking garage I ran into LISA!!! (My friend Shauna's beautiful cousin and fellow photographer.) Well, it was a wonderful surprise! Her husband, Cory and his two brother's won the award for their category!!! Congrats!!! (I tried to get to you guys after but got tied up!) I was impressed with their company and would love to learn more about it!!!! It's called PD 360 and it's a school improvement network. We also saw Heidi and Dan (our neighbors) and a few other friends! It is funny how stressful it was to find a dress and get the tux...it was like prom! I had fun trying on all kinds of gowns but I chose this one because it reminded me of Carrie Bradshaw!!! On our way home I laughed to myself thinking about all the hours I spent to get ready for one night...but it was worth it! Great night!

(sorry Bona's, the pictures were aweful and blurry in the dark dining hall! I'll get you next time!)

an old barn

One of my favorite landmarks in Logan, UT is this charming barn! I've always wanted to take a picture of it but never had my camera ready. Wish the sky was blue but oh well. This probably won't be the last picture I take of this barn! I don't know why I love barns so much. Maybe I have a bit more country than rock and roll?

Remembering...

Our shell seeker!

Would you jump into this lake for $10.00?

Hair cut, $12.00. Swimming trunks, $15.00. The look on this boy's face after a plunge in icy cold lake water...priceless!!!!!

It usually rains on Memorial weekend. It wasn't looking good for this weekend but we were pleasantly surprised. So Bear Lake it was! We chose to go there because Kelly wanted to visit his father's grave which overlooks the lake and is very close to his mother's house up there. The kids picked out flowers at the store and were so excited to give them to grandpa! The whole cemetery is filled with Kelly's family! We had fun saying, "here's another one!" Kelly and his mom visited a few cemeteries on their own to find relatives in the surrounding area. Kelly's family helped settle Bear Lake area so many, many grave stones were found! The kids had fun at grandma's house. We played baseball in the yard, wrestled, had a marshmallow roast with GIANT marshmallows (didn't know they made these), we played board games, watched movies, went to the beach, got milk shakes, ate grandma's homemade wheat bread with homemade strawberry jam, went on a boat ride (kids got to drive!) and basically hung out!!! Crazy Kelly ran and jumped into the FREEZING lake and then dared the boys to jump in too for $10.00 each. They did. Crazy. I think they would have done it for $5.00! So we stopped at Target on our way home to buy the boys their $10.00 gift. On the car ride both ways we talked and played games. Our DVD player doesn't work in our car so this was how we survived the 2 1/2 hour drive. It was actually really nice! I love spending time with my family and I loved being at Ordell's grave so we could be reminded of the place he holds in our lives and our hearts. We miss him!!!!

Laaadies and Geeentlemen!!!!!!!

I just heard that Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson are starring in the movie "Water for Elephants"!!!!!!! I loved this book and I am soooooo excited for who they casted for the main roles! It is going to be amazing and I will for sure be there opening weekend! Water for Elephants (a novel) is about the circus in 1930! It is a look inside life as a performer, a worker, and the greatest show on earth! It also has a great love story. It makes me want to take the family to the circus! We've never done it before. Maybe someday! Oh!!!! I can't wait!

The Dead Sea

This weekend consisted of Boondocks, father/son camp out, helping Kelly's bro. move, yard work, house work, and a little jaunt northward to Antelope Island. Not the Dead Sea exactly but close enough for now...Antelope Island which is surrounded by the Great Salt Lake was squeezed into our weekend at the last minute. We brought a picnic, played in the warm water, played catch, and skipped a billion rocks! All I heard most of the afternoon was, "Mom, watch!" X4!!!!! I had to say over and over that I couldn't watch ALL of the rocks being skipped!!!! The rocks that cover the beach and are found in the water, are very flat, shale like rocks and therefore the PERFECT skipping rocks! I think they would skip on dry land they are that good! We saw antelope grazing and a few jack rabbits too. Nice family time but I hope next weekend is a little slower!!!!

the four reasons i love this day!

Let me start at the end of the day. We were driving home from a picnic in the park with my family when Kelly asked "what was the best part of your day?" How do you choose the best part when you get a whole day of special attention? I said my favorite part happened the day before. Sam could NOT wait any longer to give me his special present from school so that started the kids on a present giving frenzy! I love the homemade gifts more than anything bought, more than any "time out" for me. I collect it all and keep it in a place in my closet. I CHERISH these items more than anything! So this was my favorite part, sitting on my bed with all four kids, unwrapping one sweet thing after another! Today Kelly made me feel very loved and appreciated as he always does but with an added gift of making homemade waffles! He got up at 6:30! They were amazing! I got something very unique from Bailey. As I walked into the kitchen and saw my fancy place with presents, the one that caught my eye was the Monchichi! Bailey knew that one of the most special gifts I ever got as a child was a Monchichi so since they made a come back, she bought one for me!!!! How CUTE! I love being a mom! I have really bad days and it is extremely hard and frustrating and overwhelming at times but who can think about that today? I was born to be this woman! This is who I am! And I am very, very full. My cup runneth over!

road show made a come back!

I have fond memories of the Road Shows our Stake did years and years ago. I was never old enough but my siblings had their share of performances. I can remember being captivated by the costumes, the stage props, the music! Oh how I wanted to be a part of it! But then, it just stopped! Why? I was heart broken. Well, this year our ward made the announcement that we were going to participate in a Road Show!!!! I missed the sign up sheet! Otherwise, I TOTALLY would have been on stage and loving every minute! Luckily Bailey got asked to have a part in it. She has loved it. But to me, that is a no brainer. Bailey should have been in acting at 4. So now I've FINALLY convinced her to take a class. She was made for this stuff. So if I can't be up there, I'll be happy to live through her! She was a "talking animal" on a deserted island of talking animals. Our group did AWESOME!!! It was a very entertaining night with 8 different shows-all very imaginative!