Joe's Valley "Where Heaven and Earth Meet"

Every summer we join a bunch of friends and go camping at "Joe's Valley." There are not very many places that you can smell the pine trees and the earth anymore. I love it so much. You step out of the car and the smell of pine almost stings your nose.

Then you look down over your campsite at the most beautiful, calm lake you have ever seen!
Brandon and Chris skiied to their hearts content....and the kids tubed until we ran out of gas. Hannah, Addie and Grace all learned to wakeboard thanks to the "Hall" family! And Wyatt and Dalton (who Hannah couldn't flirt with enough) learned to slalom waterski...thanks to Brandon and Chris. It was so rewarding to watch the kids enjoying the water so much. And I know Brandon's heart was full watching his kids learn to love "his" sport!
Lets not forget the awesome food. Dutch oven lasagna, bbq chicken, peach cobbler, and huge campfire breakfasts! What a great weekend! Thanks to the Halls and the Culley's for all the good times! See you again in August!

"Drive-In"

We took our kids to the drive-in to see "Kung-Fu Panda" last weekend. It was really fun up until the movie started. Easton would not sit still and kept trying to dive out of the truck. And if we put him on the ground, he just went from car to car waving at all of his fans! Needless to say, I had to sit in the cab of the truck with him strapped in his car seat for the last half hour of the movie. And that's not the worst part...because I was facing the opposite way inside the truck, I couldn't see the movie and I was looking down into someones truck bed...it was two freakin' huge people making out ( I mean seriously making out) right in front of me. I was dying!!!!! What were they doing at "Kung Fu- Panda?" Idiots. Get a room, or at least go "inside" your car.

The kids had a blast. They sat in lawn chairs in the back of the truck with blankets, treats, and glow sticks! (Thank goodness they did not witness the "PORN" going on around them.)

I'VE BEEN TAGGED BY Wendi

Need to do list: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about myself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!



3 Joys: "Faith": I am so grateful to be a member of my church (LDS). If I didn't have my "faith" to depend on and help carry me through, I would be so lost!
My kids: It is like I have taken out my heart (four times) and put arms and legs on it. They are everything to me!
Brandon: I miss him so much when he travels. There is certainly a void when he is gone. But he is so great when he is home that it usually makes up for it! After almost 20 years of knowing each other and 13 years of marriage, I still get so excited to be around him. (corny but true)

3 Fears: Death: Losing one of my children.
Cancer: I have always been hypo about this. And now my aunt has had it...I always have it too...pretty much every time i get and itch, or a sore throat, or a headache!
Disaster: I worry that some storm or something will come wipe out my home and we will have to leave and I won't have a way of feeding my kids. Very Scary! I try to do food storage...but I'm slacking!

3 Obsessions/Collections:Clean freak: with my house,car and yard. If any one of those is too out of order, I can hardly function. I was even like this as a little girl. ( I drove my family nuts)
But I am getting a little better. You have to with four kids I guess.
Grey's Anatomy: I can't miss one episode. Never, Never, Never! I love it sooo much! (thank goodness for DVR)
Old Things: I love things that are old. Dishes, buckets, toys, pictures, aprons, bedding. I could go antique shopping all day. I think I just like to imagine the good ol' days. I especially like items with great stories behind them.

3 Goals: Less OCD (obsessive compulsive): I am trying to remember whats most important, and not focus so much on a perfectly clean house.
Saving money: I am trying to create and stick with a budget. ( I will admit I stink at it)
Less T.V: I have cut out about 90% of my shows. I got really caught up in all the reality stuff and Days of our lives for a while there. But with the kids home for summer, I just think it is a time sucker, and we should be doing other things. I will NEVER give up Grey's though! Unless maybe the Prophet told me to. lol

3 Random things: I went and earned my C.N.A (certified nurse assistant) a couple of years ago. I wanted to become an R.N. (but then we had a baby instead) Maybe when they are grown I will pursue it again. Who knows.

I am an excellent BELCHER. I'm kind of famous for it. I hate to brag!

I love all animals. (even ugly ones) I can't walk into a pet store or a farm without leaving with a creature. I am currently raising 5 chickens, 2 dogs, and a cat. I used to breed rabbits too. I really want a goat but Brandon put the "nix" on that. He claims to be allergic. LAME! Who cares that he swells up a little...I want a GOAT! My favorite animal is a giraffe. At least I'm not asking for that!

I tag: Bree Bell
Natalie Ball
Amy Johns
Ashlee Schaar
Angie Richardson

"I WILL FEED MYSELF"

Easton insists upon feeding himself now. He refuses to let me help!
This is meal #1

A close-up of meal #1
I truly wonder if any made it into his mouth?

This is meal #2: I never knew that yogurt could spread so fast!
Maybe he is trying a new "facial treatment."

Grandpa Wendell's 90th Birthday!

We celebrated my Grandpa Adams birthday last week. My dad is one of eight brothers and sisters (2 have passed away) and the remaining six children put together a party like no other. It was pretty much like a "wedding reception." It was held in my Grandparents beautiful backyard and had a country theme. My Grandpa is an old cowboy and grew up ranching. He is so cute, and pretty spry for 90! My dad (Doug) did most of the planning...his brothers and sisters kept telling everyone that he should be the next "Relief Society President" because he was so organized and creative. They are probably right! There were old boots filled with flowers for the centerpieces, Meiers catered and it was delicious, I was in charge of homemade rootbeer and lemonade, my dad and Jody made like eight different kinds of homemade ice cream, there was a cowboy band, hay barrels to sit on, and even an old "wagon" with a birthday banner to welcome everyone. "Great Job Dad, you made Grandpa so happy."

I forgot to mention something pretty incredible. My Grandma and Grandpa also had three of their eight children born on my Grandpa's Birthday...(June 17th). Talk about sharing a birthday with a family member...try "four" family members. Isn't that AMAZING??? (They have been in the paper a few times, and they used to be in the Guinness Book of World Records, but someone passed them a few years back!

"Red Iguana" and "This is the Place"

Every Saturday morning, it is tradition that we go eat brunch at the "Red Iguana." Yes, we are raising little mexican children! Even Easton loves "guacamole."

Then it was off to the park...








On Saturday we took our kids to "This is the Place" Park. We love to go there. The kids pretend they are on Little House on the Prairie. They get to go to an Old Fashion Bank, School, Hotel, Pharmacy, perform a puppet show, ride a train, buy candy at the Corner Store, see the animals in the petting zoo, make crafts, and learn how huge families lived in these little tiny cabins...and experience how they had to do everything - from cooking, doing laundry, and farming! What a fun place and a great learning experience at the same time.

Happy Fathers Day

Today is Fathers Day. Brandon has been horizontal...in bed since yesterday afternoon with some kind of Mexican flu I guess. It takes a lot to knock him off his feet, and this has certainly done that! I could tell he was going to be very sick when he stopped scrubbing down the house last night. Every weekend I go crazy because he is like a little maid...running here and there wiping out sinks, wiping down the fridge, vacuuming the tile..whatever! Anyway, there hasn't been any of that - just me doing it all! YUCK.
Anywho, Happy Fathers Day Hun. Here are a few reasons that I love you so much!

*I love your big brown eyes
*I love your huge white smile
*I love your funny lookin' foot (it's all crazy from his accident)
*I love the way you look at our kids
*I like it when you tuck the kids in at night like 13 times because you love to check on them and make sure they are breathing and stuff.
*I love your salt and pepper hair.
*I love how you go along with my crazy ideas (chicken raising etc)
*I like how you take old things and make them crazy cool (old blue truck, the boat)
*I love that you won't wear a new shirt (it always has to be washed)
*I love that your closet is always so clean and you don't complain that I take up more than 3/4 of the space!
*I loved it when we had each of our babies and you would just come sit with me all day in the hospital and google over our new precious addition! (this is not a hint..don't worry people, we're done)
*I love how you are so sympathetic towards others and looking out for everyone
*I love that you are always looking for something fun to do with the kids
*I love that you always quietly push me to finish things
*I love that you are such a hard worker and do whatever it takes to get it done
*I love that you cherish "memories" like I do
*I love that you love to read
*I love that you love to learn new things
*I love to watch our tv shows and laugh together when the kids are in bed
*Even though you are a little O.C.D., I love it that you keep everything organized and tidy
*I love to watch you when your excited about a UFC fight!
*I love that you are the most beautiful waterskiier I've ever seen
*I pretty much love everything about you! Thanks for being mine. Although sometimes it scares you that we are hitched for "Eternity." hee hee

Akumal, Mexico

We went to Akumal, Mexico this last week for Bart and Melina's wedding. When we first arrived on Tuesday night the weather was fine...by the next morning, it was raining harder than they had seen it in the twelve years the family had visited there. We had no television, so we read a lot and talked a lot. We ran around the village with towels over our heads, running through puddles to hit up the little taco stands and the internet cafe. We also had massages in a little hut on the beach. A little rain won't keep us down!!









My Grandma Dorothy and my Uncle Dan were also traveling with us. The first morning we woke up and my uncles eyes were all swollen! I almost died laughing. It is not funny, but crazy things like that always happen to him!

Bart was way sick on his wedding day. The village nurse had to come give him shots and all kinds of medication just to get him upright. Somehow he pulled it together!



The following two days were beautiful. We snorkeled, rested in the sun, and played football on the beach!


The wedding was incredible! It was a Mayan ceremony. Bart and Melina looked so happy! We were so lucky to be a part of this AWESOME day!