Grand Targhee

Again, I realize that it is now only four days before Christmas and I am only now posting a few pictures of Thanksgiving, but for me it is progress. Can we keep that in mind? Also I noted that I have only one faithful reader of my blog anyway and she is at my house at least three times a week and knows everything that happens here so what is the big deal if I am a few days, weeks or months behind in my blogging efforts? So here goes...for Thansgiving this year our family was invited to spend the weekend in Driggs, Idaho with my brother and his wife. We left in the late afternoon of Wednesday and arrived safely that night. The drive was uneventful which is just the way we like it. Because it was late, there was not much to do except visit for a bit and then turn in for the night. Thanskgiving day arrived and only then did we see the most beautiful view that my brother and his wife enjoy every day from their kitchen and dining room windows. It was so beautiful! The Grand Teton Mountains covered in snow and with the sun just peeking over the ridge. Breathtaking! What an amazing way to start Thanksgiving day! We have such an amazing world to live in and be a part of. So the day continued as it does with most of the women in America...cooking, cooking, cooking. It was fun to be in the kitchen with my sister-in-law who is a wonderful gourmet cook! By that evening when we ate our Thanksgiving meal with their daughter and her family and BriAnna and Kristopher and Abby we were treated to many delicious and tasty dishes. I will reluctantly admit that we did have a few problems with the turkeys that we cooked, but in the end it all worked out great. The next day we went up to Grand Targhee ski area and got personal ski lessons from none other than my brother who is amazing on skis. He taught us everything we needed to know to have a great day on the mountain. Actually in all truthfulness he could have taught us a great deal more, but we are beginners and he had to impart of his knowledge only as we could handle it. It was a great day and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed skiing. I could really get into it if I had the money to spare. After the great day we had on Friday it was decided that we would like to ski again on Saturday. It was another great day to ski. By the end of the day Megan had gone on the chair lift (which was a big deal for her) and we were all feeling like we had made good progress. The whole weekend was a blast! Thanks to Ken and Ruth for their hospitality and generousity. We will definitely be back for more.

Halloween.. a bit late!

So, I know that it is only a few more days until Christmas, but I was going through some of my pictures and I came across these great photos from Halloween! I guess that by now you have all figured out that my life is not really all about blogging (I only do it periodically to satisfy my lovely daughter, BriAnna who wants me to become more proficient at the computer). So on to the Halloween pictures. BriAnna found Abby's adorable turtle costume at Costco and it inspired her to make four more costumes for herself and Kristopher and Megan and Spencer. Too fun! She is a go getter that daughter of mine!

So the other night...Ok it was several weeks ago, Megan and a few of her friends were at our home watching a movie when all of a sudden they broke out the guitars and starting singing to the music on the movie. They were really rocking out and having a great time doing it. I just love having my kids friends over and I love watching them enjoy life. Maybe we can all learn a little something form each of them.

So I figured it was time to do a short re-cap of our summer time activities. We were very busy with Megan's play and Spencer's Eagle Project and with family visiting from North Carolina. First: Megan was in a play this summer. The play was "Once Upon A Mattress". She did a great job and I think she had a good time. We had a great time watching the play and think she was the best! Next: Spencer worked hard on his Eagle Project this summer. His project was to put up some bat houses at a park here in Lehi. He had a ton of help from many different people and he couldn't have done it without any of them...thanks to everyone who helped him. I believe that he is almost done with the paperwork now and then we will be having his Eagle Court of Honor! Yippee!! Last, but certainly not least was all of the fun that we had with our family this summer. My sister and her family made an unexpected trip out here and we enjoyed spending time with them as we went to BYU and did some bowling, ice blocking, baseball and a great big cousins sleepover with a hot dog roast and everything. It was so great to be able to spend time with all of the family. We are now ready for fall! My favorite time of year next to spring. I guess that spring is my favorite because it is followed by summer and not winter...which is my least favorite time of year. I hope that all of you enjoy the fall leaves as much as I will.

Megan and I returned last Saturday from southern Utah where we enjoyed four days with the Young Women in our ward and some of the Young Women leaders at girls camp. It was so great to be able to go along with these wonderful girls! They are such fun to be around and such great examples, not only to me, but to each other as well. We went to Capitol Reef and to Escalante and did some hiking and played in the waterfalls. We also got to shoot rifles, sing songs, play games, and just have a great time.

Charlie Horse!

Megan and I went horseback riding on Saturday. A sweet lady in our ward who has horses offered to take us riding and so last Saturday we went and learned about horses and then went riding. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous, not being an animal lover and all, but we had a great time. Megan loved it and had the horse trotting and even cantering for a bit before our time was up. The name of the horse that Megan was riding was Charlie horse. So cute! The horses were so gentle and really fun to ride. The only problem now is that Megan is convinced that she needs to take riding lessons. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement about me never hearing about how she needs a dog in exchange for riding lessons. Sounds good right?

We are a Happy Family

I know that Mother's Day was over a week ago, but I wanted to take a minute and write about the best Mother's Day I have had to date. It all began with my wonderful husband giving me 5 new work-out shirts. What a thoughtful gift! I have been wanting some new shirts for quite a while so I was very pleased. Then my 16 year old son got up early and made me breakfast...not breakfast in bed because we have early church, but breakfast non-the-less. He made pancakes and not just ordinary pancakes, but pancakes that said MOM. Of course they were so delicious and much better than the oatmeal that he and a sibling attempted a year or two ago. It was very sweet of him. Then my 13 year old daughter presented me with a beautiful necklace that she had made herself which I promptly put on and wore to church. Upon arriving at church I was surprised to see that my son was the youth speaker that morning...a fact that was indeed a surprise for not only me, but my husband as well. Spencer was quite pleased that he had managed to pull off that surprise. Good job Spencer! Then after church my oldest daughter gave me a framed family picture that we had taken just before McKay left on his mission. This brought me to tears. Each gift that was given was thoughtful and meaningful to me and I couldn't ask for a better husband or children. At about 2:30 in the afternoon we were able to talk to McKay. What fun that was. He sounded great and is doing well. My life is so full of blessings as are all of our lives if we will just look for them and recognize them. Mother's Day has never been my favorite day of the year, but thanks to my family, this year was great! Thankyou!!