Opening Day

Today was Jacob's opening day of baseball. We got there around 8:30 this morning and waited for the festivities to begin. Jacob's team was called and got to walk the field. We even got to see some of our friends there too. Unfortunately, it started to rain. Our exhibition game was cancelled along with all the booths and moon bounces. And we were all soaked to the bone.

Jacob is doing well on his team. He will be playing second base this season. Mickey is also volunteering as an assistant coach. I really didn't realize what a big deal the baseball season is but we are having fun.

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to share some of our Easter holiday with you!

Emma, the Artist

Emma brought me this picture and said that it was me. I loved it! I think she got my head shape just right. Plus, I LOVE my long, skinny legs. If you notice she even gave me "tie shoes" so that my feet were covered. Oh, and look at my eyes. Don't I look thoughtful? I think she got my dimple in there too.

What an artist!

When I praised her pictures, she immediately went to work on another masterpiece.



This one is titled, The Itsy, Bitsy, Spider. One of Emma's favorite action songs that we sing. Beth's only critique of this wonderful drawing, was that the spider had 10 legs instead of 8. But I still think it was fantastic. (I am her mother of course!)




And finally, I asked her to draw herself. So here is Emma's self portrait. Her medium was pen and white computer paper. She gave herself the beloved tie shoes too!


Does this remind anyone of Allyson's witch drawing days? I think she was about this age when she would draw a face, put a triangle hat on it and call it a witch. Maybe Emma will take after her Auntie...I would be happy with that!

It's a Blizzard!

Okay, it is not really a blizzard but it's about as close as we come to it in Alabama. The kids were up at 6 this morning ready to go and play in the snow. We gathered our snow gear (which isn't much) and headed out. The kids had a great time for about an hour. I hope they got their fill of snow because it will be in the 5o's tomorrow!

A Look Back..June 23, 2005

This week we had an Enrichment Activity called Death by Chocolate. You know what happens when a bunch of women get together...they talk about childbirth! Emma was my most interesting birth since my other 2 were scheduled inductions. Emma was supposed to be induced on June 24th. But on the 23rd, I woke up to braxton hicks. They lasted for about 5 hours never getting stronger and never getting closer together. (This is the place where my mom would say, "you should have gone to the hospital.") They finally went away around 2pm (this is where I said, "see they went away, I didn't have to go to the hospital") and we went back to cleaning carpets. Around 6, I was hungry and not in the mood to cook, so my mom and I drove over to a local BBQ restaurant. While we were standing in line, my water broke! When I got to the hospital around 7:30, I was already an 8! Emma was born about 2 hours later at 9:28.

I can't believe that it has been 2 and a half years since this happened. I also can't believe how big my belly was! That picture was taken hours before my water broke. Emma was our first baby not born while Mickey was in college! Mickey finished his Masters degree in May and Emma came 6 weeks later. It was so nice to have Mickey at home in the evenings and on the weekends.

All of our children are incredible blessings. I would share pictures of Jacob and Beth but that was before we had a digital camera. But you can take my word for it, they were beautiful babies!

Summer 2007

This morning I woke up to a dusting of snow! While I love the winter weather, I am tired of it right now. So here is my solution...a look back at the warm summer of 2007.


I love to travel with my family. Unfortunately, Mickey has to work to provide for our family and misses the majority of these trips. So I usually head out west with my mom and spend a considerable amount of time there. Last year was a little crazy and I was gone for about 6 weeks. I was thinking about all the states that I drove through last summer...Alabama, Tenessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. YIKES! And I literally did all the driving. My mom had recently had surgery and I didn't think she should drive. I must admit, that I didn't want to see the inside of a car for a very long time!




We had a lot of fun. Here is what we did on our summer vacation!

-Helped my little sister with her graduate recital at BYU. Go Cougs!
-Jacob and Beth went to a dinosaur camp.
-Beth and a cousin, Bailey, went to a cheer camp.
-Took another sister and her 4 daughters to Hawaii to live. (Okay, not all the way to Hawaii but we got her to the airport!)
-Visited my brother and his family in Oregon.
-Went to the Oregon Coast.
-Toured the Tillamook cheese factory.
-Bought a laptop in Oregon!
-Saw Mt Hood and drove around it.
-Went to Sacramento, CA.
-Attended my nephew's graduation from the 6th grade.
-Celebrated my other nephew's 8th birthday at a fun waterpark.
-Did the baptism talk, special musical number and led the music at my nephew's baptism.
-Toured the Jelly Belly Factory in California.
-Walked around Muir Woods, a redwoods park.
-Went to Monterrey and played at the beach.
-Toured the 17 mile drive.
-Had to stop at Pebble Beach golf course to get Mickey something!
-Celebrated the 4th of July.
-Went back to Utah and chopped off lots of Beth's hair!
-Drove to Michigan.
-Happened upon the Continental Divide in Colorado.
-Saw Mickey for the first time in a month!
-Drove to Northern Michigan and looked at the Soo Lock.
-Took the ferry to Macinac Island.
-Toured the Island where the movie Somewhere in Time was filmed.
-Went to the Detroit Zoo.
-Toured Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford museum.

That made me tired just typing it! I think I will look back on this year with happiness. I loved the time I spent seeing my parents, siblings and other relatives. We really had a good time together.

Needless to say, we are taking it easy this year. I am going to visit Michigan. Okay, we might try to go to the east coast and visit my birthplace. Hopefully, Mickey will have enough vacation to be with us the entire time!

Excerise at our House

First, let me explain. A few years ago, I ordered Weight Watchers at Home so I could loose a little weight. The program came with a workout video that I used faithfully for about 8 months. Needless to say, I grew tired of the dialogue. I can't do the video anymore because it irritates me so much!

In September, I was cooking dinner and could hear that irritating voice. I come around the corner and find this. I grabbed my digital camera and started taping this. The video is grainy. But I love the video and it cracks me up everytime I see it.