Utah Jazz Dunk Team

Last Monday Connor got to participate in the 4th grade tin can cookout. We cut out a can and sent it, a Sterno, and all the supplies he would need to cook himself a delicious breakfast.  I met him there and watched as he and Chet cooked pancakes, eggs, hash browns, and sausage.  It took awhile, but they were eventually able to cook and eat everything they had brought to eat.  They had a great time and Connor is super excited because they are doing another tin can cookout at Pack meeting so he gets to try it again.

Saturday we went to Kiwanis Kids Day at the park.  Everything was absolutely free so the kids had a blast.  They got free lunch then jumped on the bouncers and did some other activities.  Matthew even won a $50 Wal-Mart gift card.  Rory sat in the dunk tank and the kids made rockets to blast off, it was fun but super exhausting. 









Saturday night was our Jazz Dunk Team Event.  Rory has been planning this for months, so we were super excited and stressed that it was finally here.  Matt Griff (Taylor's dad) is on the dunk team so several months ago we contacted him about doing an event at the high school.  He and his team were super excited and so the planning began.  We invited several dance groups to perform as well and had dinner for the dunk team and the Jeff Wood for Sheriff Committee.  It was such a fun event, they got the crowd involved and did some amazing dunks.  The stands were full and we have received so much positive feedback that we've decided to make this an annual event.  All of our hard work paid off and the kids loved meeting the dunk team (Kadee even got their autographs).   

Americorps

I began my job at Wellington Elementary as an Americorps mentor.  I'm still working at Price River Water Users, so I'm a little overwhelmed right now, but super excited to start working with the kids.  I'm going to be working with kids who are frequently absent and with kids that have behavior issues they may need to work through.  I'm also going to be working in the leveled library and doing attendance.  I attended the Americorps 20th Anniversary in Salt Lake this past weekend.  Rory and the kids came with me and stayed at the hotel while I went to the Capitol to listen to speakers.  They fed us yummy food and we were able to watch a live broadcast of President Clinton and President Obama about the Americorps program.  I met some amazing ladies that work in my area and we were able to tour the Capitol building.  It was breathtaking.  I was amazed by the architecture and attention to detail in everything.  It was a quick visit up north, but well worth it.  I am so excited to make a difference in the life of a child and I pray that I can be a positive influence in my own children's lives. 

So right now I feel like I'm at a life changing place in my life.  I've been reading a book about success and am obsessed with Maya Angelou and the impact she made on the world.  I feel myself shifting from who I used to be and I hope I'm turning into a greater version of myself.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Fall

We have had an exciting week.  We moved out of our house, the kids had mixed emotions about it (as did I).  They are excited to live across the street from grandma Debbie, but sad to leave the only home they've ever known.  Luckily they have adjusted quickly and seem to be enjoying the rental.  We have our plans and the purchase on our land will be completed soon, so we are hoping to start excavating on our new home within the next couple of weeks.  Rory took the kids up to the house one day before school last week and let them take a picture in the house one last time.  Connor said he is sad because that house is where he learned to ride his bike and got his first Xbox, but he is excited to live in the rental because it's small and will bring our family closer together. 

 

We were going to go to the lake on Labor day, but our plans fell through so Rory and I took the kids swimming to the Wellness center.  Matty is a fearless fish.  He would just jump in wherever and had no concerns whether or not there was someone there to catch him.  The whole time I kept thinking about the first time we took him there.  He was so scared and sat on the side of the pool the whole time.  What a difference a year makes.    

Kinlee had her preschool open house last week and her first day of preschool today.  She also got to be the first one to bring snack and was so excited to take cheese and crackers and raisins.  She ran right into her classroom and was so excited to be back in school.  Matthew came with us and did not want to leave.  Hopefully he will start in November when he turns 3. Kinlee has gotten so smart and has grown so much this summer.  We have practiced writing her name, counting, the alphabet, and shapes.  She is ready to learn more and show her teachers all she's learned so far.  Her favorite part of school is singing and her favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.  Matthew loves to sing Bringing home my baby bumblebee  and is starting to talk more and more. 

Birthday parties, swimming, & school

I just love photogrid.  I am able to make cute collages on my phone and post them to Facebook and on my blog to save time and make sure all my cute pictures get posted.  Friday was Kinlee's 4th birthday!  She sure is growing fast.  She wanted to have a princess party and wanted a princess bike so I figured I could make both those things happen.  This was the last party I'll throw in our house so it was a little bittersweet.  Kadee and Kella dressed up as Princess Summer and Princess Winter to help with the party and Kinlee was Princess Belle.  She invited Lexie, Harlee, Kirsten, Jocelyn, and of course her best friend Kaydree.  We did Princess tattoos, painted nails, colored princess pictures, and had Doc McStuffins cupcakes (Kinlee LOVES Doc so we had to include her somehow).  After Kinlee opened presents the girls played and had a fun time until their parents came to pick them up.  As soon as the party guests left we went to Wingers for dinner.  They sang Happy Birthday to Kinlee and she got yummy asphalt pie.  She hasn't stopped riding her bike since she got it.  She absolutely loves it and shows everyone who comes to our house.  So excited to have a 4 year old and I love this little girl more than words can say.  She is my cuddler and my sidekick, she loves to go with me no matter where I'm going.  She is a mother hen to little Matthew and has the best imagination.  She loves her babies, our kitten, and ABCMouse.com.  I'm so blessed to be her mommy and have the opportunity to watch her grow up. 

Yesterday I wanted to take the kids swimming today to celebrate the last day of summer before school started, but Kinlee ended up getting whatever virus Matthew had and I was stuck home taking care of her. Grandma Debbie to the rescue! She took 9 grandkids swimming, bought them pizza and snacks, and kept an eye on Matthew, who loves to jump in the water whether someone is there to catch him or not. They had a blast and my kids love to be with their cousins so much. 

Today was the first day of school for Connor and Kadence.  Connor is going into the 4th grade and has Mrs. Prince and Kadence is going into the 3rd grade and has Mrs. Holdaway.  They were both nervous and excited for the first day.  We pray every morning before school and I was so impressed with Connor's prayer.  He prayed for Kinlee to get feeling better (Matthew was sick with a high fever all weekend and now Kinlee has it) and he said he was grateful he had the opportunity to get an education.  I always tell the kids how lucky we are to live somewhere they get to go to school and get an education, but I didn't know if it was sinking in until today.  I hope they have a wonderful first day of school and I can't wait to hear all about it.  

Carbon County Fair

I try to blog once a week, but last week I totally spaced it off.  Luckily we didn't have anything exciting happen that I missed.  This last weekend we went to the Carbon County Fair.  I entered Matthew in the cute baby contest and Connor had a 4H art entry he wanted to see.  We went to the baby contest first and Matthew was so stinking cute.  He got on stage and flexed and blew a kiss, it was so adorable.  He ended up winning best eyes and got a sand bucket full of goodies.

Some other fun news is Connor's artwork he entered in 4H won first place.  He was totally shocked and excited.  He even won $3 for taking first.  We walked around and checked out all the vendor booths and the kids got wristbands so they could jump on the bouncers as much as they wanted.

We also went to the superhero/princess party in the events center.  It was a lot of fun for the girls.  Just to name a few things, they got to decorate crowns, decorate cupcakes, throw a coin in the wishing well, walk a plank with Spiderman, get their nails done, face painted, and a fishing pond.  There was a lot to do and see and it was put together really well, plus it was free!  I'm sure going to miss these busy summer weekends, school starts next week and I can't believe how fast our summer has flown by.

 I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but we sold our house and will be out in a couple weeks.  I'm super excited for our new adventure and I know without a doubt we will be happy wherever we go.

 

 

Willow Lake

We've been busy since the last time I blogged.  Last weekend we celebrated Wellington Pioneer Days.  Once again we were on the Jeff Wood for Sheriff float and walked/rode in the parade.  After the parade we spent the day in the park.  I love Wellington days because all the kids activities are free.  I sat under a tree and watched the kids go down the bounce house slides about a gazillion times.  My nephew Zac and his baseball team had a booth set up to raise money for their all star games in California.  They had glitter tattoos, baked goods, and a dunk tank.  Rory decided to be a good sport and sat in the dunk tank while they did dunk a cop.  He was mouthing off telling Connor he had a spaghetti arm and WHAM! Connor hit the target on his first throw, while holding a doughnut in one hand and dunked him.  It was hilarious.  Later that night we had some adult time, we went to dinner with Jeff, Emily, Hyrum, and Paola and then went back to our house for delicious banana splits. 

Last week Rory had the whole week off of work, so we decided to go camping at Willow Lake.  I'd never been there before and it is absolutely breathtaking.  Since we went in the middle of the week no one else was there and we got the perfect spot to park our trailer right by the dock.  We spent the week fishing, four wheeler, rafting, and playing.  Garrett and Stacey Conover came up on Tuesday with their kids and we spent the day laughing and talking and trying to fish.  We went to Ferron Reservoir and Rory caught 2 fish, but Garrett didn't get any.  They stayed for dinner and then we were alone again, it was great having them for the day and the kids loved having friends to play with.  The rest of the week was so relaxing and like I always do camping, I ate WAY too much food.  It was so nice to get away for awhile and we even enjoyed a few thunderstorms to cool us off.   I saw this quote on Facebook and loved it, it is so true and so worth it to live like a homeless person for a few days. :)

 This past weekend (after returning from camping) we were back on the campaign trail for Jeff.  We spent Friday evening at the burn out contest on Price Main Street, it was, um, interesting.  We sat on the bleachers with about a million other people and smelled nasty burnt tires as each contestant peeled out.  I wasn't too impressed. Saturday was a lot more fun.  We were in the parade and spent the entire day at the park.  There was so much to do and see.  The kids rode a few rides at the carnival they had set up and we had fun shopping the little booths.  There was delicious food and tons of people to visit with.  By the time we got home we were exhausted and so ready for a break, so Sunday we relaxed and took the kids swimming.  It has been a very busy but very fun summer. 

Gyro anyone?!

We've had such a great summer so far.  This past weekend was the Greek Festival.  Emily and I woke up early Saturday morning and took all the kids (except Connor, he was in Salina with Zac at a ball tournament) to the Greek Festival 5k.  We were in almost last place, but Kinlee got her picture taken and name in the paper for being the youngest participant.  That evening I got a sitter for the kids and Jeff, Emily, Rory, and I went to the Greek Festival for dinner and Bingo.  The dinner was so delicious and the company was even better, but Rory had to work, so we didn't get to stay for as long as we would have liked to.  We did play several rounds of Bingo and enjoyed mountains of food, so all in all it was a wonderful night.  

Monday we met my mom at the Castle Dale Pool and swam for over 4 hours!  I didn't get many pictures, but we had a blast.  My mom bought us Pizza and bread sticks and there is a giant slide that I went down several times.  It was so hot and the perfect day to spend at the pool.