JUST BECAUSE

This is what I found on my kitchen counter the other day,  just because, I have an awesome husband!

CERTIFIED SCUBA Divers!

This weekend my three girls and I did our 5 open water check out dives, and are now certified SCUBA divers!

It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be!  And the girls loved it!  I have to say that I had a panic attack Friday night, just thinking about going under water at Lake Pleasant!  But I conquered one of my fears, and did it!  When you become neutrally buoyant underwater it almost feels like you are flying, which is a really cool feeling!

We can't wait until we can go somewhere tropical and apply our new skill!

Our class. The 4 of us, a 13 year old boy named Josh, and our instructor Chris.

Amanda underwater at Lake Pleasant.

Alyssa underwater at Lake Pleasant.

All of us getting ready to enter the Lake.

Getting ready to go under!

First Day of School

One in High School

One in eighth grade  

One in fifth grade  

One in third grade

One mom that can't believe her little girl is already in high school

One mom that now has two teenagers

One mom that can't wait until 2:20 each day to pick up one in high school

One mom that can't wait until 3:40 to pick up three in grade school

One mom that feels extremely blessed

Back to School

SO I am completely bummed that on Monday my four favorite kids will be leaving me behind and heading back to school!  I LOVE summer vacation!  I love being able to go on as many vacations as we want, going to get ice cream at 11:00 at night, sleeping in until 9:00 am, and stay up until midnight!   I love not being on a real schedule, having friends and cousins sleep over any night of the week!  I love being the mom ALL day! I wish summer vacation was a little longer.  I am NOT excited to start making lunches, doing homework, making projects, buying stuff for school at 9:00 Sunday night because someone forgot to tell me they needed it Monday morning!  But until next summer, I will smile and do my best!  Happy New School Year to all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!

Amanda turned into a teenager while we were at Lake Powell.  We celebrated in style with decorations, presents, cake, ice cream, steak and shrimp for dinner, a big green birthday hat, and to top it off we taped glow sticks to all of the kids so they looked like stick people and they walked on the rock hills!  The celebration was grand!

We call Amanda "Sunshine" because she has such a big bright beautiful smile!

Glow stick, stick people on the hills of Lake Powell.  It was really fun!

It was a great party with 21 people on the houseboat!

Amanda is really good at talking her dad into things, like driving the boat herself!

Amanda became a yellow belt in karate, and was named hardest working student of the month for the whole studio!

Amanda has run cross country for the past 2 years, and has placed 10th and 12th place in the district finals!  Way to go Sunshine!

Amanda loves to go go go!  She will try just about anything!

Amanda is our first kid to be able to jump the wake on a wake board!

Amanda loves to drive - go carts, golf carts, mini racers, jet skis,  and the boat.  She has even tried to convince me that I should let her try driving my car!  NO WAY!!!!  Is always my answer!

Amanda loves to spend as much time as possible at Lake Powell during the summer.  This year is the first time we were actually there on her birthday!

Amanda's love for the (cell) phone started early!

Amanda is a great snow skier!  She started skiing when she was 3 1/2.

Amanda is a great sister!  She is very creative and likes to think up fun games to play, which usually include everyone getting dressed up!

Amanda is the queen of making great, funny faces!  She is always making us laugh.  She is also very quick witted and silly!  We would be bored without Amanda in our home!

Amanda is very loving and loves to give hugs and snuggles!  When she was little she would just melt into who ever was holding her.

Amanda was the sweetest, easiest, happiest baby!  She was always smiling!  We love her so much and are grateful to have her in our family!  HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE! 

SCUBA

So last month I received an e-mail from our friend Stephanie Brewer that said, I don't know if Justin told you or not, but when do you want to start SCUBA classes?  So, after talking with Justin I found out that he made a trade with Stephanie, and the girls and I were taking SCUBA classes!  The girls have wanted to do this for a long time.  I was not sure if it was something I wanted to do or not!  But, I have to say after spending 5 hours in a pool yesterday, I think it is going to be really fun!  Tanner will have to wait a couple of years to take lessons, you have to be at least 10 years old to become certified.  Justin is already certified, he went through the certification 20 years ago!

The girls and I with all of our gear getting ready to leave for class.  The gear was also part of the trade!

Amanda underwater practicing clearing her mask

Alyssa posing for an underwater picture

Look at Addy's hair, it's everywhere!

All of us with our 2 dive instructor's

12 to 14 days

So, as most you already know, I had sort of an accident happen to me 2 weeks ago.  We were all done packing and loading up from girls camp and were just cleaning up the last few things when I decided to help Kay get "the piece of pink paper" out of the window in the lodge.  So together, Kay and I were working the paper out when all of the sudden there was a loud sound and my left hand went through the window.  I looked at my hand and saw that I had cut my wrist.  I grabbed my wrist really tight and went into the kitchen, trying to make sure no girls saw.  I knew it was bad.  The camp nurse heard the loud noise and  was right there.  She looked at it and said take her to the hospital right now.  Luckily Justin was there.  They gave me a blessing, and we were off to the Payson Hospital.  16 miles has never seemed so far away!  Anyway, I was told that I was very lucky that I had only cut 1 muscle.  I received 47 stitches, 3 layers deep.  I was told to have the stitches removed in 12 to 14 days, so today I am going to have them removed.  I'm a little nervous, and I don't know why!

The window in the background of this picture is the one I broke.  You can even see "the piece of pink paper"  stuck in the center, top part of the window.

Here is a picture of the stitches.  I decided against posting a picture of it before it was stitched closed!

  

Lake Powell - Week 2

We just returned from enjoying another great week at Lake Powell!  This time my brother Jason, his wife Regina, and their 3 kids joined us for the first time.  Their kids experienced their first boat ride, their first time to wake board and take a wild and crazy tube ride!  I think they are hooked!

Tubing pictures are the coolest.  I think this was the highest I have ever seen the tube bounce.  All 4 pictures were taken in less than 2 seconds!

And they land it!

Here are 2 of the 4 new friends the kids found living in the couch on the house boat!  They played with the baby mice all day then put them in a Twinkie box when they went to bed that night.  We awoke in the morning to find that the mother mouse had rescued all 4 baby mice from the Twinkie box!  I know - inconceivable!  I think our kids still think that we got rid of the babies, but no such luck for the Matthews family that is on the boat this week!  We wish them luck in finding the little friends!

Rainbow Bridge

Cruising through my favorite canyon - Cathedral Canyon. 

Girls Camp 2009- Camp Cooks

Camp food was a huge success!  Justin and I were called as the head cooks for girls camp this summer.  I was a little worried at first, since I had never done anything like this before!  We had a great committee.  Becky and Amanda Cook, Tricia Hansen, Kay Meyer, and Donna and Terry Colyar.  Everyone worked sooooo hard.  The food not only tasted great, but looked amazing!  The theme for camp was Once Upon a Time, They Lived Heavenly Ever After.  The first nights dinner was THE ROYAL FEAST!  And we made it look like a Royal Princess Feast!  They LOVED it!  So fun!

My two favorite girls at camp!

The making of Indian fried bread, one with beans, another with honey and sugar!

The Royal Princess Feast

The Royal Princess Feast

Working in the kitchen

All of the great helpers loading up camp food!

Lake Powell - Week 1

The second week of June we spent a week at Lake Powell, with friends and family.  The weather was not normal AT ALL!  IT WAS COLD- THE WHOLE WEEK!!  Crazy!  We still had a really great time, playing on the beach!  We tried to do another set of family pictures, but they are not my favorite.  Maybe we can try again later this summer.  Justin's cousin Rick is married to Kim and she and her 3 kids came with us.  They brought some friends of theirs with them, which included Tiffany and her 3 kids.  Both Kim and Tiffany's husbands were at a scout camp and couldn't come.  So when we would go into the marina for ice cream each day, there was Justin, 3 women, and 13 kids!  Classic Mormon Family!! lol!!!

One of the family pictures we took.

The home away from home.  My house always seems huge when we get home from spending a week on the house boat!  You can actually walk past someone and not have to throw yourself against a wall to let them past!!

Sleeping on top of the house boat under the stars!  

Sunsets at Lake Powell are so beautiful!  I love the coloring in this picture.