Movie Night

We went to the Ogden Ampitheater last night for FHE. Ogden City offers free movies every Monday night. We did see some interesting "families," but we also saw lots of families like ours, just enjoying a nice evening out. The movie was "Iron Man," so we had a few "put your hand over the children's eyes" moments. Chris even stayed awake during the whole movie. I love summer time and the fun things we can do as a family.

More house stuff...

We have decided to put our house up for sale...by the end of June. But since tomorrow is July 1st, that ain't gonna happen. We have been a busy bees: painting hallways, bedrooms, fixing flooring, caulking, boxing up stuff to make the house look bigger, organizing closets and garage, weeding flower beds, installing new bathroom sink and faucet, more caulking, painting a bathroom, staining the deck, washing windows, and today installing faux shutters by the bedroom windows. I still have soooo much to do before it goes up for sale. Maggie asked today, "Why are you fixing the house all up and then selling it?" Yes, that is the magic question, "Why?" The answer is , "I already had all of the stuff to fix it up and planned on doing it, but never did do it." By the way, I still haven't finished my couches yet!! Anyone want to come help?!

Chris was able to go to Atlanta on Friday to go to a Braves vs. Red Sox game on Saturday. He was a guest of Mark, our brother-in-law. Elynn, Chris' sister, called a couple of weeks ago and asked if we wanted to surprise Chris with this little trip. I, of course, said 'yes' knowing Chris and his love of sports. He had a great trip with Mark. Thanks Mark and Elynn!!

Growing Pains!

I am having the growing pains lately! My kids are growing up too fast. Maggie is growing up in different ways too. I had a bad headache the other day and took a hot shower. After my shower, I heard someone downstairs doing the dishes. I went down to the kitchen and there was my sweet Maggie unloading the dishes and loading the dishwasher. She even wiped off the counters. Thanks Maguire! I love you!!

Field Trip Day

A tire from the dump trucks down in the mine.

A fun playground we found near the temple.

Allie posing.

A fountain outside the temple is always a big hit with kids.

All of us in the reception tent.

We went with Teresa and her kids, minus Chick because he had a skin graft surgery on his foot last week, to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house and to the Kennecott Copper Mine today. We had such fun with them and to go see a new temple. Our kids were well behaved and had a great time. The girls all loved the Celestial room...it is very beautiful and Cooper said he didn't like any of it. He was kind of grumpy when I asked. After the temple and bathroom stop, we had lunch at a park. Our next stop was up to Bingham Canyon to the copper mine...the largest open pit mine in the world that you can see from space. It is 2 3/4 miles wide and 3/4 mile deep. We were all impressed by the grandeur of it. Wow! I remember going as a kid and thinking it was impressive then. It still is. We had a great day.

Summer is fishing time!

We went fishing for FHE last night! Well, nothing was biting around us, but the kids had fun. Cooper caught a snag and thought that was great fun. Life is about the little things, right?!

Happy Father's Day!

The kids were excited to go shopping on Saturday for their Daddy! Cooper wasn't feeling well and opted to stay home, but told me what to buy him...a new pair of shorts with pockets! Allie gave him an orange Nike golf shirt--she picked it out. Maggie gave him a movie, "Big Daddy." She wouldn't budge on a different one because she liked the name of the movie. They each gave either candy or jerky for their secondary present. Cooper was quite pleased with his gift and was happy the shorts had pockets. Chris was happy with all of his presents too. I gave him a pair of shoes (Whoopee!) and he is going to Atlanta to see a Braves vs. Red Sox game this weekend...Thanks to Elynn and Mark for that great present!! Chris is a great, wonderful, super, fantastic husband and father!!

Future Football Player

Chris saved a Dan Marino football jersey his sister, Elynn, gave him when he was a kid. Cooper wore it to bed the other night and came out wearing Chris' football slippers. Quite the picture!!

Princess Allie is 4!

We had a fun day today for Allie's 4th birthday. She woke up at 6:50 a.m. exclaiming, "It's my birthday!!" She went and woke up Cooper and Maggie and we had her morning party. Our family loves this tradition because the kids don't have to wait all day for their surprises. Allie loved her Cinderella cake, but we ate a small cake for breakfast--yum, yum. Cooper and Maggie loved giving their presents to her--fingernail polish and a movie. We gave her a new outfit and a my size Barbie.

After the morning party, we had a picnic pizza in the park and then went to the mall for some 4 year old pictures at Kiddie Kandid. See's Candies is always a stop after pictures.

At 3:30, Allie had a friend and cousin party with a Knight and Princess theme with "killing the dragon" as one of the activities. The dragon stole all of the kingdom's treats, so we had to get them all back. They had fun "killing" it. Don't you love violence inspired games!

After the party, we headed up the canyon to eat at "The Oaks" restaurant and sat outside by the river. We had both sets of grandparents come and had a fun evening.

Allie had a great day!

1 Princess cake, as ordered!

Tomorrow is Allie's birthday--her 4th! She has deliberated for months as to what theme to have for her party and she finally chose a princess theme. She also wanted to invite boys, but knew they wouldn't like princesses, so she said they could be knights or princes. Today, she has been sooo excited for her birthday and helped make her cake. Tonight I finished it while the kids are in bed. We'll have a morning birthday party for her with our family and then a 3-6 year old party from 3:30-4:30 and then off to a restaurant with grandmas amd grandpas.

Baseball has ended

Yesterday was the last day of baseball for Cooper and the last day today for Maggie. It will be a nice break to not have 4 games a week right at dinner time. They both enjoyed it a lot and received trophies.

Weekend events

Friday:

• Finally finished putting baseboards in the downstairs bathroom.
• returned Andy's power tools that helped me finish cutting projects. I just need a painting, cleaning, and organizing genie!
• The kids went swimming with Drew and Wakely at their pool. They have so much fun playing with them.

Saturday:

• We left early to go to Highland to see Macey, our cousin, get baptized. It was a fun day and yummy lunch and then headed home with my dad for what we thought was just an hour drive.
• Were stuck in a 3 hour traffic jam. The kids and I watched Madagascar and Houseboat...good thing for Dvds in a car.
• Made a pit stop in the middle of the traffic jam for potty breaks and slurpees.
• 10 minutes after the pit stop, Cooper announces that he needs to go pee pee BAD! Good thing for empty slurpee cups and that Cooper is a boy. Allie then stated that she had to go poo-poo and could go in a cup too. NOOO! She had to wait!
• We went to dinner with some good friends and then Chris and I went to State of Play at the cheap theater while G&G Hislop watched the kids.
• After we got home, Chris said he felt like a long haul trucker because he was in the car all day, but only drove 60 miles each way.

Sunday:

• Watched Finding Faith in Christ with the kids this morning. It was a great discussion with them.
• Went to Henry Matthew Meikles blessing. After church we went back to the Meikles for a great lunch and family time! The kids played and played and we talked and talked with family. Great Day.
• Went on a drive with our little family.

Fun Day with Maggie

Today Maggie and I had a fun date...we went wedding dress shopping with Kristen, my niece. It was fun to see Maggie's face light up when Kristen would come out with a new one on. Both Kristen and Kelli, my twin nieces, are getting married this summer: Kelli in July and Kristen in August. My sister, Denise, will have had 3 children get married this year. She was a little teary eyed as both her daughters were standing in their wedding dresses at the shop. It made me think how fast time flies and my daughter will be standing in her wedding dress. Time needs to slow down!

And the Summer Begins...

Last night we went to Cooper's baseball game and then to Chris' softball game and then we headed to the drive-in movies. Summer is just fun!! We loaded up the car with blankets, jammies, pillows, jackets, chairs, and of course treats. We turned the back of the van into a great big bed and got the kids all situated for a night of "Night at the Museum" and "Wolverine." Chris was excited for "Night at the Museum," but fell asleep and Cooper was excited for "Wolverine," but fell asleep. Chris woke up for "Wolverine" and liked it a lot. Allie also fell asleep during the first one, but woke up for the second movie. Maggie and I were the troopers and stayed awake for both. After Wolverine was finished at 1:15 a.m., Allie asked, "What are we watching now?"

Little bit of this and that...

Just a little update as to what we have been doing this week:

• 3 baseball games instead of 5
• piano practice--where I got to take a 1/2 hour nap while waiting for Maggie, with Cooper and Allie playing with Miles at his house--Nice!
• teaching Maggie's 2nd grade class "How to draw a portrait"--they actually turned out well.
• painting doors
• reupholstering couches--still not done yet
• making cinnamon rolls in an hour time period for a bake sale at Chris' work--they sold each one for $3--so they made $36 off my pan of cinnamon rolls.
• making a graduation cake in an hour time period for my nephew, Jared's, graduation today--cooking, cooling and frosting is quite difficult to do in an hour--it's a little melty.
• Chris had a bbq at our house for his YM activity and I said the propane tank was full--whoops! It wasn't.
• The kids and I went swimming at my parents' pool.
• got new bank cards and credit cards this week--remembering the new PIN number hasn't been too hard--I told Chris that I was back in business now and he is a little worried because I have had spending withdrawals.
• Maggie's school got to go swimming at the aquatic center during the day. She had a lot fun, just a little sunburned.
• I went swimming last night with Mom and Lucy to work out and left my glasses there. Ugh! I hate losing glasses.
• Today is the last day of school for Maggie and she is at Grace's birthday party right now.

"Chris, To the Rescue!"

This week has just been another week, but today I feel exhausted. I had a little mental breakdown a couple hours ago while talking to Chris on the phone. I broke down and started crying, saying I feel so overwhelmed with everything I have to do lately and said the dishes aren't even done. After getting off the phone, Allie, Cooper, and I were watching a cartoon together when I heard someone doing the dishes. I went upstairs and there was my wonderful husband doing dishes. He left work to come do dishes. We worked together and I felt so much better after doing "theraputic dish time" with my loving husband. I feel a lot better now.

Memorial Day

Today, we had a fun morning of card games and just having fun--while I made salads and desserts for 2 picnics. Then we headed up to Huntsville for the annual Hislop gathering at Cemetary Point. They have a nice program where a veteran speaks and then have a 21 gun salute. Allie remembered it from last year. She came up to me and asked, "Are we going to where the men shoot guns and we see graves?" I answered with a "yes" and then asked Chris if he told her about Memorial Day. He hadn't said anything to her. Allie has a very long memory. After Huntsville we headed to the Ogden Cemetary for Dianne's side of the family and then headed to Aunt Linda and Uncle Don's for a KFC lunch--a tradition. We had a great time with the cousins there and then headed to the Davidson's for more family time and dinner. After more cousin time, we headed to the swim pool for an early evening swim--but it was CLOSED! Well, Chris is our problem solver and we headed home for some sprinkler time. The kids were satisfied with a great ending to a great day.

St. George Weekend

Chris and I sent Maggie and Allie off to one set of cousins and Cooper off to another set and off we went with our good friends, Scott and Amie, to St. George. It was actually Scott and Amie's 10th Anniversary. We always have so much fun with them. It was quite the adventure to go on a trip without the use of a credit or debit card, so we did it the old-fashioned way: cash only. What a novel idea?! Amie and I rode in the back and watched "House Boat," a Cary Grant movie. We had fun catching up on each other's lives and Chris and Scott had fun shootin' the bull. They talked most of the trip with some type of accent--mostly Nacho Libre style Spanish. We barbequed both nights because it was so relaxing instead of going out to restaurants. We went to the St George temple Saturday morning. Scott and Amie were married there, so it was especially nice for them to go. (We did have to make a detour to Kmart to buy Chris a white shirt and tie, because I forgot to pack them.) After the temple, Scott and Chris went golfing and Amie and I went shopping--especially for a purse since I didn't have one any more. The problem was: Chris had all of the money and I had to go back and get some from him. I felt like I was getting an allowance. Swimming, ping pong, hot tubbing, movie watching, book reading, basketball watching, and talking were all part of the great weekend. All in all, it was a fantastic and relaxing trip and the kids had a lot of fun with their cousins--like always!

Feeling Violated!!

Don't you hate when people take advantage of you and abuse you!!!!! My purse was stolen out of our van, yes the same day I dented it--great day!! The thief racked up a whopping $2000 shopping at various Wal-marts, buying gas, and renting videos at Red Box. Who knows if he wrote any checks or has used my ID to get any more things?! I talked to one detective in Perry and he told me the thief bought a Playstation 3 with lots of games totaling $610. We don't even own any game systems! It makes me so mad that this person would do this!!! Chris said this should help me in keeping me out of the stores for a while. I am also mad because I loved that purse!

Maggie the Pianist

Maggie did a fantastic job tonight at her piano recital playing "Alexander's Ragtime Band" by Irving Berlin. She had it memorized and it sounded great. We were so proud of her and she just beamed! Grandma and Grandpa Hislop came as well as Grandpa Davidson. It was a fun evening.