1st Day of Kindergarten for Coop

Can't believe Cooper is now officially in school--and there was no crying from Cooper or myself. He had a great day and so did Allie and I.

3rd Annual "Friends-from-College-Trip"

My friends from college, Melinda, Nikkie, Kristine, Lana, and I went to St. George this past weekend. We had so much fun just talking, watching movies, swimming, hot tubbing, and lounging. It was a blast. I am so glad I have such fantastic friends. We went to St. George last year and New York the year before, so I think we are on track to do something every year. We talked about how wonderful our husbands are for taking the kids all weekend and encouraging us to go. We are very blessed! (Lana was not in the above picture because she hadn't gotten there yet.)

1st Day of School at the New School

Since we are moving on Sept. 12th, we thought it best to start the kids in their new school. Today was Maggie's first day of 3rd grade and next Monday will be Cooper's first day of Kindergarten at Freedom Elementary. When I picked Maggie up after school, she was quite down and said it wasn't a very good day. I asked her what happened and she rambled off the usual like not knowing anyone or playing with anyone and then she ended with, "...and I didn't even know how to get out of the lunchroom. I had to follow someone out!" My poor Mags. She had a better day now after she played with her cousins. It will get better!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

Today we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication in our Stake Center. Only 8 years old and up were able to attend, so Chris, Maggie and I went. It was a neat experience for us to be together for this. I hope Maggie remembers it.

1000 page challenge

All summer, we have asked Maggie to read her 1000 pages for the Superintendent Summer Reading Program. Well, she put it off until Chris gave her a huge incentive to finish. 3 weeks he proposed that he would pay her $50 if she could complete it before the first day of school. She jumped on it and finally finished tonight! She loved Fablehaven and plans to read the other books in the series and she is loving Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. We are very proud of her. Good for you Maggie girl!

Focus 4 Run

Today has been a long awaited event for Chris. He has been planning the Focus Four Run in memory of the 4 friends from Focus Services that passed away a year ago while en route to a mountain village in Guatemala. The monies that were raised today will be used for scholarships in memory of John, Jeff, Cody, and Lydia. The Focus Four Run was a great tribute to their memories and those on the planning committee did a fantastic job. The kids and I participated in the one mile walk and enjoyed it--especially the prize drawings afterward. Maggie won a $25 gift card to Sam's Club and Allie won a $5 gift card to 7-11. Cooper was a good sport in not winning anything. Lots of family came out to support this event--Kevin, Stacy, Brandon, Teresa, Lance, Chick, Tanah, Grace, Miles, and Grandpa Chick. I was proud of Chris today in how well it went and what a fun event it was.

Kristen and Nate's Wedding

My niece and new nephew, Kristen and Nate, were married today. It started out quite rainy, but ended up quite beautiful. The outdoor reception got to stay outside instead of moving indoors. It was even a little cool tonight, which was quite nice. The wedding ceremony was quite eventful; there was awful traffic and there were some people late, so the sealer stalled. He was quite funny. After the wedding in Bountiful, we went to the luncheon in Layton. The reception was beautiful and fun. Congratulations Kristen and Nate!

We have a house!!

This last week has been a busy one. It wasn't a very "productive-get-a-lot-of-things-done" week. It was a very "sit-in-front-of-the-computer-finding-houses-to-look-at-and-go-see" week. We have literally looked at hundreds of house on line and then visited lots. The kids were so bored of looking and I had lots of people help us out in watching the kids. Thanks everyone! We found a house on Tuesday that we liked and made an offer. On Thursday, after back and forth counter offers, we were about to send the last addendum to our offer and the people accepted another offer. I was very sad! Thursday afternoon became a nap day for me. I was mentally exhausted! Well, after looking some more on Friday and Saturday, Saturday night the house was back on the market and we made an offer again. Sunday night, it became official: We are under contract for our new house!! YIPPEE!! It is still in Roy and the address is 3653 W 4925 S. It has 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. It has 3268 sq ft. so it is a little over 1000 sq. ft. bigger than the house we have now. The kids and Chris were way excited. Maggie did a little happy dance for us. Last night, I think I was a bit in shock and overwhelmed because I didn't show much excitement. This morning it has started to set in. I am excited!!

My other twin niece is getting married!

Kelli got married 3 weeks ago. Now it is her twin sister, Kristen's, turn. Kristen and Nate are getting married next Saturday, August 15th. I can't believe they are old enough to get married...well, is barely 20 old enough?! Actually, Kelli was still 19. We had a wedding shower for Kristen and Nate tonight. It was a family shower and we had a lot of fun. I think they had fun too. My sister, Denise, is almost done with the 3 weddings she has had in the last 6 months. Whew!!

Raintree Reunion

I lived in the Raintree Apartments a few years while attending BYU. I built many friendships that have lasted over the years and I helped plan a reunion for Aug. 1st. We, Rich and I, didn't really PLAN it, we just picked a date and a park and hoped people would show up. Well, I was REALLY surprised that night. Kristine, an old roommate who lives in Las Vegas and has been going through breast cancer treatments, wanted to come and called me this week, saying have fun and all that. Well, she surprised us all and came to our little reunion. It was so much fun to see her. Kim , another roommate, was in from California and we had planned the reunion around her visit--I got my yearly visit in with her. Kristie, yet another roommate, has just moved back to Utah, so it was fun seeing her also. We had 11 families in all show up--so around 55 people. Great visit with old friends!! (Chris and the kids even had a lot of fun!)--there were a lot more pictures, but it was taking to long to load, so this is it.

Team Hislop

JL made t-shirts for the Hislop Family reunion today. Mark and Elynn were here also, so Chick and Dianne had ALL of their kids and grandkids here today for the reunion. We, of course, had to have family pictures taken today, so we wore our Team Hislop t-shirts for the reunion. Aunt Linda was in charge of this year's reunion and did a great job. We all had loads of fun--volleyball, giant blow-up waterslide, lots of yummy food, great conversations, fun fashion show, etc.

We will miss our Sparkie Dog!

Sparkie is a beautiful beagle--his escaping and baying are not. He is so fun to play with until he clips the kids and knocks them down. He is a very cuddly dog and very friendly too. We just didn't spend the quality time with him as we should have. He was extremely hard to get home once he escaped--he would dodge cars, narrowly escaping death a few times too. We decided it would be the best for him if we could find another loving home for him and we found one this morning. I had put his ad on KSL and someone called . They lived an hour away and showed up within an hour after their call. They brought their other beagle, Beagley, with them to see if they would be compatible brothers. They loved our Sparkie from the moment they saw him. This mid-50s couple have had beagles for 25 years, so they knew what they were getting into. Maggie cried as did I, but Cooper, Allie, and Chris shed no tears. Our only fear for Sparkie is that he is going to look like Beagley in a few years. Allie had the best description for this other dog, "He looks like a pig dog!" I will miss Sparkie dog!

Lagoon Day

The kids and I went to Lagoon with Teresa and her kids and Kim and her girls--Andy came later in the day too. It was a great day!! We missed being with Chris though--he was backpacking in the Uintahs with his scouts. Lots of fun rides all day long. I have found that I can't ride on any of the big rides any more. I almost lost my cookies on the big roller coaster and it didn't even do any twirly or upside down maneuvers. Ugh! Getting old sucks sometimes.

Our House is SOLD!

Well, it is under contract anyway! It went on the MLS on Saturday, July 25th and on Monday July 27th, we had a signed contract. Whew!!! We don't know where we are moving yet! I am a little stressed, to say the least!!!!

Hill Air Force Day

The kids and I went to Hill Force Museum. I was going to take them to Salt Lake on the train again with more cousins, but I was going to go house hunting, so they were very gracious in going to the museum instead. I love their questions when they are learning about new things to them. I wish I new all of the answers.

Peila Family Reunion

My mom and Aunt Vivi are the only 2 daughters of my grandparents, Victor and Marjorie Peila. We had such a fun family reunion this past weekend up at a church campground in the Uintahs, Aspen Crest. We had a lot of fun with all of our cousins, aunts, uncles, and some new additions of fiances. We had great food, bubble blowing contests, forts, damn building--my toe was a casualty in the river, boating, raft riding, fishing, hiking, relaxing, talking, s'more roasting, story reminiscing, and just a bond-building experience. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for your legacy!

Crazy, Busy Summer!!

Where has the summer gone?! Here is where ours has gone the last few days:

Saturday, July 18, 2009

• Ogden's Farmer's Market
• Great Harvest Bread
• Shaved Ice
• House hunting
• Drive-in movie with Kevin, Stacy and kids and saw Andy, Kim, and kids. We watched Ice Age III and the first part of Night at the Museum.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

• Chris, Allie, and Cooper stayed home from church as they all didn't feel well.
• They all felt better, so we went house hunting.
• Went to my mom and dad's and hung out for a while with Denise, Roger and their kids.

Monday, July 20, 2009

• made phone calls for Chris for the Focus 4 Run to get sponsors and got 2 big ones: Winegars and Cream O Weber. You can run it August 22nd. Check out the website at www.focus4run.com
• Maggie taught the FHE lesson on Keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

• Took the kids to Harry Potter. We all loved it and they all sat through it--one potty break in the middle.
• Went to Costco--always an adventure.
• Chris took the kids hiking to Waterfall Canyon and saw a 1 foot long baby rattlesnake. Quite the adventure and I took Allie swimming--we didn't think she would make it as well hiking.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

• Went to lunch with Lucy and kids. My kids love hanging out with them as do I.
• Went to Willard Bay with Denise, Travis, Kristen, Austin, and Mariluz. All the kids love to ride on SeaDoos or Jet Skis or whatever you call them. It was a blast! As I was driving, Allie would scream "Weee-hooo!" All of them loved it!
• We listed our house tonight with Coldwell-Banker! Ahhhh!!! Our house is not ready yet--too much to do.
• I still need to go grocery shopping and pack for camping tomorrow through Saturday with the Davidson side of the family and it is now 8:14. Writing on my blog is my relaxation.

Kelli and David's Wedding--July 17, 2009

We had a fun day enjoying all of the festivities for Kelli and David for their wedding yesterday. They were married in the Bountiful Temple. After the temple they had a wedding luncheon in Perry and then the reception that evening. It was a long. but enjoyable day. (Cooper wouldn't let me take any pictures of him, so I am glad I got one with his bow tie on...refer to the previous post.)

Skirts and Bow ties

My niece, Kelli, is getting married on Friday. Allie and Maggie are going to be present girls. I asked Kelli if she wanted them to wearing matching dresses for the reception. She liked that idea and so I have been looking for 5 dresses or skirts for all of the little girls. Well, I couldn't find any, so I am using the leftovers from the bridesmaid dresses--her colors are aqua blue, lime green, and brown. Denise thought I would need a pattern, but I made up my own. It is fun to create things that turn out well--I thought they were cute anyway. I also made 11 bow ties for all of the groomsmen and servers and Cooper. It has been a little time consuming, especially trying to get my house clean to put up for sale. Never enough time in the day!