Football and a Wedding

Saturday, we had our football game in Magna.  As we pulled up to the park, it began to rain.  Then it began to thunder and lightening.  Not good.  But especially not good today since we have a wedding to go to at 4:00 on the other side of the mountains.  Hmmmm.  The boys huddled in the dugout next to our field and ran through their plays.  They played hard in the rain,and even though they didn’t win, we got our first touchdown!  You would’ve thought we won the Super Bowl! In fact, in the huddle after the score, one of the boys asked Joe, “Coach, did that make us win?!!” Joe replied, “We totally won that drive, man!”  They were stoked! 
 
The rain didn’t stop the entire time.  It was cold and wet and wonderful!  Great job, boys!
After the game, we very quickly left and headed across the valley to Heber.  I got dressed on the way and had to wipe off the wet grass stuck to my feet.  My nice parents met us there and took the kids to their home in Midway while Joe and I attended the wedding.  It was beautiful!  We have known Teresa since we’ve lived here, but we knew her kids even better…they spent a lot of time with our kids.  Talia is friends with Koko, Canyen is friends with Colin, Mekayla’s awesome, and they feel like family to us.  We were thrilled to be a part of their day, it was magical!
Teresa looked stunning, and we love Todd.  We were very happy for this wonderful family!
Canyen looked like such a stud.  He told Joe he was sorry he missed the game.  It’s okay, Canyen, this is a pretty good reason…
Dinner was served after the ceremony, it was delicious and beautiful and inside the stables.  They cleaned it up real nice…There was a photo booth, favors, desserts, tons of food…it was so fancy.  I love these kids very much!
They even had a s’mores bar, with a long flame for cookin the marshmellows.  So fun!      
Beautiful Teresa, we are so happy for you!

The happy couple.  Love these guys…We went to my parents afterward and the kids were done for the day.  We were going to go get them and bring them to the reception, but because of the weather decided just to pack it in and head home.  I think it was the right call, it’s been a long and wonderful day!

Just a little nip and tuck

We’ve been working slowly on our kitchen for about three years now.  First, we replaced the countertops and removed a cabinet.  Then we fixed the light and added a few more. Then we added a few cabinets. Then we got our floors sanded and stained.  Then we painted.  Then we replaced the fridge and microwave (well, it’s because they both died, but it’s all part of the process, right?).  Then we stained the cabinets.  Last but not least, we just finished the tile on the walls.  And by we, I mean we hired an awesome company to come do it for us.  They did a fantastic job!  We changed all the white outlets to black and voila!  Our happy little kitchen.   
Before:

During:

After: 
The arch is my favorite part…I love it!  Now it feels a little more like France around here!

September 11

This day of remembrance is different for me because I remember the events of this day so vividly.  I wasn’t here for the first Thanksgiving, or even Pearl Harbor.  But I can tell you what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001, and how that day will forever be engrained in my mind and heart.  I was surprised to see Beau’s outfit today.  He picked it out all by himself…how did he know?  Nailed it, buddy. 
Koko and Emma’s school set up flags in commemoration of this day.  It was quite touching to see as I pulled up for carpool.  Well done, students! 

God Bless America!

Happy Engagement Anniversary!!

15 years ago, on Sept. 4, Joe proposed to me.  It was opening day of football season, so he took me – blindfolded – to the Alta High School football field on the 50-yard line.  It was quite a romantic set-up with candles and gifts.  There he proposed and I made the best decision of my life to say yes! 
This year, we took the kids over to the field to celebrate the beginning of our family.  Here they are, in the right spot…
We decided to hang out and play for a little while.  Look! Monkey bars? Something like that,and the perfect size for little ones.
Joe ran some plays with me and the kids, two against two.  
On your mark,
Get set….GO!!

Happy Engagement Anniversary my love.  Thanks for giving me six beautiful kids and the best husband a girl could dream of.  You’re my favorite!

Home Game!!

We had our first home game at Mount Jordan Middle School.  I signed up to help in the snack shack that morning, so it was a long day….but fun!!
Joe brought the gang later, then my Mom and Dad also joined us.  It was nice and hot.   
Our awesome parents hold the banner and line up to high-5 the kids at every halftime. 
Again, not a win, but we’ll get ‘em next time!  Way to go Huskies!After we ate and took the kids home, Joe and I left for the BYU game that night.  At work, Joe got tickets to the game and the big tailgate dinner…fun!!
As we were driving to the stadium, we saw this:
It was bookin’ it across the sky, then the rain began to fall….hard and fast.  We were on University Parkway when it hit.  It was so windy and stormy that we had tree branches hitting into our car.  Obviously, the game would be delayed.  So we stopped at a sporting goods store and looked around for a while.  It wasn’t letting up, but we decided to brave the storm anyway.
As we headed to the stadium, we noticed that every intersection was flooded and sometimes the water was as high as the car doors.  I got nervous about leaving the kids that long (it started almost two hours late!) and I also got nervous that we might not be able to get out.  So we bagged it and headed home, grabbing pizza on the way. 

Unfortunately, we cancelled cable because…well, because it’s a waste of money.  But when football season comes around, it gets a little harder.  So we listened to BYU beat Texas on the radio and followed it on Twitter…just not the same.  As of this writing, we have renewed our cable and now have it for the rest of football season (and maybe for a little bit of Project Runway). 
In any case, we had a fun night with the kids, watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and had a great night.  Who needs cable anyway?

Friday night, movie night

Since Emma has dance on Fridays, we have to wait until she’s done to do family activities.  Well, we found a theater that was showing the One Direction movie right after she was done…perfect!  I got our tickets, the girls wore their concert t-shirts, and we were on our way! 
I think they were excited…

Koko is so dang cute.  And a teeny bit obsessed…The movie was okay, the company was fantastic!!  My favorite kind of girls-night-out…

Normal Sunday…

What? Just because my family had time for a photo shoot after church doesn’t mean I took a long time after Relief Society. 
Or maybe it does. But look how cute they are! Maybe I just chat a little longer every Sunday so I can get more cute pictures!

Labor Day!

We headed up to Midway on Labor Day for a family party…food first!  Hot dogs, chips, salads, desserts, and yummy treats.  The cousins had a blast playing together and were anxious to get in the pool.  The kids swam, the grown-ups visited, it was lovely!          
Ha!  It looks like Mom is nursing!  But nope, she’s just protecting Rowdy from the sun…
      
After the crowd dwindled, we kidnapped Mom and Dad and went to dinner at Don Pedro’s.  It was delicious (and noisy!), we were grateful for a few more minutes with Mom and Dad.  What a fun Labor Day…no labor at all, just playing.  Isn’t that how it should be?

Grandma Tiki

One Sunday afternoon, we decided to go see Grandma Tiki and Rhonda.  We brought some cookies and had a nice visit.
The kids (enthusiastically, can you tell?) sang a Primary song about Grandmas to them.  It was adorable.   We love you Grandma and Rhonda!!