Once again we headed to Cedar City to join the Utah summer games! What a fun experience this is every year. If you have never been you should it is the bomb!! No medals this year,despite the great way the team played. Eight years we have been going. two gold medals, one silver and two bronze............over the years!
Opening ceremonies

beautiful back drop

The parade of athletes


flag ceremony
A fly over from the Utah national guard unit.........refueling plane!


The lighting of the torchThe fireworks!

Utah summer games in Cedar City 2010!

Getting ready to line up for the parade of athletes in the opening ceremonies.

Happy Graduation Alex!

Wow! I can't believe my baby graduated from pre-school!! Oh, wait I think this is high school!! Where has the time gone? From reading groups and room mom...to high school PTA it has been a blast!! I appreciate the phrase "time flies when you are having fun............it is funny how it seems just like yesterday I was listening to these kids read from their 2nd grade reading books. I have love working in the schools, because it has given me the opportunity to get to know all the wonderful kids my kids have grown up with. The sad thing about graduation is I don't get to see all of these wonderful people on a regular basis anymore. I have truly loved being a mom and I am so thankful that my hardworking hubby who made it possible for me to spend time being a full time mom for 22 years! I have truly loved each stage of my children's lives and look forward to the many more memories to COME!

Closing this chapter of our lives..................now on to the next adventure!

We met together as a family on Memorial Day and had a wonderful time, playing together, eating great food, laughing and crying together. Family is what life is all about and I am so thankful for my family. We have wonderful parents who gave us a great start in life. We miss our wonderful father who was such a family man. Dad loved being with his family and enjoyed spending time with all of us even in our craziness! In fact he usually started the craziness!! His smile and twinkle in his eye is one of the things I miss the most. I love being with my family and have so many happy memories of times together! Can't wait until until Labor Day reunion when even more of us will be together!



Graduation and Memorial Day picnic!

Yes! I have a waterfall in my back yard! This year it has been running in full force! I really do live where I can see the beauties of this earth!!






Just some pics from my back yard! All this rain has made the mountain in my back yard soooo very beautiful.


A shot of Venus at night! The night sky is awesome at night from my deck....


Some times it seems that life changes as fast as the clouds!

Today John and I came home from church to an empty house! Brady, Kasey, and Alysa were at the single ward and Alex went to hear a friend speak in church. We wonder what to do with no big meal to prepare for hungry kids coming home from church so we decided to make a picnic and set out on an adventure to find the perfect picnic spot. We rode up to the waterfall and settle in for our little lunch and then took a nap as we were sarinated by the birds! Then we contemplated over the past years of raising your children............it seems odd to have that time come to an end, a job, that seemed would never end!!

I know that parenting is never ending, but certain jobs do come to and end and we are at that point in life! Have we accomplished all that we set out to do? No Did we have lots of good times? Yes Did we make mistakes? Yes. Would we do things differently if we could go back? Certainly! Have we had fun? YES!!! And we hope to have fun in the great years ahead. We are so proud of our children and the choices they have made and continue to make. So...........Congratulation Alex on your high school graduation............And CONGRATULATIONS......MOM AND DAD for we are the proud parents of our last graduate from Box Elder High School!!

Now on the the next chapter......................

Here a few pictures from our afternoon adventure.
We took pictures of each other so I could have an updated photo!! Now you can see why I don't have many photo's with me in them!! I am defiantly the photographer of the family!






A perfect picnic spot!

The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. Ben Stein

Over the past few months, I have been very intrigued with the notion of creating the "ideal day." Life seems to be going through one of those phases where everything is "shifting." My schedule and commitments continue to change and unfold. Like many of you, my life doesn't really contain a formula for a "typical day." It is constantly in flux.
But I became intrigued with the concept of building my own ideal day. If it were up to me (and a large portion of our days are up to us) what would my day look like? How would it start? What activities would I make sure to include? What steps would I take toward my goals? Who would I spend my time with? In essence: if I could build my life (which I can) what blocks would I choose to use as my foundation?
Interestingly, if we don't ask ourselves these questions, we get whatever blocks are tossed in our path and make the most of them. When we take an active and aware interest in constructing our days, our weeks, our months, we truly become an active builder of our life.
I started by asking myself some basic questions:

1. What things should I be doing that I know I need to do - yet do not make time for? (For me personal scripture study, and meaningful prayer)

2. What grounds and centers me each day making me feel emotionally healthy and full for the hours ahead?

3. What makes me feel good and thus increases my capacity to make others feel good?

4. Who do I need to communicate with daily on a deep level in order to feel fulfilled? (My husband always ranks high on this list!)

5. What are the little things I can do daily to find fulfillment? (I love to read , send emails to friends, write a card, journal a bit)

While these alone may not seem like major components of a day, they are simple things that nourish the soul, allowing for important "rejuvenating" time.
6. What do I need to do at the end of the day to prepare emotionally and physically for the day ahead?
7. What is most important to me - physically, emotionally, spiritually, community-wise, etc.

Once I had written down my answers (I worked on this here and there for a week or so) I began to take each component that emerged as important and scheduled it into an ideal day. It is important to mention, that I didn't get up the next day and start leading this perfectly, well-designed, ideal life. We have to be patient with ourselves, remembering that we are often entrenched in our routines. Evolving from the old into the new is a process for us, just as it is for the caterpillar to butterfly.
I did however; make sure to live this ideal day, start-to-finish for at least one day within the next two weeks after I had it fully designed. I longed to know what my "ideal day" would actually feel like This wonderful feeling became a strong motivator.
Then, I continued to make smaller shifts in my schedule, over a period of months, to move closer to living this ideal day more often than not.

Happy Mothers Day!

What a blessing being a mother has been in my life..........I would not trade the precious moments I have had in watching my children grow for all the wealth in the world. For as a mother, I feel like the richest person in the world! I also love being an aunt, and sister! Thanks to all those in my life that have let me mother them!