My nephew Ryan is getting married to the cutest girl!!! To welcome Janette to the family we decided to throw her a bridal shower. I found out that her colors for the wedding were going to be purple, black, & silver.....and I went a little over-board with my color scheme for the shower. I seem to pick a theme and then go wild, I'm crazy like that. My first idea was one I heard from my sister & I decided it sounded like a fun and unique idea. I went out and found some cute scrapbook paper and made a wedding cake out of pieces of paper folded into pie shaped pieces. You then fill them up with candies and at the end of the shower they can be your party favor to hand out. It turns out pretty cute but Ihave to say it was a lot of work.

Check it out:

My next order of business were the invites which I did in the same colors. In a funny twist of fate they were similar to the actual wedding invitations. I then decided that I wanted to have a dessert party, no food, except yummy fattening goodies. I called in the troops and sent out my orders for the best desserts. We had mini cheesecakes, dessert pizza, macaroons, and eclairs. I pulled out my chocolate fountain and we had a chocolate "bar" of treats to dip (pretzels, marshmallows, graham crackers, fruit, and gummi bears). Last but not least we had sherbet served in the peels of real fruit. For example, we had coconut sherbet in a coconut shell. Can you say delicious?????

As we were eating Joni received a "pretend" phone call from the bakery who was making Janette's cake. Joni had to tell her that they could no longer make her cake and that she was going to have to do it herself. So in front of everyone, and with no recipe, Janette had to "create" a cake. It was really funny to see her add ingredients from scratch. Then we had her set the oven, time it, and decorate the cake. She added frosting and a bride & groom of Anakin Skywalker & Padme. The cake was only about an 2 inches thick and had very little taste but it was a lot of fun.

We then opened all the gifts and the best part was seeing Janette get embarassed and start blushing when she got a few "sexy" presents.

We gave everyone the opportunity to write down why they would want to be a part of our crazy wacky family. We got all kinds of reasons: some serious, some sweet, and some downright funny. Whenever she needs a reminder she can pull those cards out and read how crazy & silly we really are.

I am so excited for Ryan & Janette. I wish them love and best wishes as they start their life together. We are so excited to welcome her into our very large but very loving family. Congratulations!!!!

FaMiLY piCtURe dAy!!!

So I had this crazy idea that we needed to get the family together and have a new family picture made. My idea was great, but I never realized how much work it would end up being. That's the problem with having an immediate family that adds up to around 50+ people I guess. So I planned for September because I knew Sarah & her kids would be in Utah. Picking the date was hard because what day is there that everyone can come? So with my friend Heather giving me the idea to do it on a Sunday (no one had work), the date was set. Next on the list: photographer. Who knew there we photographers out there who didn't work with large groups over 12? Apparently the answer is: everyone I contacted. So I finally found a girl that actually lived 4 houses away and she said YES. Hooray!

The final step: find a park to have pictures taken. Once again, who knew how hard it could be. Once again.....very hard to find a park available or that would fit that many people. After weeks, lots of phone calls, and many location changes we decided to head to Barnes Park in Kaysville.

I thought all my stress was coming to an end, but when I woke up on "the day" I looked outside to see the dreary cloudy weather. Let's just say I said a few choice words, flicked the weather channel on, and stressed till I got a stomache ache. I finally decided that there was nothing I could do so I said to myself, "Suck it up, put on your big girl panties, and get over it." The overcast day actually turned out ok and pics were taken.....the world did not end. And we moved on to what we do best......eating. It was a great day spent with family and that made all the stress worth it. Thanks everyone!!! All the family

Cute little kids!
Jamie being silly!
Me & Tucker "cheesin" it!

(More pics to come soon)

GiRLs nIgHT OuT!!!

I just wanted to write a little memo about the fun time I had last night. I decided that with all the stress caused by life, work, and kids that us girls needed a break. So for Candace & Julie's birthday gift I bought tickets for us to go see a play. We left the kids at home and Candace, Julie, Jana and I left for our

"GIRLS NIGHT OUT"

(said in a powerful voice with an echo).

We decided that we had to eat before the show so we went to Mimi's Cafe, which none of us had ever been. It was very yummy!! I left the diet behind and ate some good old food. Soon it was time for the show to begin so we headed over to Desert Star Playhouse to see SNOOTY & THE BEAST.

I love the plays at Desert Star because they are so funny. They always change the name of the play and "tweek" the storyline to make it hilarious. They usually make it modern and add little jabs at "Utahn" slang or way of life. I laughed my butt off. It seems like they try to make each other laugh on stage. Besides the humor the actors are really talented.They come out after the play and do a little singing bit. If you ever get the chance you should go and see one of their plays just for the experience.

I had a great time with my sisters & niece/best friend. I highly recommend that we make "Girls Night Out" a more common occurence just so we can leave the stress behind and have a night of hilarity. There's nothing better than laughter.

A dAy At thE ZoO!!!

So we got the crew together and went to the zoo. Many of us had not been in years so we were excited to see all the changes and new animals. I came with Jana & Torie where we met Brett, Candace, and Ryker-Bean. Then Kelly came with his cute girls, Alyssa and Lara. Soon Jamie & Taime were there as well. I love getting a group of people together for a day of fun.

Animals here we come......
I had heard they had some new baby animals at the zoo. The baby giraffe was only 11 days old and so dang cute. We also saw a baby white leopard that I wanted to bring home. The zoo is expecting a new baby elephant any day and its a big deal because they haven't had a baby elephant in years & years. I was a little disapointed because they got rid of a few animals, like the polar bears, lions, and hippos. Sad!
So our wild & crazy group more than made up for all the empty cages we saw. My brother Jamie is so funny and I can just say, "Go climb in that tortoise shell." And he will!!!! Or "Go pose on that statue." And he will!!!! He always makes me laugh.
Ryker loved all the animals! I think we all had just as much fun watching this "little animal" as we did the actual ones. He's so animated all the time, which is so cute.
Candace begged me to get her picture taken with the hairy man. I was like "okay, whatever." I think she had a crush on him, I say...let's not ask questions. (jk Candace) All in all, it was a great day!

LiFE iS An ADveNtURe!!!!

Last weekend my sister and her family invited me to go to their cabin. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to go because of work but at the last minute I found someone to work for me. We left Friday night for our weekend in the wilderness. We got to the cabin around 10:00 pm and went to bed soon after for our early morning hike. I was excited for it since it was dark when we arrived and I would get to see nature at its best and see the sun come up for the day.
So we got up around 6:15 am the next morning and set out on our hike. The pics above show how pretty it was there. No signs of other people for miles and miles. It was so quiet but that's what I liked about it. We hiked up the mountain with Rick navigating and looking for signs of animals. As we were hiking we heard a bull elk calling out to warn others that we were coming. It sounded so close to us. We hiked for a little while longer, stopped to rest,and headed back to the cabin for a hearty breakfast. Yum!!!!
After breakfast we decided to go out on the 4-wheelers. Let me just say that I have never in my life been on one so I was kind of nervous in the beginning. Cassidy promised me that she wouldn't "get me dead" and I believed her. So we set off to Bug Lake. The video below shows me on the 4-wheeler behind Cass and we come upon Tucker who has stopped in the middle of the road. You can hear my un-ladylike scream in the background as she swerves around him.

I was so amazed at how confidant Cass & Tucker were on the 4-wheelers. They we like mini Evil-Kneivels on them. They were standing up and peeling out. They would do swerves on the rocks (which scared me to death the fist time). I was very impressed with them because even though they were having fun they were safe. I think they slowed down just for me. But I am the first person to admit I am a wuss/scaredy-cat and the slower the better for me.

When we reached Bug Lake Rick asked if I wanted to learn to drive. I was very unsure and was going to totally wuss out. I had zero confidance that I could actually do it. But I think my family knows me well and encouraged me to try. So I tried it.......and loved it!!!!!! Like I said above, I like to go slow. I think the kids learned this as I went on many rides with them and was always the last to arrive. They would tease me and say, "We've been waiting here for hours." I never dared to go above 25 mph. My philosophy is this: No thanks,I choose life!!!!
Over that day and the next I made Cass & Tucker go on many rides with me. I even got to take out my own 4-wheeler. Tucker liked to ride up ahead and hide from me in the brush. I could never find him. He was a pro. This kid is the best! I had the best time hanging out with him. He is always so silly and kind. He always encourages me to try things and tells me to have more confidance in myself. He makes me laugh and I am so thankful to have him in my life.

Thanks for the fun weekend Tuck!

I love my niece Cassidy. She is the sweetest girl! She always makes me laugh with her silly antics. As you can see in the pics she always has to pose when I'm taking her picture. I can't believe how grown up she seems! I love having talks with her about girl stuff and love that she is my friend as well as my niece. You're the best in the world Cass!

The kids took me up the mountain to see a great view of Bear Lake. We had to go up a steep hill with trenches down one side. Cass was patient with me going up, going very very slow. At the top is the prettiest view of all the mountains and Bear Lake. I made the kids pose for a pic with me so I can always remember these moments they share with me.
I scared myself to death on the way down. I started going into a trench down the side but as I went to apply my brakes I accidentally pressed on the accelerator. I ended up going right into the ditch. I made the mistake of putting my leg down on the ground to stop myself (rookie mistake). I thought for a second that I had broken my leg. Luckily I got out of the ditch in one piece and my leg is only slightly sore. I think I scared myself more than anything. I didn't let it hinder me and rode the 4-wheeler on back to the cabin. I could seriously see getting addicted to 4-wheeling. I had a great time. Besides riding all over the land we also had a lot of fun at the cabin. Rick taught me to shoot a bow & arrow. I was very surprised to find that I actually hit the target on my first try. That was a big moment for me (jk). We sat around and played a bunch of fun games, watched dvd's, and goofed off. But what I liked best was that we didn't watch the time & we didn't have a schedule, we just relaxed, ate good food, and had a lot of fun. I hope they invite me back another time because I had a great time with Rick,Julie,Cassidy, and Tucker. Thanks for the great memories!!!

Summer-Summer-Time!!!

I have had the great privilige to be around to enjoy a few summer festivities thus far. I think that summer may be my favorite season for many reasons. I love the weather(HEAT!!!!), I love the sun, I love being outside, I love playing in the water, and most of all I love sharing fun times with people I love. I'm so glad I get to spend time with my family!!! Here's a few pics of some of our Summertime fun!!!

We went to Gateway mall and ran around in the fountains (above). Halle & Ryker seemed to like them. It was fun to see their faces when the water came up and surprised them. (Note: there will be no pics of me in swimming gear posted for anyone to see). They had just as much fun going up & down the stairs (below). They are both getting so big.

We have spent a few days at the pool so far this summer. Halle & Ryker seem to love swimming. Their favorite thing is to jump off the side of the pool into someone's arms. They're just so confidant that someone will be there to catch them. In the times we have been swimming we have had Heather's sister & nephews, Jana & Torie, and Cassidy & Tucker come with us. I think everyone has enjoyed the pool and had a good time...minus the sun burns!!!

In between swimming days we celebrated the 4th of July (see blog from before). That was a fun day at my sisters where we stuffed ourselves with goodies, watched the "Culd-a-sac of Fire!", and generally picked on each other. Good times!!!

The next great event to come up was Pioneer Day (its a Utah thing).We celebrate this with a large parade on Main Street. People go crazy setting up their chairs the day before and sitting in the heat for hours. We had a group of us that went that night: Grandma & Grandpa, Me, Tucker, Kelly & Kids, Jay & Tammy, Takara, Heather & Halle. We sat under a large canopy with our cooler of cold drinks and snacked on "Bird-Seed". It was a great time minus the few moments where I almost took on a lady for stealing our spot (remind me to tell you all about it). jk

All the kids loved running out into the road to catch candy, Halle liked dancing to the music, and Tucker liked all the cool cars.

After the parade we went to Grandma's house for pancake breakfast...for dinner!

The next event was a family reunion at my cousins's house. Reunions aren't really my thing because I don't really know the people I'm related to. Let's just say that its my mom's "thing". But it was fun! They had a large pool to swim in and good food. That's enough to make me happy. Here's some of the pics

(more to come).

When its all said and done...this summer has been pretty fun so far. Nothing fancy going on, no vacations, nothing but spending time with family & friends. I sometimes think that it can be more fun than anything else!

I'm sUcH a GeeK aBoUT mY PoTTeR!!!

I am the ultimate geek/nerd when it comes to Harry Potter. I have been waiting forever for this movie to come out....and finally the time has arrived! Yes, I will be going opening day (no laughing please). This is the only thing I have been looking forward to this summer. Because I am so excited I am blogging about it.....since I have nothing else going on in my life. So now you must all suffer because it is my perogative to write about my "dumb" show. I have even changed my blog background for the occasion (I told you I was a geek,and well....bored!)

I can't wait till Wednesday! THE END.