Bare Naked Ladies Concert

Jonathan and I joined Nick and Kelly for a great concert at the botanical gardens. I didn't even know they held concerts there, but it was a lot of fun. We brought lawn chairs, snacks, blankets, and lots of warm clothes. Luckily, the weather was good for us and it didn't rain; however, it did get pretty chilly by the end of the concert.
Serena Ryder opened and she was really fun to listen to. She really got into the music! Then out came the Bare Naked Ladies. We sang along with almost all of the songs. My favorite one was "million dollars"!!! It was such a great atmosphere for a concert and we did a lot of people watching.

WSU 5 Year Reunion

Last Monday I got to spend a fun evening with my fellow alumni from Weber State University. I can't believe it's been 5 years since we graduated. There were 5 of us that rode down to Weber together once a month for classes for radiation therapy. We had so many good times and we were laughing the whole night reminiscing about it all.

My favorite memory happened during our physics class. The classroom was set up with long tables and chairs. Us 5 always sat together in a row and wrote notes and drew funny pictures. Erin was sitting in the middle of the row and got up during class to use the bathroom. We took full advantage of the situation and pushed her chair under the table and hid her backpack and books. Then we all spread out just a little to make it look as if she was never there. When she returned from the bathroom, she came through our row and couldn't find her spot. She ended up just standing in the middle of the classroom looking lost. Our teacher had to stop class and ask her if everything was okay. We all busted up laughing!!!

We pulled a similar prank on Jane in the lunch room. After we had all sat down, Jane got up to get a drink. We all packed up our food and switched tables. She came back to the table and stood there looking around. It was a lesson learned the hard way, but in the end you should never leave the group alone!!!

We ate dinner out a lot while we were there and wherever we went it was always someone's birthday. It was fun to see who got to the waiter first and it was always a surprise as to who was going to get embarrassed.

Nights in were also very memorable. We did a makeover event complete with toilet paper extensions and a grape weave.

We had so much fun together and formed strong friendships. We still stay in pretty good contact and luckily we all work here in the valley. Thinking back to all the trips down there, it is amazing to think we ever got anything productive done!!!

Here are some pictures of our adventures in Ogden...Penny, Jane, Anna, and Erin all bundled up in a blanket and cheering on the Weber Wildcats in a hockey game.
Erin, Penny, Jane, and Art working on an extended distance calculation

I think they were going for a "natural look"

Jane's toilet paper hair extensions

Erin, Anna, Jane, and Penny. The hotel oversold rooms so we got the presidential suite. It sounded good, but there were no beds...it was more of a meeting space. So we called and got 6 roll away beds and lined them up all next to eachother.
And a recent picture from dinner (it was Erin's birthday this time)...

Art, Penny, Erin, Jane, and Anna

More Mother's Day Pics

Here are a some pictures of the kids playing....
Joy and Jillian and Anna and Jace
Brylee, Anna and Jace, Jillian, Addy, and Steph
Zayden loved that ball!

Jace

I love this picture of Addy helping Jillian get a drink!!

The fence...part 1

We enjoyed another wonderful weekend in McCall. Our newest project is putting a fence up in the back yard. There is a lot of prep work involved, but I think we made some really good progress.

Friday night Jonathan went out back and planned where the fence was going to go. I made us a pizza, did some laundry, and picked out a movie. We popped some popcorn and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening. The weather was so nice and it was nice to not have to be all bundled up.

Saturday morning we got right to work. Jonathan went over our plan of attack and I started clearing the brush. Here is my pile at the beginning of the day:

Here is a picture from the back edge of where the fence will be (it should give the boys plenty of room to run and explore:

We hadn't been working too long when I heard a rustling. We looked up and there was a deer in our yard eating the grass. I couldn't believe how close we were too it without being scared!

We even got some extra help. Dan came over with a much needed chainsaw. It was nice for me because the guys worked out the fence logistics and I kept cleaning up the area. Jonathan sure had fun with the chainsaw and it really helped to clean up the area.

Measuring and marking...by the end the yard was definitely coming together.

It was a long day with a lot of work. I made some Italian chicken, potatoes, and corn on the cob and the three of us had a nice dinner together. Thanks for the help Dan!
Sunday morning we slept in and had a leisurely morning. As I was drinking my cup of tea, I watched two more deer in our backyard from the deck.

Then, we got to work. It started off warm, but every once in awhile we would feel a little breeze which was nice.

The boys weren't helpful, but they did stay out of the way. They were very good and stayed close to home, but it will be nice to have a fence and be able to let them be outside unattended.

Here is my pile at the end of the weekend!!! I can't wait till we have a big bonfire!!

The boys and I walked down to the stream. I found a nice log to relax on while the boys played in the water and peed on trees. They love running around in wide open spaces!

Chief hunting squirrels

Tucker

Barney
The boys were absolutely exhausted by the end of the weekend. Tucker was passed out in his kennel the whole way home!!

Adventures in Babysitting

Last Tuesday, I got to spend some quality time with Joy's kids. I even got to attempt bed time!! When I got there Jace and Jillian were finishing up their dinner. Jilly kept showing me her tongue and then would giggle when I acted surprised!

Jace is a big time flirt. We would smile and laugh and then turn away as if he was shy. He is definitely going to be a heartbreaker!

Bed time was a breeze!! Joy and Brian have done a great job with their bed time routine. I did have to chase two laughing twins around, but not to worry...I caught them both. I was surprised at how strong Jace is. He can pull himself up onto the king-size bed from the footboard without any help. And of course as soon as you look away for one second, you are missing one of them. The only hard part was actually putting them in their cribs because they were being so cute and so good, that I wanted to keep playing with them.

After they were snug in their beds, I got to relax with Colton. We watched Beauty and the Beast and then went to jump on the trampoline. Colton is a very good at jumping. It was super windy outside, but that didn't slow us down!

We had a great time!!!

3rd Annual Mother's Day BBQ

This year we hosted the 3rd Annual Mother's Day BBQ!!!
The boys took me on a nice walk in the morning. They all did very good!!

Then, it was time to get ready for the BBQ. I made my mom's famous baked beans and Jonathan got the yard ready. We had a great turnout and had lots of fun. I even talked Joy into bringing the twins over since her husband and Colton were out of town. I also managed to get he neighbors and their little girl to come over. We celebrated 5 moms...Joyce, Joan, Monica, Joy, and Steph!!
I think I had the most fun playing with all the kids. They all did really good playing with eachother and sharing. Luckily Joy had brought enough graham crackers for everyone and the neighbors brought a super fun bubble machine. I think Brylee really took a liking to Jace!! And Zayden is getting so big...it's fun to see his little personality coming out. I took a bunch of pictures, but they are on my mom's camera so I'll have to post those later. And, of course, Brylee talked Emily and me into eating Zayden't puffs!! We are always a sucker when it comes to Brylee!
Me and Mom
Emily, Jonathan, Monica, and Joan
Jillian, Joy, and Jace

Race for the Cure

Mom and I walked 5K for "Race for a Cure" on Saturday (May 8). We got these cute little bucket hats for being on the St. Luke's team!! Mom wore hers (and I think she was the only one at the whole race), but I chose a beanie because the weather was a little chilly. We made pretty good time with our fast walking and even managed to score a free scarf at the end. We had always missed out on the scarves in prior years. We had a fun time and got in a lot of girl talk!!

How can you tell if the lawn has been freshly mowed?

Just take a look at Barney's mouth!! Tucker's little white feet were also dyed green from the lawn, but he wouldn't hold still long enough for a picture.

So far, the boys have left my flowers alone, but we'll see how long that lasts!

Lindsay's Bridal Shower

I am getting so excited for my brother's wedding. It is only 5 weeks away!!! Last Saturday (May 1st), we celebrated with Lindsay's bridal shower. It was so nice to meet all her friends and family. Everyone had such nice things to say about her!! The shower was held at a beautiful home in Star. It fit all 38 guests comfortably and we even ate off of china plates and real silverware.

Even the animals dressed up for the shower.

The food was so great and the presentation was awesome!! I was in charge of my usual desserts...chocolate covered strawberries and mini cherry cheesecakes!

I'm so excited to have her be a part of our family.