December 31, 2016

I guess I didn't technically take this picture but my brother's foster kids are in all the pictures that I took and I can't post those so this will have to do.  

1. We decided to throw a New Years Eve Party at our house this year.  It was really quite fun!  It's always good to get together with people you love.  At the end of the night we did fireworks and made lots of noise outside.  It was great!  But the best part was the next day at church some ladies sitting behind us were talking about how the fireworks scared them to death and they were trying to figure out who set them off.  We were just a laughing!  It was really funny!  Well since we started the New Year off with a bang it should be a good one, right?
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December 30, 2016

Snowmobiling is a pretty big deal at my house.  So today Brian and McKenzi got ready to go sledding.  They had gear all through my house. I felt that I really needed to show that since I won't be going with them tomorrow.  

December 29, 2016

Well taking a picture everyday gets a little difficult when you work full time so after work I have been trying to just find things around the house to play with.  I found this flower just sitting on my floor and decided to try it.  As I am laying on the floor taking a picture my youngest son walks in and asks, "Mom what the heck are you doing?"  I am sure I will get asked that a few more times in this journey to discover photograph, but I am still excited.

December 28, 2016

Light Painting is something of a fascination of mine.  So I thought I would give it a try.  Now I know this isn't a masterpiece but I still think it looks pretty cool for a first attempt.  I am way excited to give this technique a little more time when it warms up outside.  Night photography is really fun!!

December 27, 2016

This is the view off my porch. It's not the best picture but I was too cold to get out in the snow.  And really it doesn't matter because this shows my world.  Isn't it a gorgeous place that I live?

December 26, 2016

We usually go snowmobiling the day after Christmas but that wasn't in the cards for us this year.  Instead we decided to go sledding.  Luckily there was snow close to our house so we didn't have to go far. However there was a freezing cold wind that was awful!!!  Anyway here is a picture of  my family that was able to go.  Thankfully we had winter clothes to keep us warm!

We took Ken and Lisa and their kids with us. Also Justin Carlisle came with.  There were a few hills to choose from.  This one was the easier one so the littler kids has fun on it. I love this picture showing the path up.  

The larger hill was much better with the tubes.  However there was a ditch at the bottom that made for some epic crashes.  Here is Bryson.  He was saved from a crash by the bush which stopped him early.

The sled's were much better on the smaller hill.  They really got booking it down it!!  Bryson's face cracks me up in this picture.

Friends are the best!  Here is a picture of Jared, Bryson, and Justin.  When the rest of us were done sledding, these three just kept on going.  They were having so much fun even with their crashes!!

This is my favorite picture of the day!!  Sheridan is so beautiful and this picture just shows it!

Now for the epic crashes.  Brian and I laughed so hard!  Which is probably a little mean but it was just so funny.  This first crash was Lisa and Reba. I am not exactly sure what happened but half way down the hill they started tumbling.  Sadly it was the end for Reba. She stayed in the trucks the rest of the day.

This picture is just as Sheridan hit the ditch on the bigger hill, going backwards even.  

Justin faced planted it in the ditch.  He was so cold!!  Snow went everywhere.  

December 25, 2016

Christmas morning was a little bit different this year.  First of all it snowed!!  That meant that Brian was out all night plowing.  Second my kids are all teens now and so they slept in.  The phone rang at 8:30 am and woke us all up.  It was a really nice morning.  It was fun to see what my kids got each other.  Here is Kenzi with her gift from Sheridan. 

  I know it's not a great picture but I just got a new camera and am still trying to figure it out.

December 24, 2016

We had our Christmas party in Richfield and it was really crowded.  That is one of the best parts about family get together.  We all get up close and personal.  Well my girls and Conner all wore boots and were resting their feet on the same stool. It was so cute I had to take a photo.  I loved it!!  This is what family get togethers are like for me.  

December 23, 2016

I realize that not every picture I take is going to be good.  I also realize that isn't what this is about.  It's about learning.  You have to make mistakes to learn and figure out how to do them better.  So even though this isn't a great quality picture it's what I have for the day.  And really as long as the picture is of someone I love that makes it ok.  So here's to my cute, Sher.  Thanks for wrapping presents for us this year!

December 22, 2016

I decided to try Project 365.  That is where I take a picture everyday.  I am not sure how this is going to work and I don't know if I will post every picture but I love the idea of documenting my life in photographs.  So here goes.  This picture is part of my Christmas wreath. It is quite old and I am not sure how much longer it will hold up.  I made it at a Relief Society event years ago.  I was nervous about it because it wasn't really my style but I sure have enjoyed it.

Peter Pan

I seriously feel like I have some of the best friends ever!!  We went to see Peter Pan at Hale Center.  Even though it was not one of my favorite plays we still had the best time.  It's amazing what fin you can have when a bunch of your girl friends get together.  So thank you for being such great friends.  

Fairview Derby

It's been quite a few years since I had been to a demolition derby. This year we were asked to help time and to judge at the Fairview Derby.  So we spent the evening watching cars crash and destroy each other while we kept track of their times and made sure they didn't make any illegal hits.  As a bonus we got these fabulous shirts!!  I am sure I will wear mine all the time,  JK.  Anyway we really had a good time that had nothing to do with where we were but who we were with.  Family is what really matters.

Family Reunion Day 2

It's A Pirate's Life for Me!

Day 2 was spent doing all sorts of pirate activities including our very own pirate photo booth.  Mom and Dad started us out on that one.  Even though my dad is batting leukemia and taking chemo, he was still at the reunion doing what he could.  What a great father I have!!  I sure do love him and my mom!

My sister, Cherish, and her family make me smile.  They are always so excited to do things and are great at giving hugs.  When they got to the reunion, the girls were so worried that we started without them.  They were afraid that they missed something!  Luckily all they missed was truck ride!

Bryson is so much fun!!  He is always excited to do new things.  So he gladly took a second to take a picture with me.  Doesn't he make such a cute pirate?

This is one of my favorites!!  Brian grew his beard out for the reunion, even though I was ready for it to be cut.  Anyway he had this plan to paint it our family color.  Lucky for him I actually had purple hair spray! So here he is as Captain Purple Beard!  What would I do without him?

Here is a picture of my brother Mike and his family.  By the way, the have killer flag making skills!  They totally won the best flag award.  Great job guys.

Ken's family is so full of energy.  They are constantly going.  It was quite an accomplishment to get them all together for a picture.  Aren't they just cute pirates though??

Ryan and Amber have their hands full right now.  They have a bunch of foster kids living with them who were so excited to dress as pirates.  But I can't post a picture of the kids so here is just the two of them poking a little fun at the pirate theme.  I love this because it shows their sassy personalities off.

Here is my crew!  Kenzi brought Conner up with her and we thought it would be funny to try to kill him in our picture.  He was just good to let us have a little fun.  Oh and by the way we totally won the best dressed family award.

Kenzi and Conner were so good.  They played with the little kids and helped out whenever and wherever they could.  

Probably my all time favorite picture is the one with my siblings!  This is my family (minus two who didn't come).  These are the people who have always been there for me.  They are my safety net.  I can't imagine my life without them.  I couldn't have asked for a better family.

Lastly, I just had to throw this picture in there.  One of the pirate games we played was a rope streaming contest.  Basically we had to unravel a streamer with one hand.  Afterwards there were streamers everywhere.  The kids just started playing in them.  It was great! This is my niece and she reminds me of Lady Liberty.   

All for one and one for all.  It's a Pirate's Life for Me!!

Family Reunion Day 1

Brian and I were over my family reunion this year.  We decided to do it up Monroe Mountain at our cabin.  Everyone showed up by Friday night.  We all just kind of hung out that night and visited.  Bryson is a typical boy and thinks it's fun to pull silly faces for pictures.  What a kid!!

This is my fabulous parents!  They raised this crew of ours and somehow lived through it all.  Now they get to sit back and relax a little all the while enjoying their posterity.  Love ya mom and dad!

 A few of us played a little corn hole.  Everything is better in the mountains including corn hole.  It makes it a little more challenging because nothing is level and even.

A few of us loaded up in Grandma's truck and went looking for wildlife.  We stopped and let the kids play on this old fence for a little while. It sure doesn't take much to entertain this kids of ours.

When it got dark we went inside and made Pirate Bracelets otherwise known as friendship bracelets.  The little girls loved doing this!

My house

We are nearing the end of our remodeling journey.  We had the counter tops installed this week.  Now we just need to get the back splash up and finish the island.  We sure are loving our new open concept.  Today I sent these two pictures to my missionary.  He said that he sure is glad that we told him about this so he won't be shocked when he gets home.  

Temple Tuesday

Well since I was released from Young Woman's I decided that I am going to go to the temple on Tuesday nights as often as I can.  I figured that since I am use to doing things on Tuesday for young woman's it should be pretty easy.  We'll see how true that statement ends up being.  Anyway I had my mom go with me this week.  I took 7 names and did initiatory work for them.  It was pretty cool.  And of course it was great spending the night with my mom.  I love to see the temple!!

Missionary Friends

When Jordan got called on his mission we found another family whose son was called on the same mission.  We later found out that we are related.  Even though they live in California we have kept in contact and shared our son's mission stories.  Lucky for me they were traveling through Gunnison and stopped in to visit.  It was so much fun to spend a few minutes visiting with them.  

One of the blessings that we have received while Jordan is in the mission field is that of great friends.  It's amazing the unity you feel with others who are going through similar experiences as you are.  So here's to the Gray family!! Thanks for sharing your lives with us.

6th Flat Tire

Kenzi has had her drivers license for about a year and a half.  This weekend she got her 6th flat time.  It just happened to be that she was in my car at the time!!  I just about died when she called and told me she got another one.  Luckily nobody was hurt and tires can be replaced.  Sure do love these crazy kids of mine!!  They mean the world to me.

On a side note as we were driving up the mountain we saw this dear.  It was just such a beautiful sight we had to take a picture.  I am so grateful for this beautiful Earth that we get to call home.

Serving in the Church

This past week has been a lot harder than I expected it to be.  I have been serving in the Young Woman's program for 6 years and I was getting kind of burnt out.  So it was no surprise to me that we were getting released.  What did surprise me was how empty I felt on Sunday as they released us.  I cried most of the day.  I guess it comes down to this.  You serve those girls for 6 years.  You pray for them, you plan things for them, you are with them on Sunday, Tuesday, and other special occasions.  Then suddenly you no longer get that association.  I really feel like I just lost 30+ daughters.  Those girls just become part of your life.  They will always be my girls, I just won't get to spend quite as much time with them.  However, I am extremely grateful for the love, kindness, and the examples they have shown me.  They are truly a light in my life.  Thank you to all those that I got to serve and those that I got to serve with.  You will forever be in my heart!!

4th of July

We love to celebrate the birth of our nation.  This year was a little strange because I spent most of the weekend by myself.  Bryson went and spent Saturday with his dad doing fireworks and my older kids were at work or with friends.  So I stayed home and just worked on my house a little.  Then my mom and I drove down to watch fireworks.    On Monday we all went to the parade.  We even took our new kitten, Fabio.  We all just love it to pieces.  Kenzi wasn't with us during the parade because she was chilling in the parade.  

After the parade all my family, except me, went up to Henefer to do fireworks up there.  So again it was another day all by myself.  I decided that a little time by myself is ok but I really missed my family this weekend.  They are what makes me the happiest.  I sure do love them all!  

Get Your Posh On

I fell in love with Perfectly Posh the first time I used one of the products.  Now I sale it.  So of course I had to include a little bit of that on my blog.  If you like using face masks, you will understand the loveliness of this picture.  Oh how good it feels!!