Jake gets baptised!

Along with turning 8, Jake was able to be baptised a member of our church. It is a fun and exciting moment in our family when a child turns 8. First of all, I make them a video slideshow of ALL (let's get real, some) of the photos of them from birth to age 8. This year, because I was crazy busy, Allisun helped me organize the order of the slideshow. I put a few finishing touches and some music, and there you have it, Jakes life summed up into 18 minutes. He LOVES it. I LOVE it. I play it on the TV while we had family over for a big brunch (this allows everyone to watch Jake, but does NOT allow TV watching). Second, family shows up for some food. I made a yummy breakfast, and thanks to friends and family who baked cinnamon rolls, casseroles, and chocolate milk! Later that day, we took in a BYU basketball game at Energy Solutions Arena, and saw the lights at temple square. It was a fun filled LONG day! (I also had a photo shoot this day as well.) Jake is the best kid. Really. He has his moments, but I know that it is because he needs/wants attention. I wish I could convey to him, that I would give him MORE attention if he would stop the pestering...too bad it doesn't work that way. Jake is a sweet kid. He is a big hugger, and likes to spend time with his family. Here are his baptism photos! Enjoy!

Jake turns 8!

Now that my busy season is over, it's time to get back to blogging! Jake turned 8! On November 13 - but I still want to document it. He wanted to have a 'movie' party which was kind of a joke, cause the kids did NOT want to watch movies. Jake was so excited for this party! I had a friend make an awesome cake - we decorated the house a bit, had a table for movie treats, and the kids all came! He got 3 footballs, which he loved, and his favorite gift was a pack of gum - go figure. Here are a few of my favorite photos from his big day.


Jake is a pretty good kid. He loves to pester, but I know it's just to get attention. He is a great student, and has no behavior problems at school. THANK HEAVENS! I took him on a trip to Oregon with me (more on that later) and he was so great! It was really fun to have one on one time with him. I just can't believe he's already 8!

Something is seriously wrong...

BYU lost against Utah today. NOW...normally - I would say...big deal. It's just a game, blah, blah, blah. I am truly upset at the outcome. For a few weeks, I have been telling everyone that I think it's going to be a good game - a close game, and that BYU can hold their own. (We have season tickets and I've been to most of the home games.) The first game when BYU had 2 quarterbacks - Heaps was my favorite and I was rooting for him. People have laughed in my face (because let's be honest, what on EARTH do I know about football?). But, I have to say, I am so disappointed they lost. I am so irritated with the refs. Why on EARTH do they have automatic review if they can't even get that right? What on earth is wrong with me? What is happening? What did Troy do to me? Well, I will walk away knowing BYU was definitely the better team today - regardless of the score - and look forward to next year. Seriously? Did I really just say that? Oy...

{No BYU haters OR UTE lovers are allowed to post comments about the game - or I will delete them. This post is strictly to document my feelings for the day. Keep your comments to facebook...I am trying REALLY hard to not read or comment on facebook anymore about the game...}

Busy...Busy...Busy...

It's always this time of year that my blog gets put on the back-burner...I thought I would update and show you a few of my favorite photos from Halloween...it was a 'spooktacular' year for us in the costume department, and super cheap. My kids had a blast, and I have tons of candy to put in school lunches (as a snack only - of course).







As you can see - the boys were hilarious. We went to the school to watch the parade, and EVERYONE was in awe of my boys...asking if I would REALLY shave their heads? As if hair is some sacred thing...The boys actually tied in a costume contest at a yogurt shop in town. The only thing I regret is Kristin probably felt like a 'middle child'. Nobody paid attention to her costume - even though it is an ACTUAL cheerleader costume I purchased at the BYU Sports Kick-off. It is used and has been worn by cheerleaders (yeah, don't ask my how I feel that it fits my 6 year old). Anyways - like always, she was a good sport. We had a great Halloween...that's all that counts, right?

Happy Day...

I picked up my new jeans last night. I bought them at the Buckle. I love that store because they hem FOR FREE...and it looks good. The jeans are a bit pricey - for this pair they cost $75 - but it's worth every penny. My last pair lasted me 2 years.

The other happy moment is that Troy and I booked a condo for our Hawaii trip we are planning this spring. I am SO excited. Now that it's booked - there is NO going back. That makes me super happy!

Kyle played great in his flag football game tonight. Caught a sweet pass and pulled some flags.

Fed my kids 60 cent hamburgers/corn dogs at Artic Circle. Not my best 'mom' moment - but when you're sick - that's heaven.

I went to bed feeling pretty sick last night - and felt even worse this morning. So I was really sad I couldn't wake up and put my new jeans on. I cancelled my morning plans, and stayed in bed. Troy came home for lunch and instructed Haley to 'please put mom down for a nap'. She did and we both slept for 3 hours. HEAVEN. I hope I am perfectly better by Friday. I am headed to Portland and have 11 photo shoots scheduled! I am willing my body to get better! Luckily - I just have YW tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can sleep again all day tomorrow.

Even though I'm sick...it's been a happy day.

Utah State Fair

Our family went to the Utah State Fair a few weeks ago. We met Brad, Missy and Abby there(my cousin and his family). Missy is the creator of: So You Think You're Crafty. She took some photos of me and I took some photos of them! I edited my photos and watermarked them with my logo even though she took them, just to protect the pictures, but it's obvious, I did NOT take them.



Here's my favorite one I got of their cute little family... It was great being able to hang out for a few hours! We must do it again sometime...let's not wait for the fair!

Headed to Portland...

I am headed to Portland...to see some very important people and to do some mini-shoots! I will only be there for a little over 24 hours, so sessions will go by fast. Let me know if you want a spot!

Family times...

A few weeks ago - all of my brothers came to town. That is kind of a big deal. We usually are only ALL together once - MAYBE twice - a year. We did so many things. Hiking...biking...swimming...BBQ's...and of course...TENNIS. I only took my camera on the hike. Which was dumb - cause that was probably the most difficult thing to haul my 40lb camerabag around doing. Anyways...here are the photos. We are missing Jason - he didn't fly in until later this night. A few things about this lake...it is about 2.5 miles round trip. It is a pretty steep and rocky climb. The kids did surprisingly well...I made them all carry a little backpack with their own water. Haley just went on shoulders a few times.



WE MADE IT! What do you do at the top of a hike except throw rocks in the lake and take a group picture?








We had a super fun weekend...this year we get to have everyone back for Christmas...can't wait!

KidsK

Two days after my triathlon, my friend decided she would do a KidsK. The kids basically ran around this park 3 times - which equaled just a little over a mile. After the run, the kids then did a relay. 3 kids to a team, each running once around the park, then exchanging a bandana...I really wanted my kids to do something like this - especially since they had just seen me finish my triathlon. Before we left we talked about how some things are hard - but that you should never give up. They didn't get up, and finished the race. The shocking part was that Haley ran a mile in 15 min. 32 seconds. She beat many a 9 year old! She had her sandals on and just kept running. I was so proud of her. The other kids her age stopped running after the first lap. It was a HUGE success. I want to orchestrate a bike/run race for the kids. Maybe in the spring. Parents helped out, brought fruit and popcicles. Thanks to Heidi for organizing this...here are some photos from the event...poor kids, it was literally 97 degrees at 7:30 pm when they raced...even more reason to be proud!On your marks...get set...GO!
I loved this photo...they were stretching before the race!

Everytime they would finish a lap, a parent would put a sticker on their bib number. That way we could keep track of how many times each kid had gone around.

Look at that girl...I am so proud of her! I still am so amazed at what she has accomplished. I will have to start taking her running with me!

Nice red face....
The handoff! Kyle's relay team got first place, and Jake and Kristin's team got second.

Until next year...

Kristin...

Meet Kristin...

so many things I can say about her...for one, she's a fashion diva...literally. She is VERY concerned with everything she wears, and for the most part, she's usually right...her clothes always match and look good together. I saw this outfit for her, and HAD to get it...she LOVES wearing it to school, and after her first time wearing it to school, came home and told me that everyone told her how cute she looked, and that some people told her she looked like Hannah Montana...Apparently that's a huge thing...Kristin is in a chinese immersion class. She speaks Chinese half the day. She has gone to school for 3 weeks, and has been off track for 3 weeks and is headed back to school on Tuesday. The girl would rather be speaking chinese than english. She is CONSTANTLY spouting things off in Chinese, and totally teaching Haley. Haley knows more chinese than I do. It helped that my brother David taught her a few things when he was home a few weeks ago. I absolutely LOVE the chinese immersion program, and would recommend it to anyone! I am excited for Haley to start it in first grade as well. We may have to start saving up for a trip to China when the girls are in high school.

A lady recently stated in the Deseret News in the Editorial section this: Are any other parents concerned about the "dual immersion" language program in elementary schools? Students can choose among Chinese, Spanish and French, or they may opt out. Apparently former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. thought it was a good idea because he knows Chinese.
Did he learn it in elementary school? Where are all the teachers who know these three languages well enough to teach them coming from? And how much precious time is taken up with it?
I think it would be enough to teach good English and reading skills. There are Hispanic students in many classes, and English for them and Spanish for the rest of the class would be good, but why Chinese or French? Laura Banks Salt Lake City

My dad came over flaming mad about a response he would like to provide, but he didn't want to do it online, he wanted it printed...I just had to laugh at the ignorance of this lady and her small-mindedness. The balls she had to have to even submit that, is amazing. This was my favorite comment I found on the reply board online (link above): Are you kidding me? No foreign languages? Maybe we should adopt a new state mascot: the hillbilly. My second favorite comment is this: What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks 1 language. American.

I am so proud of Kristin. She is so smart, and doing amazingly well. I am so excited she's in this program, I wish my boys would have had the opportunity as well!