Byu Cougars!

Today we went to the first game of the Blue and White season! We were all psyched for football to start! Dad, Shay, Naomi, and Nate went to the game. Nate ended up leaving a little before the half but nobody blamed him! It was HOT! We were all wore out after the "big" game. But we all had fun together! Thanks for a great evening Dad!

The pic turned out blurry but you get the idea!

Tagged

My friend Karen tagged me.....Here are the answeres I am suppose to answer.........

20 years ago I was...........barely 14 years old living in Henderson NV. I was starting my freshman year at Basic High School. I was terribly shy and had my best friend Rachel connected at my hip. We balanced each other out. She was the outgoing one, I the shy & quiet one. It was the beginning of new friendships that would last for years to come. I thought I knew it all and was only beginning to take on the problems in the world. Choices had to be made and sadly I didn't always make the best ones. Dang, I wish I could go back and change some of them. :-) It was a time of growing up and a time that I should have run far far away from a boy named Shane. haha.

10 years ago I was...........barely 24 and 2 months pregnant with Shay. I was a Mom to a 3 year old and busy learning how to shuffle running a construction business & being a full time Mom. We lived in a home that we were constantly improving and life seemed great. My memories of that time were working on our home and improving our yard, adding new things each summer to it. I loved watching Naomi grow and learn new things. At only 3 you could carry on adult conversations with her and it was hard for me to keep up. haha. It's sad how time flies by so quickly.

5 years ago I was..........barely 29 and busy with 3 kids. Naomi had just started 4th grade, Shay kindergarten & Nate was home with me being only a 1 1/2 years old. That year is full of memories and experiences that made me stronger. That was a time of reflection on who I was, who I wanted to become and how I was going to achieve it. We had bought this home we now live in and I was serving as 1st couneselor in the Young Women's Presidency in our new ward. 5 years ago was when I stumbled across a great person named Kim who has changed my life for the better and has become a permanent fixture in my life and my families life.

3 years ago I was..........barely 31 and getting ready to hike "north rim to south rim" of the grand canyon. What an awesome experience that was. I did it with 3 other incredible women and words cannot express that experience. A lot of pain came afterwards though. :-) I was starting to train for the SLC marathon with my now running partner and friend Susan. I also talked my great friend Karen (from vegas) into training and running it with me. What a trooper she was. How thankful I am that we were able to have this experience together. Nate started preschool and thought he was as big as his sister and brother. Life was running smoothly and busy.

Yesterday I was........celebrating my 34th birthday. It started with a nice run in the morning, followed by hugs and kisses from my kids and hubby wishing me a happy birthday. Yesterday was a great day spending time with good friends and great family. The day consisted of visits from friends, phone calls from family, lunch with Susan (celebrating both our b-days, since hers was on the 24th), dinner with the my family and cake and ice-cream with Brenda & Steve who took the time to bake me a cake. I felt loved by lots of people and I want to tell them all thank you!

Next year......I am going to become better organized. I am going to be better prepared in all things. I am going to strive to be a more patient person. I am going to look for opportunities to serve others. I am going to be a better neighbor and a better friend. I am going to continue setting goals for myself and working to achieve them. I am going to take more "time outs" and not let the world pass me by so quickly. I am never going to be "too busy" to talk, play or read to my kids. I want to make memories for those I love. I want people who know me.....to know how much I care about them!

Running, working, canning......all in a Saturday!

Darrick and I started our Sat. morning bright and early (5:45 to be exact) by running 18 miles for our marathon training today. Darrick runs faster than I do so he runs solo with only the company of his ipod & garmin watch. Susan (my running partner) and I do all long runs together. I don't know what I would do without her company. We made it home in time for breakfast and the rest of our busy day. After breakfast Darrick took the boys and drove around scrapping metal, running to the bank, picking up 44 oz. caffeinated drinks (Mountain Dew for Darrick, Coke for me), etc. Naomi and I stayed home cleaning the house. When the boys got home Darrick had this brilliant idea of canning salsa this afternoon. My idea was taking a nap. haha. We ended up canning salsa and the kids stayed around and helped. We had a great time. We love getting things done as a family and we like to be productive with the things we grow in our garden. Tonight I am sure that Darrick and I will fall asleep before our heads hit our pillows.

Shay going "Extreme"

Darrick just fixed Shay's tires on

his bike. Here are pictures taken shortly after he got his bike back and jumping! Most of Shay's friends don't dare jump off the jumps he builds or creates except his friend Connor. He is the family's daredevil.

Wow, my eyes have been opened!

The book chosen for this months book club of ours was "Left to Tell" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It is her true story about finding God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. I believe this is a must read book. Upon hearing that this book had been chosen I came to the conclusion that this would be one book I wouldn't read since I knew so little about it, but what I did know was that their was lots of brutality in this story. I didn't know if I myself could read such sadness. I put it off and then coming upon 2 days until book club was to meet, I sat down and began to read. Wow! I have little words to explain how I felt while reading and how I feel now. I can't remember if I knew that this was going on in Rwanda 14 years ago, or if I was just too selfish to care what other people in another Nation was suffering. I hope and pray it wasn't the latter. After reading this story about her life and her suffering thru this tradgedy that happened upon her and her family, & all the tutsi's that lived there I cried tears of sadness for the things they went thru and then also for the freedom's that I have taken for granted. I am grateful to live in the U.S. I hope that I never take my freedom of living in this beautiful country for granted again. I am thankful that Immaculee took the time to write her story so that I had the opportunity to read and learn more about what happened in history that I had so little knowledge about. Please if you get an opportunity to read this book, take time to really ponder the things that are written. I promise you you'll never feel the same again.

Look at those home grown tomatoes!

Darrick's famous Tomatoes 08'

Darrick creates an unbelievable garden each year full of tomatoes. He plants anywhere from 20-25 tomato plants each year. These plants grow over 6 ft. tall. What's the secret? Everyone would like to know. This year along with the many regular tomato plants, we also planted bell peppers, chili peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, & cherry tomatoes. We have cilantro & basil planted also. It makes cooking a lot of fun this summer. The tomatoes have come on full force and it looks like I will be canning lots of stewed tomatoes this week. No matter the stresses that come upon him while at work, he always relaxes while tending to his garden.

1st Day of School!

Nathan - 1st Grade - 2008/2009

Nathan or Nate as we call him started 1st grade. A big step for him and Mom both. I am having a hard time writing this without crying.....what is wrong with me? Most would be happy to have time on their hands without kids.....and I find myself pulled both ways. Nate is our "baby" and at 6 he is not a baby anymore. Yesterday after picking him up from school I mentioned that I needed to sign up to help out the 1st graders with lunchtime this week. He stopped.....looked at me.... and said "Mom, I don't need your help getting my lunch. I slide it down the line, give my number and that's it." In a nice way he was telling me to stay away. I got the hint. He loved his first day of school and when asked his favorite part he said "lunch". Every kids answer! We are proud of Nate. He is starting to read really well and loves to do math. He loves addition and subtraction and can even do easy multiplication problems. Nate is our independent one.......no wonder he didn't need my help. After walking him to school the last two days I have discovered that even though he is big enough for all day school......he still takes time to kiss Mom good-bye and say I love you!

Shay - 4th Grade - 2008/2009

Shay has started 4th grade this year. Shay does really well in school with a little pushing from Mom & Dad. He has read all summer and has improved in his vocabulary and speed while reading different books. We have heard from Shay's teachers (K-now) that if they could have a class room full of Shay's they'd have a perfect classroom. He is a great kid with lots of interests and talents. Shay has played all kinds of sports. He has played soccer since he was in kindergarten along with basketball & baseball. He loves to be active. His LOVE is skateboarding, rollerblading, & doing "tricks" with his bike. He has built jumps with his Dad and has gained the interests of all our neighbors with his "tricks of the day". The neighbors are amazed at the things he does and tries at his age. So far we have not had to visit the E.R. Our fingers are crossed.

Naomi - 8th Grade - 2008/2009

Naomi started 8th grade this year. She is the "big woman" on campus. Enjoy.....next year you'll be back on the bottom. :-) Naomi is growing up so fast. It is hard to comprehend at times that she actually belongs to us. Are we (Darrick & Me) really that old? Don't answer that! Anyways we love our "Nomi" and we are so proud of her. She excells in school each year pulling g.p.a's that only her Dad could have had. Her brains come from her Dad and her wittiness comes from me. :-) Naomi has a fun personality and keeps us laughing. She also dances on the Jr. Company team with Front & Center Dance Academy and continues to progress in her dancing each year.

Our Amazing Parents

Our Mom and Dad are the best parents anyone could ask for! They are always working and doing everything and anything they can to make it so we can have a loving family and a great home. We are so grateful to have them as our parents! We just wanted to tell them how much they mean to us! Thanks Mom and Dad! We love you!

Love,

Naomi, Shay, and Nate!

P.S. Bruiser loves you too!

The "Y" Hike

Today the kids and I hiked to the "Y" on the mountain here in Provo. It is a fun hike to do especially with little ones. With it only being around 2.5 miles round trip, most everyone is able to do it and enjoy it. Darrick and Nate did it earlier this summer and since then, Nate has wanted to do it again with the other kids. The summer has slipped so quickly by that we haven't accomplished another hike.........until today. I only had a 4 mile run scheduled on my training log today....... so I cancelled a running day and scheduled in a hiking day with my 3 kids. It was so worth it. Nate didn't stop the whole way. He kept saying "Don't stop. Don't run cause you'll waste all your energy. Keep going until you reach the top.......your legs will hurt and will be in pain but you have to keep moving until we reach the top of the Y." Shay kept saying "I am going to die," and Naomi kept saying "I can't breathe." I laughed inside at how they all handled this hike, but with little pushes they all made it to the top of the Y where we sat for awhile and looked out at the valley we live in. We looked for people's houses and for swimming pools, schools, parks, etc. There is nothing I could think of tonight that could have topped that experience I shared with my kids today. Thank you Nate for pushing the issue of the hike. We had a great time doing it together and next time we'll make sure we include Dad.

Our "Special" Naomi

This morning when I got in the shower Naomi decided to fix one of her broken necklaces. She got out the super glue and started glueing! Of course the little bead she was putting back in place slipped out and her fingers slid into the glue! She super glued her fingers together! I just shook my head while she laughed and said, "No big deal." What a special child we have!

P.S. She says to ignore her hair she just woke up!