Facebook

My Karen finally convinced me to open a facebook account. She has tried over a period of time and it wasn't until she mentioned that my friend Rachel (who keeps her life private!) got on that I decided "what could it hurt."
I had different feelings about the idea of having people find me. Isn't that horrible? I wondered if I wanted to be found!
There have been many people that have been in my life at certain times and meant a lot to me during that period. I have often wondered about them. Are they married? Do they have kids? How did they turn out?
Well, being on facebook less than a week now, I have reconnected with lots of people from that time, and I have to admit.....it's been fun.
I am still trying to figure out the whole facebook thing, and how it all works! I struggle with not having enough time to get on and search it over. I want to keep up on my blog since this is a journal of my families life and the activities that we do. I hope I get the hang of the f.b. thing soon and hope to stay in touch with others better!
So if you're one of my friends and wonder why I don't reply.........I may not know you wrote anything! :) I'll get to it soon!

Our "Free" Family Trip

Yes I did say Free Family Trip. Darrick and I get bonus points for using our credit card. We usually save up points over a length of time and then Darrick and I take a trip. Last year we had saved enough points to take the kids to Florida...all expenses paid and this year we had enough to cash in for a trip to Disneyland.
All of us are feeling the effects of the economy right now, and with the business we are in.....the effects are really taking it's toll. We had checked to see how many points we had accumulated over the last year and were surprised to find we had enough to take a quick family trip. The kids are growing so quickly and the time is passing us by. We decided we would cash in our points once again and get away from the stress, the day to day business & work. Why not head to the "happiest place on earth" right? We had a great time with the kids and enjoyed every minute of our time away. We tried to go to the beach, but it was rainy and cold. Our family loves to visit the beach, but in the middle of Feb. it just isn't the same as it is in the summertime. We also got to celebrate Darrick and Nate's birthday while we were there. They got gift cards (from disney/ Free B-day day) to use while in the park and Nate got most of the money! haha. Darrick had enough on his card (after giving it all away) to buy a carmel apple, and if you look in the pictures, he again shared it with everyone. What a guy! We recommend using a credit card that earns you points so that you can enjoy a free trip with your family too.

My 1st "out of gas" experience!

Today has been a hectic day. I have been running in every direction, trying to get everything done and feeling like I've done so little. Tonight Darrick went on a run with a friend while I was cooking dinner for the family. I finished dinner, fed the boys and myself, made Naomi a plate of food and hurried off to pick her up from dance. Usually I'm gone no longer than 15 min. so I left the boys here giving them instuctions to keep the door locked until Dad or I got back. I noticed that the gas gauge in the truck read that I still had 1/4 of a tank of gas. I knew I would have to stop for gas tonight or tomorrow morning, but no worries. How wrong I was. I made it to Naomi's dance studio, picked her up and off we drove.....for at least a 1/2 mile. The tank went from 1/4 of a tank to an 1/8 of a tank quickly, but still I thought nothing of it. I made my first turn off the main road and it was then that I noticed the accelorater was not working. Lights were on, gauges read fine, gas gauge still at 1/8 of a tank, but no power from the gas pedal. "Crap," is what I was thinking. I pulled over and turned the truck off. I went to dial Darrick and then realized he was still on a run. I called the house and talked to Shay telling him I had just broke down and that I would call him back, but to hang in there because Dad would be home soon. Naomi and I just looked at each other. It was 6:45 and I was to have Naomi to young womens by 7. My luck! She just laughed. I called my friend Kim and this is how the conversation went:

Kim: Hello

Me: Hey, whatcha doin?

Kim: Filing.......

Me: I broke down

Kim: No you didn't (laughing)

Me: Kim, I did. I really did break down. I think I ran out of gas.

Kim: (Still laughing)

Me: Darrick is on a run, and I need help. Are you doing anything? Can you bring me some gas?

Kim: Ummm. Yeah...where are you? Lets see...where's my gas can.....I'll have to call Mark.....

Me: Kim, I have a gas can at my house just go get one.

Kim: (still laughing) Okay, I will get there soon. Where are you again?

After giving directions we hung up and in the darkness of the truck and night..... Naomi and I just looked at each other and laughed. We made phone calls to her friend and leaders telling them what had happened and hoped that we would make it home before they left for their activity.
Kim soon came, with gas can and all and saved the night! We were able to get a 1/2 tank of gas and drive on home. My husband called and I'm sure he wanted to bust out laughing but sounded genuinely concerned that this had happened. We decided that we wouldn't let the gas get below a 1/2 of a tank from now on in our little blue truck.
Naomi made it to young womens.......and all ended good!

THANK YOU KIM!!!!!!! We love you!

Nate's Valentine

Nate knowing we were leaving town before Valentines Day hurried in his room and made this Valentine for a girl that he likes in his school class. I loved it. If you double click the pictures you can see it closer and read what he writes. After returning to school today and picking up the Valentines that were kept for him.....he was a little disappointed to find that she hadn't sent him one back. He keeps saying "It's okay....I know she doesn't like me, but I like her." What a cute kid. I help out in his classroom weekly so I have learned the kids in his class. He knows a cute girl when he sees one.

Pictures of our trip will be posted soon!

A Tag from Betsy!

Betsy tagged me with this and since it was small I knew I could do it. The tag is...1- you open your pictures.... 2- go to your 4th folder, & 3 - pick the 4th picture and write about it. You then get to tag 4 friends.

This picture was taken the night before our "Top of Utah" marathon. We had just dropped the kids off with Uncle Trav, Aunt Betsy, & cousins for the night. We picked up our race packets.....tried on our marathon shirts, and took pictures with Susan and each other. We then headed off to eat lots of yummy mexican food before hitting the pillow for what turned out to be a few hours of sleep. This is a great memory that I have with Darrick.

I now tag (sorry!) 1- Kim 2- Karen 3- Becky & 4- Katie

Yes, we are still here.

There has been lots going on but no time to post anything on the blog until now. A few weeks ago Shay got to go "pig hunting" with his Dad and Uncle Travis down south. They left on a Thurs. night after work and would return home on Sunday with a truck full of wild pigs right? Well, they returned home with a truck full of Mountain Dews, Coke and munchies.......maybe some of those munchies had the ingredients made from pig......just looking for the positive! Even though no pigs were hurt on this wild adventure....they all had a great time looking for pigs, or any signs of them, and hiking around. Each night they rested their heads on soft pillows at the hotel nearby. They enjoyed good dinners and a night out to the movies seeing "Valkyre". Darrick said the best thing about the whole weekend was getting out of the cold for a few days, and getting to wear shorts! We are glad they got a weekend to be boys!
Naomi, Nate, Grandma B, and I decided to take the opportunity to drive to Vegas to see my family. I had to wait until Fri. to leave because of a personal training client of mine who had made an appt. to meet early that morning. And of course.....she was a "no show" which is frustrating when you schedule a trip around someone else, but oh well, we took off later that morning and made it in before dinner time. It was a quick weekend (so sorry to all of you who live there, that I didn't call) but a great weekend to see my family. It went all to quickly.
The kids are all doing great in school. Naomi received a National award in Science (she ranked in the top ten in this area of testing). We are so proud of her accomplishments. She also held a 4.0 in both terms this school year. Again....she gets her smarts from her Dad! Shay and Nate both have passed spelling tests with 100% this school year. Yeah boys!
We feel blessed to still have work, but we are seeing a slow down. I have taken a job at a gym where I teach a couple of classes a week and doing some personal training. I hope to get more clients.
We have been busy with dentist appts. (Shay), loose & finally pulled out baby teeth (Nate), basketball games, dance practices, meetings, meetings, baby showers, meetings, seeing pictures and video of Steve and Brenda's cruise (yes, we're jealous :-), helping out at the school, super bowl eating, and busy, so very busy Saturdays!
We have enjoyed the warm up as of late and seeing the snow melt away. We live in a beautiful valley and appreciate all that surrounds us.