Officially a Teenager

My baby is officially a teenager! Zack turned 13 years old this month! Most people thought he was turning 14, even his Grandma, but he is a young one for his grade-- probably one of the youngest in 8th grade. At 5'8 1/4" tall he looks as though he should be 14! (I had to include the 1/4 inch because it is very important at this age)

Zack has changed so much this last year. He has grown taller, his voice has deepened, he has become maturer (believe it or not), he has quite the six-pack and I have got to admit I think he is a pretty cool kid. More important than all of that he is a good kid and he still loves his Mom! Zack had a party last year so we just celebrated his day as a family and as always he likes to get money- It is so hard to see them grow up but exciting to see who they become-----LOVE this kid!

SURPRISE!

Matthew turned 17 in October! I cannot believe how fast time flies----it seems like just yesterday I was planning his First Birthday Party! We figured this might be one of the last birthdays he spends here at home so we decided to throw him a surprise party. October is always such a busy month and there were really no weekends available but we fit a party in and I planned it rather quickly. We had to plan it on a weekend that Adam was away at some scout training thing but he did arrive home just an hour before the party so that was nice. Matthew's friends were awesome at getting the word out but there is always that fear in the back of your mind that know one will show up and you start thinking "Why am I doing this?" And to come to find out there were alot of other things going on that night so to say the least I was worried.......... But this is why I go through the stress-------- Matthew loves a party and I think that we actually surprised him!!

Sure do love that boy or I guess I should say young man----I sure am going to miss him next year when he is at college on his birthday!

Fright Fest

When I was younger I used to love rollercoasters - the scarier the better - and I loved scary movies! I don't know why I enjoyed being frightened but I did and I still do a bit but I have noticed that the older I get the more of a whimp I become. You would think that being older and wiser I would realize that none of these scary monsters from movies, such as Michael Myers, are real but now they scare me even more!

We took the kids and some of their friends to Fright Fest at Magic Mountain this last October and Adam and I let the boys go off on their own and I thought Adam and I could just enjoy a night together strolling around the park watching others get scared. We didn't even pay extra to do the Haunted Houses---just walking through the park we came across many frightening characters. Adam had a blast seeing me get scared and screaming at the top of my lungs! Come on I know they were just people dressed up but they scared me soooo bad! There was this guy that was going around dragging a shovel and just that sound sent shivers down my spine. He creeped me out and he seemed to follow me all around and get right up to my face! In fact he even blew in my face------creepy! But by far the scariest were the clowns and we came upon a couple of them and the one came right up to me and I was screaming like a mad woman and grabbed Adam and ran away---little did I know he was right behind me and as I looked around I almost had a heart attack because there he was, staring at me, right over my shoulder! I hate clowns!
The boys had a blast and told me that if I was that scared walking aorund the park that there was no way that I could have handled the haunted mazes. By what they told me of them---there is NO way I would have survived! We had a great time even though I was freaked out most of the time but I am glad that I could give my husband so much entertainment :) And a little part of me still likes to be scared............

Adam enjoying the rides

Me going in for a kiss with a creepy hearst driver

And these were by far the creepiest and scariest guys I saw that night!! ;)

Disneyland for Free

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged. Our desktop computer had crashed a couple of months ago and so I did not have access to all of my pictures and I realized that without pictures I really hate to blog. I am trying to get use to this other computer and learning how to navigate it so hopefully I will get back into updating my blog. I have so much to catch up on but I will just take it day by day and hopefully I can get this year recorded here before the year ends----which is coming up really soon!

Back in September we were able to make it to Disneyland with the tickets we had earned for free by doing service. There is nothing better that a day at Disneyland except for a Day of Disney for FREE! We had ended up making blankets for babies back in January, which ended up being more work than I had expected, but it became all worth it when we saved over $300 in going to Disneyland and also of course the joy that we felt from doing service ;)

It has been quite a few years since we had been and we had an absolute blast! I think Matthew was the most excited out of all of us and he ran from ride to ride with about as much (if not more) excitement than he did when he was really young! It was too much fun! We pretty much got to go on and do everything that we wanted to do except that the park was having some technical problems so Space Mountain was closed down all day and other rides were closed periodically throughout the day. Disneyland was awesome though and they gave us complimentary tickets so that we can return another day! So we are looking forward to returning before Matthew leaves home next year. All in all it was a perfect day--- full of fun, laughter and family!

Here is a picture of our family from when we went in 2000

And here we are this year, 2010

(Sorry-Adam was really happy but the picture I have of him smiling he was practically cut out)

New Addition

We have a new addition to our family-

Unfortunately not a new baby or family member, which I would love to announce, but to Adam I guess it is his baby. Adam was searching long and hard for this new addition and finally he found the perfect one------



A Convertible 1969 Mustang

Quite the beauty, huh? I am sure I am not doing it justice since I am not listing the horsepower, V8 something or other, etc, but hey at least I know it is a Mustang! I feel bad because I really don't have a passion for cars, I have always just thought of them as a means to get from one place to another. That is probably why I have had some interesting cars in my life, including a Ford Fiesta that had to be started with a screwdriver. I am just not into the car thing....but Adam loves his classic car and I have got to admit it looks very nice. It cracks me up as we cruise around town and see men of all ages drop what they are doing to stare and drool as we drive by. People all over are giving Adam the wave of approval, even a man in a sweet new Porsche gave Adam a thumbs up as he drove by admiring the 'Stang. It absolutely cracks me up!

He didn't even think of it when he bought the car but he realized after that we have a 1996 convertible Mustang (from a mid-life crisis 10 yrs ago) and now we have a 1969 (from his current mid-life crisis)! '69---'96! Cool, huh?!? What is even funnier is that when I was in Utah he posted some pictures on Facebook of his new wheels and I had to crack up because he actually had posed the cars in the driveway! Oh my! Boys and their toys:)

People have told Adam that he is very lucky that he has a wife that would let him get the car. Lucky he is but not for the reason they say. Come on! He works hard, he has made a sweet life for us and personally I think he deserves to buy himself something nice (and quite affordable, I must say). It has been fun to see him excited about his new baby and as long as we get to enjoy it with him----- Great!

Seems Like An Eternity

On July 14th Adam and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary. Wow! I cannot believe that we have now become one of those officially older married couples! Sometimes it still seems like we are the young newlyweds still trying to adjust to living with someone of the opposite sex! Some said that we would never make it (actually I hope no one thought that) but here we are together still and loving every minute of it-----okay maybe not every minute:)

Unfortunately Adam and I were not even together to celebrate our anniversary this year. In fact we were not even in the same state! Our anniversary amounted to wishing each other a happy anniversary over the phone as I sat in a car repair shop in Draper, Utah and he was at home with the boys. How sad is that! But we do what we have to do and we have our whole lives and eternity to celebrate.

I really didn't think it was possible to love Adam any more than I did on our wedding day but how quickly I realized how naive I was. My love grows for him every year and I feel so blessed that I was smart enough at such a young age to make this man my husband. In the 20 years there has been many ups and downs but I wouldn't change a thing. Thank You Sweetie!!

The First and Last

Yep...I am back to blogging. I kind of took the summer off so now I have a backup of things to blog about but our summer things will just have to wait. School started last week and it was a bittersweet day for me. Bitter because the summer did not turn out how I wanted it to but it really was beyond my control. Don't get me wrong it was a good summer but it wasn't a GREAT summer. We made the best of it but it really did go by too fast. The sweet part of the day was that I like the beginning of things. The first day of school is the best! Everyone starts out with straight A's, backpacks, folders and lockers are organized, clothes and shoes are brand new, hair looks nice and newly cut, new goals are made, there are schedules to follow so much more gets done and everyone is excited about the new year. That quickly fades as the days go by, homework starts to pile on and the reality that summer is 9 long months away. So I enjoy the excitement of the first day while it lasts:)



This year will be a great year for us. Both of the boys are "big men on campus" this year! Zack is in 8th grade and Matthew is a Senior this year------I can't believe it! So even though it is the first day of school it is also the last "first" day that they will be going to that school---understand;) I have a feeling that it will be a whirlwind of a year but I hope to relish in every moment because it is Matthew's last year at home and the last one for Zack to have his older brother around. Things are changing...years are zooming by...hold on....life is a fast and bumpy ride with many thrills! Gotta enjoy it!

EFY 2010

This year Matthew attended EFY at Brigham Young University in Provo. The last couple of years he has gone to EFY Santa Barbara and has loved it but I wanted him to experience it at BYU at least once. Him and his friend Trevor flew to Utah (which was a little bit more costly than travel to Santa Barbara) and the kicker is that I ended up being in Salt Lake the same week!?! Long story----another blog post. Anyways, Matthew had such a great time and thought that the BYU EFY was just as fun and more spiritual. Only complaint was that the food was not as good but I will take more spirituality over good cuisine anyday.

When your son comes home and thanks you for raising him in the gospel, gives a very spiritual family home evening lesson and is looking forward to attending BYU for college next year-----every penny spent for EFY was worth it:))

Love Notes

When Zack was younger he would write us little notes all the time. Some were decorated with pictures and some were as simple as saying "I love you". Some told us that he was mad at us and others were simply drawn or written for us to just brighten our day. I loved the notes he gave me and I have tucked them away to save forever. Today while cleaning out their closet, well I was supervising them, I came across this little gem folded and tucked behind some boxes.........

Be still my heart

Hymns in the Home

We have always had alot of music in our home and I love it! The kind of music has changed alot over the years and in the last few years the music heard from our house comes in the way of guitars and drums...the boys choice of instruments. We hear plenty of Weezer, Blink 182, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. Mind you I like this kind of music also....the cleaned up versions at least. Most importantly I love that the boys love music and they are exploring many different instruments and they enjoy practicing them. Recently though a wonderful thing has happened!.........

We have a very inspired Bishop in our Ward that realized that it would be nice for the young men to practice their hymn playing for they will find this talent useful on their missions and in their life. He has called Matthew and Zack (and other YM) to be the Priesthood pianists at church. They don't have a piano to play on but they use the lovely church issued keyboard that they get from the library. It has been a long time since the boys have really sat down and practiced the piano besides when they figure out how to play a rock song on it. Because of a truly inspired Bishop my boys are excited at not only having a calling but also fulfilling it. On their own they are practicing the Church hymns (yes-I said on their own) and most importantly they are enjoying it!

This was my whole goal when we paid for piano lessons many years ago for them------I just wanted them to be able to play hymns. They are pretty rusty at the hymns but slowly they are coming along and with practicing I know that they will become better. So far it has been a blessing in their lives and I am so thankful for the opportunity that they have to serve this way. Almost every morning this is what I see and I could not be more happy:)

Good News/Bad News

Matthew was so wanting a job this summer and we were soooo wanting him to get a job. With him driving, he has depleted his money on gas and any extra money we might have! He went to a job fair about a month ago and filled out a few applications there and he was very happy to hear back from one of the places and they scheduled an interview with him. He dressed professional and took them a resume with a copy of his school transcripts (so cute!) and he was asked to come back for a second interview. Well finally after three interviews and a drug test, he was offered the job yesterday! Hallelujah! He will be the new cashier at the local Best Buy- He is so happy and also excited to be getting a paycheck (and so are we)! We have joked that now he will also get to see Dad more often because Adam is always at Best Buy doing retail therapy. So it is a win win!

Now with Good News always comes Bad News---Zack was fired yesterday from his trash can job

He has been taking out and taking in the trash cans for our neighbor for the last two years and they have been paying him for it but times are hard and they need to cut back so they let him go. I am hoping that he will just do it for them for free, just to be neighborly.....but we thought it was pretty funny that on the day that Matthew got hired--Zack got fired.

Mormon Prom

Matthew had such a busy Saturday last week. He had the SAT test in the morning, which he felt very prepared for, but when he got there and tried to check in he realized he forgot his ID (what??) so I had to race over there to bring it to him and he made it in by just a couple of seconds. What am I going to do with that boy? Anyways, right after the test he had band practice all afternoon and had to do some studying for upcoming AP tests! It is a good thing that it only took him 30 minutes to get ready for the prom that night:)

It was Matthew's first prom and I thought he looked pretty sharp. I love a man in a suit! He had a really great time and I think he enjoyed the formal feel to the night. He actually enjoys getting all dressed up formally. I remember that from my nephew's wedding where he was ring bearer.....he loved going around in his little formal tux. So cute!

I loved seeing all the youth in the stake dressed up. They all looked wonderful (and modest)!



These boys have been friends for a long time, growing up in the same ward. So fun to see such cute little boys grow up to be such fine young men. I am glad that Matthew has such great friends!

Raising teenage boys can be crazy at times but it is fun to see them grow and mature and make memories (good memories) that they will have for a lifetime!

"Toy Story"

Zack reminded me the other day about this and I had forgotten this sweet memory. The movie "Toy Story" was such a big hit when the boys were young and I have got to admit it was one of my favorite movies at the time. We had every Toy Story toy that you could think of, in fact I believe I still have a storage box full of them! Why I still have them----I do not know?? Well when Zack was a just a little one, every time he would see a jet trail in the sky.............

.............we would tell him that it was Buzz Lightyear. So for many years to come everytime he saw that in the sky he would yell out "There's Buzz Lightyear!" It would make him smile everytime!

And since he reminded me of it the other day I have a feeling everytime he sees that trail in the sky he thinks of Buzz still:) Thinking that brings a smile to my lips:)

The "Man Cave"

Thank goodness we have a 3 car garage because the third bay has become, what we call, the "Man Cave". It is Adam's own place where he loves to hang out and he can have all of the stuff he loves surrounding him. I snuck in and snapped a shot of him enjoying his time hanging in his cave. If you look at the picture closer you will discover 3 computer screens, 2 televisions, a desk, a printer, file cabinets, bikes, a weight bench and weights, barbells, boxes of wires and computer parts, a stress-relieving punching bag and the all important 2 litre of Diet Coke, etc. I think the only thing that is missing is a mini -fridge---- but the one that I gave him he has in his office at work! This doesn't even show the other part of the garage that is filled with all of his tools and saws and such. It is the one place where he can keep things how he wants them and he doesn't have me picking up after him or making him clean up. If we can't find Dad we know where to look!

Hmmmm....maybe I should think of making a room a "Woman Cave" or better yet a "Woman Retreat"?????

Safe Haven?

There is something about feeling safe in your own home. I enjoy my home and I feel very safe from outside worldly influences. Wherever the day takes me it is always nice to come home to what I refer to as my 'safe haven'.

Until something from outside threatens your peace....until one of these creep (or slither) into your home!!



I have no problem with lizards...when they are outside! I have been noticing a lot more around (not inside) our home this spring and I enjoy watching them do their little push up thing when they are hanging out on the back wall of our yard....OUTSIDE! But the other day one of these creepy, scaly, miniature dinosaur looking creatures decided to surprise me in my laundry room and run across my feet to slither under the washing machine. Talk about FREAK out! I ran out of the room so fast, jumping and waving my hands...grabbing whatever poison I could find (Lysol?) and spraying all that I could under the machine, slamming the door and stuffing a towel under it so that it would be trapped in the room and hopefully die from the bacteria killing spray! To say the least laundry was on hold until the boys came home to take care of it. I even spent the majority of the day upstairs thinking that even if it did get out it would not be able to go up the stairs. Yeah right! I have seen them scale the backyard wall many times.

I could not believe how much it freaked me out having this lizard in my safe haven. I was creeped out even more than the time we had a mouse! It took me by surprise how much this bothered me. I could not function normally all day until I knew it was out. Well when the boys got home they were not much help but as I was talking on the phone Zack noticed it by the stairs......so much for the towel under the door keeping out....and the boys successfully removed it from the home. In the process though it lost a leg, its tail came off (which that always creeps me out because it wriggles around like a snake for many minutes) and it was in misery so they put it gently out of its torture. No problem here, that thing deserved what it got, it tortured me for hours!! OK that is a bit harsh but I was thrilled to have it gone and to feel safe once again in my home:)

Did I mention the lizard was practically a baby one? Probably a teenager, about 3 inches long with a long skinny tail. It didn't matter though...to me it seemed as big as an iguana! Ick!

Cousins

I grew up never really knowing my cousins. Sure we would visit them once in awhile but we didn't see each other enough to really become close. I am so happy that my kids get to experience the relationships that they have with their cousins. Me, being the youngest in the family, makes it where most of their cousins are much older than them. In fact on my side all of their cousins are married (Jeremy will be at the end of the month) and the majority of them have children of their own except for the ones that are pictured here with them. It has been so nice to have these 'older' cousins be such great examples for my boys and set such an example of righteous living. My boys admire them and think that they are all pretty awesome, which they are!
We had a visit from their 'younger' cousins over Spring Break, my brother's kids who are around the same age as them. Matthew and Whitney are less than a month apart and it has been fun watching them change and grow together. I could fill volumes of scrapbooks with all the pictures that we have of the both of them together! It is always a good time when we are all together! It seems like only yesterday that these 'younger' cousins along with my boys were the little kids in the family----now we have a group of teenagers! It is crazy! I sure love this group of kids---they are the BEST in my book:))

PJ's Easter

Easter was very different this year for two reasons
1. We stayed home for Easter with just our little family.
2. We stayed in our pajamas practically the whole day watching General Conference.


At first I thought that I would be miss being surrounded by alot of family and I would miss getting all dressed up in new clothes for church and therefore it would be a disappointing Easter. But we made the best out of it and actually ended up having a very relaxing, spiritual and fun Easter:) First of all, lounging in my comfortable pj's, listening to inspiring talks and being surrounded by my family.......come on---what could be better! Oh I know----eating Rice Krispy treats for breakfast:) Yeah we did, don't judge me...Easter is only celebrated once a year.
Now I thought that my boys were getting just a bit too old for an easter egg hunt, I would still fill their easter baskets but I thought an end had come to the traditional hunt. But when I asked them if they still wanted one of course the answer was yes! So not having plastic eggs on hand because I had thrown them out last year and I was not purchasing anymore....I came up with making up a puzzle for each of them and hiding the pieces all over the house and they had to find the pieces and put the puzzle together to see what they would be getting.

Every year in their basket they have gotten candy and for some reason I also gave them a new T-shirt of some sort in their basket, it has become a tradition, so this year the puzzle was a coupon good for one whole, new oufit....shirt and pants/shorts. I know it seems lame but they like it:)

After enjoying a wonderful conference and eating a delicious tri-tip dinner with all the fixin's we then enjoyed the night by playing our version of "Minute to Win It". Some stunts included emptying a tissue box in one minute with only using one hand, getting an oreo from your forehead and into your mouth without using your hands, ping pong fun, etc.

All in all, it is not who you spend Easter with or where you spend it or what you are wearing. Easter is a great day to remember how blessed we are to have such a loving Savior:))

"Thought"ful Weekend

Today is my Dad's birthday and I cannot help but have my thoughts on him today. This is a picture of his last birthday with us last year. My Mom threw a party for him and don't ask me about the hat.....my Dad will do anything for my Mom:)) What a great way to spend my weekend...enjoying conference talks and being spiritually uplifted, thinking about my wonderful father and how much he blessed my life and pondering on the Savior and the great gift of the atonement that he has given me. I am blessed:)

Christmas Recap

I love the Christmas season and this Christmas was full of family, parties and baking! The boys and I made a quick trip up to Utah, when they got out of school, to visit family and also to pick up my Mom to come back with us for the holidays. We were excited to have her come out and spend Christmas with us! In Utah we gathered with family and I especially enjoyed playing with the new little additions!

They are so cute...I just love babies! These are my, I guess you would call them my Great Neice and Great Nephew! Whatever, all I know is that I am their Great Aunt and I think that they are just adorable! It is hard to believe that my Mom and Dad have 17 great grandchildren now! Wow! While in Utah we also visited my Dad's grave, the holidays are much different without him here.

He will forever be in our thoughts and our hearts. What an amazing man!

Then back home we traveled to spend the holidays with Mom at our home. We had such a great time having her here and were able to go and do alot. My sister and her husband also joined us on Christmas day. No better way to spend Christmas than to be with family:)

The boys were spoiled, again this year.Matthew with his new bass

Zack with his IPod Touch

After Christmas my brother and his family came for a day which was fun, for the cousins love being together. We went ice skating and they all enjoyed the time that they had with Grandma while she was here. Then Zack and I took my Mom back home to Utah and returned in the same day so that we would be back for New Years Eve. And we partied the New Year in with friends and hope that 2010 is a great year! It was a great holiday season!!

Mess!

And this is why I have not scrapbook'ed for a long time! I am a very messy scrapbooker and I believe that I have lost any bit of creativity that I had ever had! My dining room table has looked like this for over a week now (except for the one night the missionaries came to dinner, then the mess was moved to the laundry room temporarily) and all that I am working on is scrapbooking our Alaska vacation that we took in 2008! I am happy to say that I am finally finished with it but I was hoping to get much more done than just that weeks worth of pictures. Oh well!! Note to self: In order to get caught up with my scrapbooking I must have a scrapbook room...that is all there is to it:)

Thanksgiving

I have so much catch up to do but I will do what I can. We were able to go on an 8 day Mexican Cruise over the Thanksgiving holiday and it was wonderful! We missed being with extended family but it was a great way to spend Thanksgiving. Maybe next year we can get our extended family to come with us??