Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

 

For Labor Day this year, we didn't really do much "laboring" at all! It was really more playing and relaxing...which is my kind of holiday :)

Clint had bought tickets for us to go as a family to a SLC Bees game quite a while ago, but with crazy summer schedules, we still hadn't found a good day to take in a game...

Lucky for us, we made it to the LAST home game of the year!

 YEP!  Labor Day was the LAST home game of the season.

 

I know that these views are some of Clint's favorite in the whole world!... The beautiful green field, and his cut kids enjoying the game...

And as much as the kids enjoy GOING to the game and BEING with their dad, I know all too well that they LOVE the concessions even MORE than their dad loves the field...

1st Inning: Pretzels and Hot Dogs

2nd Inning: Chicken Strips and Fries

3rd Inning : Dippin' Dots

4th Inning: Clint finally whispers in my ear..."It's a good thing this is the LAST game of the season or we would be broke!!!"

5th Inning: Clint tells everyone, "If the Bees are winning at the bottom of the 5th, I will bye everyone a giant slushy on our way home!"

Thank Goodness the Bees ended up winning and we only had to spend $10 dollars at 7-11 for 6 slushees whereas if we would have bought 6 slushees at the game it would have been $36 dollars!!!

 

It was ONLY about 95 degrees as we sat out there in the sun...

 I loved every minute of it, although the kids had to go into the restroom and soak their shirts with water so they would be cool out in their seats! Then, they took breaks and went to play on the playground for a bit where there was plenty of shade ;)

Then I took Gavin for a walk to find "The" Bee...

Lucky for him, we found him!

He was SOOOO happy that we found him!!!

Then, we happened to find the Balloon Lady that makes fun shapes for all of the little kids.

We stood by and watched her twist and tie, and then announce,

 "I AM DONE! No more balloons! I need a break!"

Reluctantly, I took a small step aside with Gavin as to try and ease into the disappointing fact that he would NOT be getting a balloon...when slowly everyone else cleared away and she called to Gavin to come over!

 I'm not sure if she could sense his disappointment, or if she just thought he was too cute like his mom thinks ;) BUT... He ended up with his beloved balloon sword!!! YAY!!! He was literally the last one the Balloon Lady would make until next year! What a lucky little boy!!! :)

 

Summer ending, school starting, Autumn leaves falling...

FUN STILL COMING ;)

Ya Baby!!!



~The Piano Guys! ~

I know that one of my very favorite things in all of the world is being with Clint...

It really doesn't matter what it is that we do as long as we are together.

We can have fun doing dishes, putting away laundry, or going to Home Depot at 9:30 at night.

 

In fact, now that we have children that are old enough to babysit for us, we try to take advantage of going ANYWHERE together and call it "a date!"

 

But this particular date that we went on was actually REALLY fun... and though it POURED rain on us and lightening filled the sky at times...we were so happy to be sitting in a beautiful place together and enjoying the moment. We both agreed that the rain just made it "more memorable." We will probably never forget our first concert to "The Piano Guys" at Thanksgiving Point in the storm...

We were in the beautiful outdoor amphitheater with the waterfall backdrop and a sea of umbrellas all around us! Here is just a glimpse of the crowd...but it was just this large on EVERY side!

 

 

 

So we found our plot of ground and cozied on in...

 

 

Then we started to get all CRAZY under the umbrella!!!

 (In lots of good ways;)

Lovely AND silly!!! :)

 

I know it sounds funny, but we were having so much fun under the umbrella, that I think we made for some great "Pre-Show" entertainment for the rest of the crowd!!! ;)

 

THEN...

Did someone say, "Piano Guys?!!!"

 

We were so excited for the concert to start and we smiled, laughed, clapped, and cheered all through the whole thing!

 Aside from our sore bottoms from sitting on the hard ground the whole time, it was an absolute delight and a real treat! (But then again, when you're with your best friend, it doesn't take much to get excited now does it? ;)

 

There were many songs that touched me, but one of my favorites was their version of

 "What Makes You Beautiful."

All 5 of the Piano Guys use the piano ~inside and out~ to create a rhythm and music. It was amazing AND it was their 1st ever LIVE performance of the song.

 (Which made us feel extra special of course ;)

 

So...after the dinner, the drive, the concert, and the rain...

we ran back to our car and held hands the whole way home.

 It was a lovely night.

I am so happy to be married to my best friend and that we have such a good time together. Clint ~ thanks again for all of the memories, I'm so glad I get to grow old with YOU!!!!!

The Last Blast of Summer!

 

We have had a summer full of fun memories, and I think we were able to top off all of the fun activities in a spectacular way by taking another memorable trip to Moab with a couple of Clint's sisters Laura and Cherie and their families.

Not only is it warm and beautiful there, but the condo we get to stay at is beautiful, the kids all have a ball playing with their cousins, and we get to relax and catch up with each other...what a fun family we get to be in!!! Thanks Laura and Kevin for all of the memories...you guys are the BEST! :)

 

Kambriella is sporting her "Blue Gatorade" mustache...cooling down in the shade on a little hike.

The boys loved hiking and exploring and finding all kinds of little places to crawl through ;)...

 

...And I'm not really sure what the name of this rock is called...Kevin called it "the Crack."

It was basically a straight up vertical climb that had a few logs wedged into it to help with the footholds.

I am always up for a challenge, and this was fun and also a little challenging for me because I am deathly afraid of heights! When we all made it to the top, I stayed VERY low to the ground and found only enough courage to barely peek my eyes and nose over the edge... It's progress! :)

(Susette, Clint, Kierra, and Carew...Kevin behind us trying to scare me;)

 

Here is the whole gang (Kevin taking the picture) after a picnic lunch and our crazy Jeep rides in...

We are just getting to leave on our hike...the weather was perfect and it was so fun to see all these little ones so excited for their adventure! Especially the youngest one of all...Sawyer Gailey ~ 2 months old! Good job Blake and Cherie! He was a trooper! ;)

Here we are in the Cave of Carens...

Everywhere you go hiking, you can find these "carens" stacked up to let you know you are going the right way. In this cool little cave, each of the visitors have added a new "caren" to the collection. Carew and Dallin had fun climbing to one of the highest points to leave their caren. :)

Here we are entering some of the narrow slot canyons on our hike. It was so fun to be in there where the wind carried a slight breeze through the cracks that felt so nice and cool...a great break from the hot sun...

Cute little monkeys Carew and Dallin

Here is Clint "squeezing" through! It's a good thing we were all pretty small people or we might not have all made it through! Glad we did! (Even if some of us had to go through pigeon toed;)

...Kind of a blurry picture, but a fun one nonetheless!

Our whole family posing for a picture in the slot climbing the walls like Spider Man!

 

And I would not be very grateful if I did not dedicate a great big "Thank You" to our crazy tour guide Kevin! Talk about a barrel of laughs!!! This is one funny guy, one fun brother-in-law, and quite a dare devil to say the least!

Kevin and Laura,

Thanks so much for being such wonderful people and for loving our family! You guys are so lucky to be related to some pretty amazing people!!;)

 J/K! (That was what Clint would have wanted me to say...;)

But no really...Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for another fun adventure in Moab!

Can't wait for the next one! Happy Summer!!!!

 



Organizing turned Decorating...Super Fun!!!

I went shopping with Kierra for her new "teenage" bedroom decor....and look what I found?!!!!:)

I immediately fell in love with this 2 tiered white shelf that was an absolute PERFECT fit for the little corner in my kitchen! No, there was nothing wrong with the older shelf I had revamped myself ~ other than I felt like the space was a bit cramped to open the fridge... But now I LOVE it!

 I love to find a way to make a space beautiful AND functional! Here, I have the perfect spot for my buckets of potatoes, drawers of spices, flour, rice, and sugar, AND the sweet treat snack bins for the kids and their friends to help themselves whenever they want! :)

 

 

 

Also, Kierra had a brilliant idea to "trade" rooms with Kambriella.

At first I thought she was crazy to want to give up the big "tree" room for a smaller bedroom, but I quickly understood her point of view when she said that she wanted her room to feel like a "teenager" room and not a "little girl" room.

So, after a few days of gutting, cleaning, re-organizing, and decorating,

we have successfully "traded" rooms!

 They were both lovely rooms to begin with, but I really think that this idea was a "Win~Win" for both of these sweet sisters! Now we have 2 happy campers AND 2 beautiful bedrooms!!!

 

Kambriella's new room:

 

 

 

 

...And Kambriella's play room off the back of her bedroom...(where she now spends hours everyday :) You can't see it very well from the photo, but both sides of the room are lined with well organized "play areas" with her dolls, toys, dress~up, coloring desk, baby beds and strollers, and her little "hair salon"... loads of fun!!! :)

 

 

...And here is Kierra's "Teenage Room" ~ completely coordinated by items of HER choice! (She DID get her mother's taste for color!;) I love it Kierra! :) Great idea girl!!!

 

 

 

I just love making a "house" a "home" by the feel that you give it with your own personal touch!

~ And I especially love when my kids say that their favorite place to be...is home!!! :) I like our home to be neat, organized, AND beautiful...but the FEELING there is what is the most important to me.

 I try to put a picture of the temple or the Savior in every room in the house...and I always try to play beautiful music or have laughter and uplifting conversations. This is obviously something that we are constantly working at in a family of 7 where everyone is trying hard to learn to "get along and be peacemakers" ;) But I do love being Home... the windows of heaven truly have poured us out blessings more than we have room enough to receive...in every way!



My Man...One Good Daddy...

I was in the kitchen doing the lunch dishes after church on Sunday when I heard the familiar sound of Kambriella and Clint reading stories together and giggling on the couch.

I stopped what I was doing and peeked around the corner to try and spy on their fun and was just in love with what I saw...

a Daddy that truly loves his children...

and just when I thought he couldn't get any cuter...

Ooo you're a good man.

Oooo I love you so much.

Then he calls for me to come join them...

Oooo I am one lucky mama!

One Tiny Puddle...

I simply couldn't resist the recording of the pitter patter

 of these little feet on my heart last week...

It was about 7:30 in the morning, and I had just returned from my morning run...I had decided to stay out in the yard after kissing Clint goodbye as he left for work...when this sweet little baby girl came running over to me and said,

"Mommy!!! Come see my little baby footprints!!!"

There was only one tiny little puddle of water left in the driveway from where we had received a little rain earlier that morning, but it was all she needed to leave another impression on my heart.

I followed her over to where she had discovered the water

 and sat down in front of her with the biggest smile on my face as I watched her jump and splash around with"Whino and Puppy Child"...

She laughed and smiled as she danced around and then ran around the puddle leaving her little footprints everywhere.

She helped make time stand still for just a moment as I looked on admiringly...

This precious little girl is a daily reminder to me of where to find joy in life...In the small and simple things all around us everyday.

 One thing is for sure...

If ever I forget where to find my focus, all I need to do is remember to look at life through the innocent eyes of a child and then remember to follow in their "footprints"...