Princess Academy

Ashlyn just finished reading one of my all time favorite books...Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. She finished the book just in time for it to be her first book report for 4th grade. When I read through her summary of the book I was blown away. She had the whole thing wrapped up in an amazing one page summary, plus right after finishing the book, she knew exactly what she wanted her report to look like, and with a little help from McKenna and me, it turned out way too cute! I couldn't stop staring at it all night long.

A Day in the Life...

Thursday my friend, Amy, and I bottled peaches all day long...by the end of the day we had bottled about 78 quarts, and that along with the 80 I had done the day before with my mom and Whitney pretty much emptied our first tree. The peaches on our second tree, a late Alberta will be ready to bottle this week.
While busy bottling peaches, helping Ashlyn with a book report, getting Colt out the door for football, homework and everything else that keeps a mom busy, my grandma B, mom, Whitney and her boys called to see if we were going to make it to the Fair with them. I was bummed we couldn't make it work, but lucky for us they brought back treasures. Grandma bought the girls got the cutest star necklaces...Whitney always picks out the cutest things for my girls. And Tanner and Ethan fell in love with these glow in the dark scorpion necklaces so grandma got some for Colt and Wyatt, too.
The boys have not taken them off since Saturday. They think they are the coolest thing ever! I snapped these photos while the boys were engrossed in watching a football game with dad...Colt was not too happy about me bothering them during the game.

A Few of Wyatt's Favorite Things...

Wyatt has a fascination with carrying around stuff or 'tuff' (as he calls it) in his pockets and on 'carabeemers' hooked to his belt loops, usually one big 'carabeemer' with lots of keys or smaller 'carabeemers' hanging from the big one. It's the funniest thing to see, but I always know where he is...he sounds just like Chopper running through the house. For the past month he has been adding to his supply of 'tuff'. He will only wear shorts with pockets big enough to fit all of his newly acquired treasures. Every morning he gathers his 'tuff' and stuffs it into his pockets. I swear some days his shorts weigh more than he does!

Here are some random pictures of Wyatt and all of his stuff taken by dad and also grandma and grandpa Nichol, while he was with them in Midway. I love this boys to pieces!!

Just the other night while we were at RC Willey, our salesman noticed that whenever Wyatt ran around he would always hold onto the waistband of his pants. He asked Wyatt what was in his pockets...little did he know what was to come. Little did we know what was to come from those pockets. Garrett and I died when he pulled out a pair of scissors!! Later that night Garrett mentioned to me that he's not even sure all of the stuff he pulled out of his pockets would even fit into his own pockets. What a nut he is!

Wyatt was so proud of himself and our salesman was blown away. This is all from his two pockets and it's just a sampling of what he carries around daily. I'm starting to wonder if he is a hoarder, but when I ask why he carries it all he says he might need that to fix something if it's broken. Above he has: 2 tape measures, a halloween dress up tooth earring, a magnifying glass, lots of bullets and spare keys, a screwdriver, a fishing bobber, a small towel, scissors, random key chains, key chain lights, a golf pick, toy keys, 'carabeemers' and some loose change. He's a keeper!

A Sunday Evening

Love the determined and focused looks on their faces...

Going Private Again...

I really didn't want to have to make this blog private and go through the hassle of re inviting all of you. I thought I could get away without it since those that read this blog really only know of it through our other blog.
But, today I received kind of a wierd comment from someone I don't even know and have no way of ever finding out who they are and again it's made me a little frightened for our privacy.

Elk Hunting

Quickly after returning from Costa Rica took off for a few days into the mountains with his cousins, Brett and Jason. They hunted for elk all day long and on Tuesday they got one...here are a few pics of the beautiful valley. The elk pictures are still in the works.

Beautiful, Amazing Costa Rica

Garrett and I had the time of our lives in beautiful Costa Rica...every year Garrett's company does an incredible trip for all the sales people who meet their goals for the past year. Garrett is an officer of the company, but every few years we're invited to tag along. I have been looking forward to this trip all year and can't believe that it's already over.

Getting the kids' schedules organized for grandparents, my sister and friends who helped with the kids was a full time job the few weeks before we left. It consumed my every thought and I seriously think every scenario ran through my mind of what the kids might need or want while we were out of the country - luckily family and friends were always there to help out and take care of everything! We thought of the kids often, but never once worried about them - it was a great feeling.

Everything was about us just being together...from the plane to the beach. Just the two of us in Costa Rica! Saturday night, Sunday and Monday we spent in the tropical rain forests of La Fortuna, at the Tabacon Resort, which is located at the base of a live, active volcano with hot pools naturally flowing through their resort. We loved messing around with the underwater camera...it really is harder than you think get a good underwater portrait picture - opening your eyes, smiling and looking half decent is hard, but it's also hard to capture a picture without being able to look through the lens. Garrett's a lot better at that than I am, we spent so much time laughing at our funny underwater shots. Some, like the one with bubbles coming from my nose were so hilarious.

Tabacon was truly amazing and so, so relaxing...just what we needed.Our first morning there, we woke early to fish nearby Lake Aranal. Garrett had been looking forward to this for the past month. His dream was to catch an 8lb Guapote. We met Captain Ron, yep, that's really his name, and jumped in his boat for a day of fishing. For the first hour, as Garrett fished, we could hear Howler Monkey's in the trees - Garrett was familiar with them from serving his mission in Guatemala, but it was something I had never experienced. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time. We also saw graceful Egrits flying from island to island - they are now my favorite bird.

It rained like crazy, that warm tropical rain, but it made the whole experience that much more memorable and exciting. We felt like little kids out in that rain. I could spend hours watching Garrett fly fish...and this trip I did just that! While he fished, I took pictures and just enjoyed the ride. Garrett was a champ - he fly fished for 4 hours with lots of bites, but nothing he could reel in. After a sore shoulder and a desperate desire to bring just one fish in he switched over to lure fishing - something he doesn't love, but it did the job. He immediately brought in 3 guapote and 1 machaka. That made his day (and mine, too)!

We were so focused on catching fish that we didn't make time to eat the breakfast or lunch Captain Ron had made for us, so we took it back to our room and ate on the lanai. Captain Ron reminded me a lot of my Uncle Robert, my dad's older brother, and I mentioned that to Garrett as we walked back up the road to meet our taxi. Later that night, we got an email from my sister telling us that just that morning my Uncle Robert had passed away...my Uncle Robert has lived in California my whole life and we don't see him that often, but he was always someone I loved. He was easy to be around and lived a life so different than that of my dad. How grateful I am for the life my dad led and continues to lead. When my Uncle Robert was younger he worked in construction with asbestos. About 15 years ago, he had a lung transplant because of his lung damage from the asbestos. He is considered a medical miracle for living as long as he did with a lung transplant - he now holds the record. I loved that Captain Ron looked enough like him for him to be on my thoughts that morning. Fishing on Lake Aranal was an experience we will never forget. I don't think Captain Ron will soon forget either - he was so impressed with Garrett's fly fishing ability. For Garrett, fly fishing is like breathing...it's second nature to him.Sunday evening we enjoyed a company dinner at the resort...

and then Monday afternoon we traveled by bus for 5 hours, stopping midway in a little town called Sarchi to shop and enjoy lunch. We arrived at our next resort destination, Los Suenos (the dream), along the coast line of Coast Rica...two totally different resort experiences.

I loved, loved the bus ride - mostly because we traveled through the countryside and really saw how the people in Costa Rica live. We saw kids playing in the streets, kids in uniforms going to and from school (education is something they truly value)...we were told about a river that the children cross every day to get to school - there is a basket on a cable that the children get into to cross this river, then walk about an hour to school - amazing! We saw chickens and dogs running everywhere and cute little grandma's sitting on their porches rocking their grandchildren...such a simple, beautiful life.

Everywhere the people were so friendly and happy. The highlight of the trip for me was getting to hear Garrett speak Spanish every day to every 'tico' we met - for the last 6 months, he has been diligently studying and relearning Spanish just for this trip and he did not disappoint. Every native we met was so impressed with his Spanish - one of our servers became such good friends with him, that by the end of the night he wanted to buy Garrett a beer...Garrett had to politely decline the offer, which our server couldn't understand. Later as G told me the whole conversation we smiled - we truly are a 'peculiar' people and it's great!

Everything we ate reminded Garrett of Guatemala...beans, rice, eggs and a coke with every meal. He was truly in heaven.

Our second destination...Los Suenos.

The view from our room and the marina...Tuesday we took a catamaran cruise out to Tortuga Island, where we snorkeled and had more fun with our underwater camera, ate lunch under a beautiful canopy, relaxed with good friends and just had an amazing day. Garrett works with some great people and hanging out with them and their wives was so easy and so fun...in fact, the first day home I kind of had withdrawal from not seeing everyone. This night we ordered in...good old fashioned Pizza Hut and it was sooo good!Wednesday the whole company got together and took gondola's to the top of a mountain, then we zip-lined down over acres of jungle. Flying through the air, high above the tree tops was incredible...Garrett got some great footage of us zooming down the line. Again, something we will never forget. Ashlyn couldn't wait to hear about our zip-line adventure...she is our little dare-devil. Gotta love the hats... That night we took a taxi into Jaco...a nearby beach town. We ate and walked the streets looking for treasures for the kids and everyone who helped with the kids.

Again, Garrett immediately became our servers new best friend...and they spent lots of time conversing in Spanish. I loved it! While in Jaco, Garrett really wanted to get a silver band to replace his gold wedding band - no luck here, but we did eventually find him one and I love it! I had a hat on most of the time we were in Costa Rica because the humidity made my hair crazy curly afro-like. Not pretty...good thing for cute hats!

Our last full day in Costa Rica we stayed at the resort. I finished reading 'My Sister's Keeper' and got a little teary about missing the kids. I even took a long nap right after breakfast, while Garrett read - what a treat! We played at the pool. Garrett took some pretty cool photos from the beach and I indulged in a little healthy water volleyball competition with some of the guys from the company (I'm in the bottom right hand corner). We took a walk to the nearby marina and enjoyed dinner at the farewell party where next years trip was announced...a Mediterranean Cruise. I'm crossing my fingers we'll get to go, but not holding my breath. This trip was amazing! My husband is amazing - I don't think I tell him that enough...I am truly blessed!

A Few Sweet Surprises

I love birthdays...this year I seem to be noticing a few more wrinkles and I even found my first grey hair - that was a shock!
My girls have always been so thoughtful about getting me a the perfect birthday gift. With Swiss Days just a few weeks before my birthday the last few years they have secretly bought me something while there, usually with the help of my mom or sister, and smuggled it home to give me on my birthday. What cuties! On Sunday, I noticed a darling necklace that my sister was wearing and I asked where she got it...she happened to get it from my cute neighbor Shelly who makes jewelry. The girls got it in their heads, all by themselves, that when they got home from school on Monday, they would get their money and go over to Shelly's and buy me that necklace. They did just that and I love it to pieces.!
That night, Garrett and I were at the Temple and didn't get home until about 11:00. The girls had placed a cute little bag with a darling card on our bed. They are the sweetest!
I had a great birthday...my phone didn't stop ringing all day long! Garrett and I celebrated in Costa Rica because he was heading out late Sunday night to go hunting elk with his cousins until Wednesday. Luckily they shot an elk on Monday and he totally surprised me by coming home early on my birthday. We ate german chocolate cake that Wyatt and I had made earlier during the day and then Garrett and I headed out to spend an evening together at the Ogden temple.
My sister and mom came up to help me bottle the hundreds (literally) of peaches from our trees and Whitney brought with her the best tasting Red Velvet cake from a new bakery by her called Nothing Bundt Cakes...I enhaled it with a little help from my girls and my mom. It was a perfect birthday!

Kudoos to our Kiddos

Yesterday was SEP conferences with each of the kids' teachers. I love the new tracking system that allows me to see each day right where McKenna is in terms of her grades...a little prep for jr. high.
I love being involved at the school and in each of my kids' classrooms. Like most parents, Garrett and I strongly stress to the kids how much we value education, hard work and doing the best they possibly can in whatever they do.
I adore all of the kids' teachers, but didn't realize until yesterday just how much their teachers absolutely adore them.
Ashlyn's amazing teacher, Ms. Provost, is one of my favorites - McKenna also had her for 4th grade and we have loved her since. She couldn't stop complimenting Ashyn...she gushed on and on about how focused and determined Ashlyn is and how she could run the classroom if she were ever absent. Then she turned to me and said "How have you done it? Two beautiful, smart, kind, compassionate daughters...can I come and live at your house?" What a compliment! Mrs. Petersen told McKenna that 7th grade would be a breeze for her because she already has such great study habits and is already self motivated and Mrs. Bills raved about Colter's math skills - whew, hopefully he takes after his dad! She also commented that everyone seems to be Colter's friend...a quality that cannot be taught. I hope he never loses that genuineness in his personality. We have definitely been blessed with smart, capable and talented children!
That's one of the best birthday gifts I could ever recieve today!

Swiss Days 2009

My favorite time of year has got to be Swiss Days. The memories of being with my sister and mom and now my girls. It's something I look forward to all year long! We are so spoiled to have our own chauffeur, grandpa, take us back and forth from the house to Swiss days in the golf cart...soooo spoiled!
I love this picture of my mom and my girls and me...Whitney was off swimming or shopping with all of her girlfriends. I think she had about 20 of her cute girlfriends spend the night in Midway - my girls said they talked till 3 in the morning...so fun. What would we do without Sisters and Girlfriends??Luckily, our plane for Costa Rica left early Saturday morning so I could spend Friday at Swiss Days with my mom and girls. Just a few tears shed as I left them to spend the Labor Day weekend with grandma and grandpa and aunt Whitney and quickly headed home to pack...

Friday Night Lights

We are entrenched in the football season. Last weekend we went to the Clearfield/Davis game - we were skunked, but it's always fun to see our young men out there on the field. Colter and his buddy Kobe had such a great time hanging out in their football jerseys. McKenna showed up with McKahll and spent the night with all of their friends and Ashlyn and Breanne took off the minute we arrived and we didn't see them again until the game was over.

An Early Morning Ride and Run...

It's funny to me that last year after finishing Ragnar and my last tri of the season and then being diagnosed with giardia I had no desire to run, swim or bike and that's when Garrett took up running again after a year hiatus. It's funny because when I was so into running and biking, and wanting him to join me, he wasn't that into it and then when I took a break that's when he gets his groove back...I think we're finally both on the same page, but it's taken me a full year to really get back into running.
Every other day, including Saturday G gets up pretty early to run and lately Colter has been begging to ride his bike with dad while he runs. Colter's always been an early riser and I wondered how he would do on their first morning out. I think he was up before dad, but I really don't think he even went to sleep that night. Right now in our lives Garrett may not have as much time home with the family, but the time he does have home he makes sure he is 100% available for me and the kids - it's truly been a blessing to recognize. Colter knows his daddy loves him and loves spending time with him and I'm grateful that these early morning rides will always be a reminder of that.