Blacktail Reservoir

Bry and Brianne had a lot of fun on the tube but missed Britt and Lexie!!
Landon thinks he is pretty cool now that he rides alone...
Yesterday was the only day out of the 3 day weekend that was supposed to be warm so we decided to head to Blacktail Reservoir and have fun in the water and sun. It was a great day! The water was freezing but we couldn't resist going to our favorite spots and jumping in. I think we have finally decided that next year we will buy the "Boat". We are definately keeping the waverunners! Nothing as fun as jumping the boat's wake!!

Landon's First Day of High School (9th Grade)

Isn't he the cutest 9th grade boy ever!

Landon and Kai

They wanted me to take a "back shot" hmmmm....

They were so embarassed I was taking pictures! They
wouldn't turn around and look at me...It was fun
embarassing them :)

I had to get a picture of Brianne with her baby...yuck!

It is hard to believe another school year has started. I'm not quite ready for it. I only have 2 in school, and often wonder how I ever did it when all 5 were going! So....for me today....I'm not going in to work....I will be home, enjoying the silence!

Brylee's First Day Of 6th Grade

Bad Mom!

Last night I told Landon and Brylee they had to be in bed by 9:30 since school was starting in the morning. As usual they managed to get out of it. Brianne had this brilliant idea to make smores. Something we have done a lot of this summer. I gave Val a gas fire bowl for Father's Day. I love it. (Hopefully he does too) No messy charcoal to clean up and it puts off heat as well. By the time we were done it was almost 11:00pm! I blew it again....If I wasn't such a night person! I will definately have to get better at the bed time routine.

Tonight I took this picture from my backyard. The moon had just appeared above the foothills behind our house. There is nothing more beautiful and amazing than a full moon! We also have the prettiest sunrises and sunsets. Brittany said that she has not seen a sunset since they have been in Virginia! I can't even imagine.

This weekend we went to Provo to see Lexie and spend our last weekend before school starts, having some fun in the sun. I don't know where the summer has gone! Summer is my favorite season, but I am looking forward to fall and things to come.

In July Landon went on a 50 mile, 6 day backpacking trip to White Cloud Peaks, Idaho. The group left on a Monday and returned on Sat. He really did not want to go, and thought he had out smarted me by not getting the information we needed to prepare him. Luckily Sunday afternoon I found out they were leaving the next day. I had everything ready for him to go by 6pm Sun. evening. He was NOT happy with me! As soon as he found out his best friend was going his attitude changed! Funny thing with teenagers---friends are everything! He thought he would be coming home on Thursday. I didn't have the heart to tell him he wouldn't be home until Saturday. What a mean mom!! When he got back, he was filthy but happy! I have never seen such dirty toenails! I missed him so much when he was away... he had a great experience. I am glad he was able to go!

4th of July Weekend

Val, Landon, Brylee and myself had such a fun weekend. I really am glad things worked out the way they did. I was glad we were busy and had a lot planned for this weekend. It helped me keep my mind off "the move". Except Landon and Brylee talked about Teegan the whole weekend!! We went to Stadium of Fire on the 4th. It is a fire work show in Provo. The Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus were the big attractions and Glen Beck was the MC. Val and I are big Glen Beck fans so that was fun for us! Saturday we went to Seven Peaks. A water park in Provo. Val and I went down some crazy slides that scared the *&#@! out of me. Sorry but it is true! Val couldn't stay on his tube for the scariest slides which made it even worse for him, but hilarious for us! I was trying to be brave and a "cool" mom by going on these slides, even though I wasn't enjoying it. I didn't want to be left alone on the side lines. Afterward, Val and I were talking and he confessed the only reason he went down those crazy slides was because I was!! We should communicate better:) It was tons of fun though. The wave pool sucked after the one at Typhoon Lagoon. That placed ruined all wave pools for us! Sunday we took Landon and Brylee to Little America's Sunday Brunch. It is always so good. Land and Bry thought they had died and gone to heaven!! After that we went miniature golfing (Bry and I each got a hole-in-one) and to the movie. It was such a fun weekend!!

***Everytime we go to Seven Peaks we think of Michelle! There is a slide called Lasers Edge. It is completely dark with laser lights. You can't tell where you are going. When Chapman's came to Utah many years ago, we talked Mich into going down the slide by telling her it wasn't very scary...it really wasn't for the rest of us. She was the last to go down. We were all standing at the end of the slide waiting for her to come out. When she did she swore at us and started crying! It was the best and a memory that will always stick with me....Sorry Michelle but it was funny.....Kind of like Indiana Jones at Disney Land:) Another Michelle memory!

The Saddest Day Ever

Thursday, July 3rd was the saddest day ever! The day came when we had to say goodby to Britt, Josh, Teegan and Camdyn. I knew it would be hard, but it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. They didn't leave until the morning of the 5th, but I had bought Stadium of Fire tickets the first part of March. Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) was performing so I bought them for Brylee's sake, not knowing then that it would be right when the move was taking place. We had hotel reservations in Salt Lake July 3-6. We didn't leave I.F. until 11:00pm because I couldn't make myself say the bye word! We miss them so much already! Dental School in Virginia will be an amazing experience for them! I'm sure I will be making several trips to Virginia over the next 4 years......And Brylee too.....she misses her babies!!

A Day In My Life

I had a few pictures of myself with some of my co-workers (and friends) at the surgical center and decided to post them. There are soooo many things I love about my job but one thing I really hate. It is the BLUE hair that I wear every day! As you can see it is not very attractive! I never do my hair in the morning before work...why bother, it will just be "Blue". Some weeks, Sunday is the only day I have a real hairdo...Sad. The picture on the left is with my friend Shelley. She is an OR nurse and an awsome one at that. When I hired her, almost 2 years ago, she had no OR experience. She came from Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center's ICU. We trained her to work in the OR and she picked it up faster than any other new OR nurse I have ever seen. She is not intimidated by the Surgeons, is not afraid to ask them questions, and loves a challenge!! Everything you need to be a great OR nurse (circulator is what an OR nurse is really called) I love Shelley...She is the one who recently took our family pictures. They are still at the editors so I have not seen the final product, but couldn't resist posting one of them. Jill is the nurse in the picture on the right. Josh thinks she is his "personal" nurse. She took care of him after his first back surgery, and after his second, she wasn't working but stopped into the center to ask me a question. I was in Josh's room where she found me and Josh was so excited because he thought she came just to see him. He was on drugs! Jill is another good friend. She works in PACU and admitting and discharge. She is also an amazing nurse!! She makes work so fun...she is the centers comedian and keeps everyone laughing. (Even the doctors) Her specialty is "fridge dancing". Since we don't have a pole:D Her husband also works at the surgical center. He is a nurse anesthetist and did my anesthesia a month ago when I had my knee surgery. Their son is Landon's age and one of his best friends. We have officially lived in Idaho Falls for 3 years. I can't believe how time flies by. It is amazing how you can move to a new city, know very few people, feel like you don't belong...then 3 years later feel like you are part of your community. I will admit, I don't know many people outside of my work friends. That is where I spend the most time and am comfortable enough to be myself. I don't know many people in my ward or neighborhood. For some reason I have a hard time letting people in. But at work it is a different story. I guess that is my comfort zone.... I do work with some of the most amazing people I have ever know......and I am able to associate with some of the nicest most talented surgeons! I am blessed in this part of my life.