Double Digits

 Whitney celebrated her 10th birthday on June 27th.  She is thrilled to tell everyone that she is now a "double digit."  The day of her birthday was a routine day and she complained almost ALL day that she was bored and wished we could do something fun.  Little did she know I had planned a "late night" with a few of her friends. :)  She was excited to have her girlfriends come swim, play, eat brownies and ice cream, and stay past dark.  We finally gave in to her many requests for an electric scooter for her birthday this year, and she was thrilled!

Words to describe Whitney... helpful, responsible, creative, organized, sensitive, talented, and SO many more!  She is a great big sister, friend, and daughter.  Happy Birthday Whitney!  We love you and hope you enjoy being 10!!!

Summertime Events

We have had an eventful summer so far, and it's only the second week in July. :) Chris had knee surgery on the Friday before Memorial Day.  It was quite rough the first couple of weeks (for all of us) but he is  recovering well and glad to be somewhat back to normal.  Tomorrow will be his first week long trip away from home in 6 weeks!  It has been nice to have him around more often to help out...especially at dinner and bedtime.  I'm sure we will all struggle a little this week while he is gone?

Click to enlarge - if you dare!! :)

After laying around the house for so many weeks, Chris decided he was up for a family outing.  I had bought a pass to the Ogden Dinosaur Park on Go Deal Go, so we headed out for an adventure.  I have never been to the Dinosaur Park...it was really fun!  I highly recommend it if you haven't been there yet! They have lots of life size dinosaurs to look at, a great playground, and my kids loved the digging for fossils area.  It was a lot of walking for Chris, and he suffered a little later that night, but we had tons of fun!

Click to enlarge

Knowing since April that Chris would be having knee surgery and it might be tough to travel with the kids this summer, we decided to take an easier or more laid-back family trip to Southern Utah. We had the opportunity to visit Chris' grandparents, see "The Little Mermaid" at Tuacahn, swim at the hotel, and hike at Zion's National Park.  Although it was hotter than we had hoped, we had a great time and enjoyed being together away from home.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

On our drive home from St George we stopped in Sandy and celebrated Whitney's birthday with my family.  Whitney was thrilled to get some new shoes, clothes, and $money$ for gifts!! 

More on Whitney's birthday later.... :0)

Spring weather please stay!!

Kids on Easter Sunday in their new clothes

I am desperately wishing Spring would stay so we could enjoy it!  I am getting really tired of rain and snow!  Always grateful for a nice day like yesterday and now today (after more rain).  Memorial day is a week away and our pool will open for the season.  Will it be warm enough to swim Mother Nature??

We have lots going on in the upcoming weeks... It will be crazy, but I look forward to having them over so we can enjoy our summer break.

Whitney has two weeks left of 4th Grade.  She did really well in school this year and made some new friends.  She is looking forward to more field trips with her class as well as 4th grade Rendezvous this Thursday.  I am in charge of pictures and will post them when I can. :)

Lindsie will graduate from her 1st year of Preschool this week.  She loves Miss Patti and her friends in her class, but is already excited for new adventures in her next class with her best friend and neighbor Ellie.  

Chris will be out of town for work till Thursday night (nothing new there) and then have knee surgery on Friday. :(   We went spring skiing together mid-April and he tore his ACL and partial MCL.  So now with all his crazy May work travel out of the way he can have surgery and be home to recover for a couple of weeks.  It will be nice to have him home for an extended time, but I think it will be a challenge for me to take care of all 4 of them at the same time!?  So PLEASE Mother Nature, keep the weather nice so my kids can play outside!!  Thanks!  Nicole

Springtime equals Dance Competitions

Yep, you know it's springtime at our house when Saturdays are consumed with dance!  So far we have been to two competitions and brought home four 1st place awards and two 2nd place awards. We are excited that Whitney and her team are doing so well again this year!!  She will compete again two more times this month.  Let us know if you'd like to come and help us cheer her on.  :)

Elite Dance Productions at the Medallion Classic @ SLCC