Hello, my name is Leah

Colin

2009-08-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Colin had his birthday last week. My baby is 6 years old:-( I can't believe it. We went to a movie, the pool and a few friends got to have a sleep over.
He is going into first grade this year...."sigh" I am not okay having my kids grow up so fast.
Anyone who knows Colin knows he is a mini Steve. Although I'm not sure where his hunting fascination and tracking animals comes from, I blame that one on Utah.
He is the funniest kid and he keeps me smiling, just like his Dad. Last week I was baking cookies for our usual Sunday evening cookie fest. Colin saw the cookies come out of the oven and started singing "cookies come to me! My cookies come to me!" Funny, at least to those who were present, he had us all cracking up.
This morning he asked me, "Mom, is there going to be a storm?" I answered yes because of the wind and dark clouds (we had a lot of wind & lightning last night). He said, "Oh, I'm not scared though, it's funny, I was scared when I was five, but now that I'm six, I'm not scared anymore!"
I love this boy.

Summer

2009-07-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

No excuses. We all know I'm terrible about updating this thing. I thought I would be better about it this summer, but I have managed to fill my extra time just fine.

Colin graduated from Kindergarten. One downside to me being his teacher is he wanted to hide behind me instead of participating in the program! Oh well. My littlest is going to be in first grade and that completely freaks me out.

We had an awesome vacation to Seattle the beginning of June. We were gone for 9 days. As Colin put it, the best part is "our family is always together."

We have been spending our summer riding bikes, racing 4-wheelers & motorcycles, playing on our friend's boat, going to the pool and playing with friends. Here are a few pictures of our fantastic summer so far.

Colin and his teacher at his Kindergarten graduation

Colby-Utah lake

Marissa & Steve

Air Force Once at the Air & Space museum in Seattle

Colin checking out the otters at the aquarium

This was the trail we took to the beach from our campground.

A tree by the beach

Colby & Marissa with the penguins at the zoo

PAC Science center

Butterfly house at the PAC science center

On top of the Space Needle

We had a ton of rain in June. I can't remember it ever raining this much. I totally loved it. I thought this cloud looked so threatening.

Colin & Steve before Colin's 4 wheeler race

Marissa in her race, can you see her grin? She totally loves the competition. She came in second, yeah, she beat all the boys. The one who got first was her friend Riley (a girl)I raced too (on Colby's motorcycle) in the "hot mama" race. The moms take their kids bikes and race each other. I came in second. In my defense I was riding a XR100 and my friend who won was on a CRF150F, not exactly a even match. It was hilarious and a ton of fun. Steve didn't take any pictures of the race so you'll have to take my word on it.

Hailey's wedding

2009-03-08T19:02:00.001-07:00

It has been forever since I've posted anything. After looking through my pictures, I realized I haven't because not much has happened to report until this last weekend. Life has been busy with the usual family, work, school, etc. Here is a picture of Hailey and Skyler's wedding(the one on the top is one of her bridals taken by my friend Rhett Olsen, he does an amazing job. You can see more at his blog http://blog.rhettolsonphotography.com/); I didn't have many chances to take pictures. I got to be her maid of honor, and I loved every minute. They were so happy to get married, and even happier to leave the reception! ;-) I love this girl, and I'm really happy for them.

My Girl

2009-01-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Marissa! I can't believe she is 8! She has been so excited to hit this number, she can't wait to be baptized. I love her enthusiasm for life and her concern for everyone around her. She has so much compassion for anyone who is picked on or has less than her. She is my girl and a huge help with anything I need. I couldn't have picked out a better girl for our family. I picked these two pictures because they are so "Marissa." The top picture is at her dance recital with her fantastic friend and the one below is at her first 4wheeler race.
I love you kid!!!!

Christmas

2008-12-29T11:15:00.001-08:00

These are out of order, but I loved this picture so I had to put it on top. We go to temple square every Christmas eve to look at the lights and nativities. Our kids love this tradition. This was my favorite display. I think it may be new, or I have a terrible memory. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the nativity scene is on water and there are tons of floating lights around it. It was beautiful.

Our excited children on Christmas morning!

Cute kids, huh??

Look really hard at this picture. You can see the Christus statue in the background, I like the way it looks like He is looking over my kids. It might seem cheesy, but I love this picture for that reason. :)

I hope you all had a great Christmas and that you all have a wonderful new year!

Marissa's dance recital

2008-12-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

This is Marissa and her wonderful friend before their performance of one of the Nutcracker ballets. She did a great job and more importantly she had lots of fun. She takes dance at school so I had no idea what her dance was. I was so impressed, her dance teacher did a great job!

Triathlon, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Sushi

2008-12-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

I had to make this an all encompassing post, since I haven't updated in way too long.

This is a picture of Me & Steve and our fabulous friends, Rhett & Julie. Julie convinced me to try my first triathlon this year, I then convinced Steve. The biking and running, no worries. Swimming??? Yeah, that was my struggle. I only got in a pool about 6 times before the triathlon, so I have tons of room to improve. It was lots of fun and I'm sure I'll do more next year. Steve is a much better swimmer and biker, but he hates running. The only place I beat him was in the running, he killed my times on the bike and in the water. I'm just really proud of him for doing it.

Yep, he's a boy and my mom made him a tutu. He always stands like this, so the tutu was very fitting.

This is my nephew Soren. He is incredibly cute, and I think I'm the only one who got a decent picture of him.

Colby (Ghost Rider), Marissa (Hannah Montana), and Colin (ironman). We had a great Halloween this year, I believe it should always land on a Friday. Whenever we asked him to, Colin would straighten his arms and legs and pretend he was flying like Ironman. It was hilarious

THANKSGIVING
Yeah, I didn't take any pictures. But we went to Audrey and Paul's house with my parents, sister and her family. It was great, good food, great people and I only had to travel 5 minutes to get there. Hailey and I made 8 pies, so we had tons of leftovers. My favorite this year was the blackberry, mmmmm, I need to make another one soon.

Last weekend we went to our friends house (Julie & Rhett from above mentioned tri). Rhett lured us there with his tempting sushi rolls. Well tempting for Steve. My former sushi roll experience was terrible, not very good fish. My friends from high school are probably thinking "Leah likes sushi??Fish??What?" But I have expanded my eating beyond quesadillas and fries. Anyway, I was excited to have the company so I went along. Turns out Rhett makes a mean sushi roll. I really liked it. He made some tempura fried carrots and shrimp. He used the shrimp in his spicy roll which was awesome. My favorite was the one with cucumber and avocado, it tasted so fresh & yummy. So thanks guys, it was a great night. Oh, and this picture isn't one I took, I just found it online.

One of the many reasons why I love my job

2008-10-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

I love my job. I never know what my students will say. Here is my latest, favorite, conversation.

Student: "I'm thirsty"
Me: "Hello thirsty, My name is Mrs. Dozier." (I know, but 5 year olds still find it entertaining.)
Student: "My name isn't thirsty, it's _______ and I would like a drink."

I thought it was hilarious! I have never had a kid know how to respond to that.

General Conference

2008-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

I love conference weekend. I love being able to hear the talks that are given and the testimonies that are born. I heard a talk yesterday (Joseph B. Wirthlin I believe) about being able to laugh when things go wrong. I have to admit I have always had a hard time with finding the joy in every situation, especially when things go wrong. So this was a good reminder for me. I also felt like there was a common thread in the Sunday morning session. We need to be more accepting of everyone around us. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a global church and we all have the Gospel in common. What I got from it was that we really need to focus on what we have in common instead of what is different about each of us. It was a great weekend and we finished it with soup at my parents with my brother and sister and our families. I love how my Dad takes the opportunity to bear his testimony when he has us all together. It has always been such a source of comfort to me. I am so grateful for the family I have! :)

Colby!!!

2008-09-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Colby! Okay, so I'm a few weeks late, but in my defense I have been planning on updating my blog with an ode to Colby for the past few weeks. :)
10 years old, I can't believe it. He has turned into such a great kid. I thought this was the perfect picture because Colin adores his big brother and Colby is so kind to him. Colby is very patient with him and lets him tag along whenever he wants. He loves reading and can burn through a book faster than most adults. I love his imagination and the stories he comes up with. I think he should start his own blog just as a creative outlet. Anyway, I love you Colby! Thank you for being such a great kid, you make it easy to be a Mom.

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

My little man turned 5 today! I can't believe how old he is, honestly, the time went way too fast. He is such an amazing little person. He is the most responsible 5 year old I have ever known, he always puts everything where it belongs, flushes the toilet and washes his hands (without being reminded), and always turns out the light when he leaves the room. I love how silly he can be and the hilarious one-liners he delivers (yep, he is just like his Dad). I feel truly blessed to have him in our family, he brings so much happiness to our home. Plus he always says,"I love you more than Colby and Marissa love you." Happy Birthday to my most favorite 5 year old ever! :)

Badwater

2008-07-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Jarom raced in the Badwater Ultramarathon last week. It starts in Death Valley and ends up at the Mt. Whitney portal. I was part of the crew and was able to pace him for about 45 miles of the race. The entire race is 135 miles! It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. I have never been so tired (only one hour of sleep during the entire race) but I loved every minute. Here are a few pics I took, but I really didn't have much time to take pictures. Our driver Rob Schopke took pictures and created a website from his truck as the race was going on. I thought he did a great job, so go to his website to get a better idea of what the race was like. www.triracer.com

Picture taken at the race start

How we dried Jarom's shoes

This is Badwater, where the race starts, the little white mark on the side of the mountain is sea level.

The crew and Jarom at the finish line.
The video is of Jarom's brother Heath, funny stuff!

Summer

2008-07-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I may be worse in the summer with updating my blog. I thought "Hey, I'm not working, I'll be so on top of things." Ha-ha! But I have thoroughly enjoyed this summer so far. Enjoy the slide show of our various activities. Riding, dance recitals, zoo, Hailey's new puppy, Colin's preschool graduation, Hailey's high school graduation (btw she is now engaged to the cute boy she is pictured with!!!!), gigantic tree hauled in for campfire by Brian, pretty waterfall, pretty rose, swimming lessons and finally my beautiful new nephew Beckett London Turner.

Mother's Day present

2008-06-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Yes; I know I have a problem, but how do you resist this face?

Final Spring Break post

2008-06-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here is what we did for the last few days of our vacation.

What kid hasn't wanted to do this. Colby saw all of the seagulls standing on the beach and couldn't resist.

This is at Montana de Oro state park. It was my favorite place to go when we lived here.

Again, Montana de Oro.

This is the crack we had to crawl through.......

to get here because the tide was too high to just walk in the cave.

Isn't she cute? She certainly had her eye on us while we were looking at tidepools.

Colin and Steve; this was the coldest day of the trip, but still a lot of fun.

The kids playing in their driftwood fort.

This is at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I thought it was funny to see the sea otter just stare at its trainer. I think it really just wanted a treat.

There is the coolest jellyfish exhibit at the aquarium. They had more varieties than I ever knew existed.

I highly recommend a trip to Monterey for the aquarium alone. We spent the entire day there and had a lot of fun!
That was one of the best vacations our family has had yet, there is nothing like a good road trip.

Spring break continued

2008-05-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

We had two choices for this trip, take our diesel truck and trailer and camp or we could rent a prius and go to hotels. After sitting down and figuring out how much each would cost we spent half as much on the prius (including rental) because diesel is totally outrageous anymore! This is the highest price we found for gas on our whole trip, it was in Cambria, but everything was more expensive there.

When in Rome! I love the central coast, sometimes I feel as though the entire "green movement" is a bit much there. I love the earth and yes, I do recycle and do my best to be eco friendly, I just don't like having it shoved down my throat.

Gum alley in San Luis Obispo! The kids loved it and even got to add their own gum. Did you know Seattle has one of these also! We found it last year on our anniversary trip. I wonder which was started first? I'm guessing Seattle.

The next few days of our trip were spent, playing at the park,

going to the zoo,

playing at the beach,

perfecting boogey boarding skills,

and going to Hearst castle! This is one of the "small" guest houses,

outdoor pool,

Main house, or Casa Grande,

indoor pool.

At this rate I should be posting about this week for at least a month!

Spring break

2008-04-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

We had an fantastic spring break. Steve took an entire week off of work!!! That was the first time he has ever taken more than two days since we have been married (even when we had our babies). The kids and I loved having him to ourselves for eight entire days. We went to Atascadero and let the kids see all the sights of the central coast. Colby loved getting to see where he was born. I'm going to use this trip for several different posts because there is just too much for one! These pictures are from the first day, we went to see some tide pools above Cambria and then headed back to Morro Bay to look at the big rock, the boats (for Colin), and have some dinner.

This is Colby at Morro Rock

Colin and Riss- Morro Rock

Just outside of Cambria

The appropriate stance for tidepool watching.

This was a beautiful little crab I kept trying to tease out of the crack in the rock. This was the best I got. After seeing all of the crab, Colin decided he wanted crab for dinner.

Cute kids, don't you think?

After Colin saw this sea lion he decided he wanted to eat that for dinner. Perhaps we talked up eating good sea food too much earlier in the day! He ended up settling for regular, boring halibut; which he loved.
This is a video of a sea lion known as Bubba. He is friendly with people, probably because people feed him often. There was a restaurant a few feet away that brought out some fish for my kids to feed to Bubba, they loved it. In the video Bubba is referred to as a seal, the kids and I now know the difference!

My birthday

2008-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

April was a crazy month! We had a lot of fun. This is what my mean husband made me do on my birthday. Okay, he didn't make me. Our friend was in charge of one loop of a 80 mile desert race. We spent the previous week helping him mark the loop, then the race was on April 5th. It was really fun, we went without kids and camped. We got to watch the start, which is what the video was from. The picture was from the checkpoint we helped on, its David Pearson! He won the race, I know many of you have no idea who he is, but he is a crazy fast desert racer.

Easter

2008-03-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah camping season! We officially kicked off our camping season with our annual trip to cherry creek. It is loads of fun and we have some great friends to enjoy our time with. Here are some pics:

Hey, they asked for it.

This is my friend Lori rolling down the hill, you should have seen her by the time she reached the bottom.

One of the fun things we do is go out to "sand hill", (not really the formal name, just what my kids know it as) then the kids scoot down the hill to make a path. They then roll a colored egg down the hill to see who wins.

Steve wanted me to add a picture of what our camping area looked like. Not the most beautiful place to everyone, but at 60 degrees each day, it was heaven to us.

Look, I put a picture of myself on here!

One of the traditions we have latched on to is the big easter egg hunt. A few designated parents take the kids on a ride (or hike this year), then the "easter bunny" visits our camping area.

Colby is desperately trying to find the most candy.

Marissa is on the hunt.

The little ones are getting ready for the big easter egg hunt. That's Colin in the middle.

The Easter Bunny visits us in our trailer!

All in all a great weekend, we always dread coming home. But hey, if we didn't work so hard the rest of the time, I don't think we would appreciate weekends like that as much.

DeAnne

2008-03-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

More sad news. DeAnne passed away today. She has been so miserable for the past year, we are finding happiness in her reunion with Ron. I know how much she has missed him these past two years. She was the best mother-in-law a girl could ask for, I miss her visiting with me while I make dinner. She loved her children and grandchildren so much, she would do anything for him. She will be greatly missed, but we know she is in a much happier place now.

Laundry day

2008-02-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Colby has been great lately at pitching in on laundry day. He is learning how to sort (one can never be too young to learn!) all of the laundry. He thought he would be funny and sit on the basket to smoosh the clothes down, until he got stuck and realized he couldn't get out by himself. I thought it was hilarious and grabbed my camera, Colin thought he would be a helper, but he was much too small to pull his big brother out!

California

2008-02-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

The funeral was beautiful and it was great to see family and friends. The weather was amazing! We came from a high around 25 (in utah) to 82 on saturday! I thought I would put a few pictures up from the beach and a little video for those of us stuck in the cold to remember what the ocean sounds like.

Uncle Jim

2008-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

We just got news last night that Steve's Uncle Jim (his dad's brother) passed away. He went to sleep and never woke up. He was such a great guy, my favorite part of Steve's extended family. They welcomed me with open arms when we first met. It is rare to meet such a genuine person, he had a big heart and was so loving to his family. My heart hurts for his wife Carole and his daughters Jennifer and Janise. He was only 63.

Sledding

2008-01-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

I know; this is what happens when I put off updating my blog. I had so much I wanted to put on here and got so busy with life I have to play catch up! We had a really fun day sledding with the kids. We go to Peeteetneet, the original school for our town. It is a really cool old building and it has some perfect 'kid size' hills for sledding. I also got some fun video of the kids jumping, I thought it was hilarious!

Howie!

2008-01-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

We always have fondue at Jen's on Howie's birthday, I don't have very good pictures but I wanted to put a few up anyway. Also, Jen is pregnant with another little boy! The adorable little blond is her 2 year old Soren. I can't wait for the new baby of the family. December was a crazy month for their little family, they found out her husband Chris has polycystic kidney disease and he will need a transplant within the next 5 years. He already has a long list of willing donors, I just want the best for them!

Birthday!!!

2008-01-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Marissa turned 7 this month. She is such a joy to have in our family. I didn't know I would love having a daughter this much. She is my helper, she loves to dance, she sings in choir at school and is a great friend. She is such a hard worker in school, I am so proud of the progress she has made this year. She makes me smile and knows how to make my day better, always!

Valley Forge

2008-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

Colby has a really awesome teacher, he is known for his re-enactments of different battles throughout history. I loved the idea of Valley Forge day, the kids had to roll dice to see who had go barefoot (for a few minutes), take off your boots, take off your coat or if you were killed. The kids made their own forts and toasted bread over fire then marched off to "battle". I thought it was a pretty cool idea, and they picked a good day, it was actually over 20 degrees!

Didn't want to upload

2008-01-30T14:56:00.001-08:00

Blogger was being weird and didn't want to add this picture in my last post, so here is Colin riding the train to SLC on Christmas eve.

Christmas! (finally)

2008-01-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our annual Christmas eve trip to temple square. We ride trax (which the kids love), then look at the lights, talk about why we really celebrate Christmas, have some hot chocolate and then back on the train for home!

I know, I know, I took forever to finally post some christmas pictures. My favorite was when Colin opened the wii. They were pretty excited, well the boys were, Marissa wasn't paying attention.

Friends

2008-01-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some photos of this last year and came across my trip to San Antonio with my friends. My stomach started to hurt because I miss you all so much. Its not often you come across such great people, who have remained to be great friends for so long! I wish you all weren't so far away. :)

Babysitter

2007-12-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

We have the cutest babysitter, she loves our kids and is only about an inch taller than Colby, very tiny. When she watched the kids last friday Marissa said she was scared and so our fantastic little babysitter said she would lay down with her until she fell asleep. Well apparently she was tired because when we got home we couldn't find her because she was asleep in Marissa's bed along with our dog! It was so cute we had to get a picture!

Cinnamon roll day!

2007-12-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

We had our annual mom baking all day-day. Does that make sense? I make cinnamon rolls for some friends and neighbors, basically I make a big batch and give them out until I run out. I really enjoyed it this year because I so rarely stay home and get to be so domestic. We were actually ready for Christmas early this year and we have been able to enjoy the season a lot more. I have vowed to start my shopping every October from now on! I know, its strange for me not to procrastinate but I have found with all I have going on I absolutely have to plan and be more organized. I'm far from perfect about my scheduling but I have gotten so much better. The picture I posted is how Colin entertained himself while I was busy in the kitchen, the cupcake liner wall was actually a lot bigger but he had knocked it down before I got my camera and this was as big as he was willing to rebuild. What a kid, so much like his dad its scary!

Artemis

2007-12-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

I have the best husband in the world. Almost 2 years ago Steve bought me a dog for my birthday; he was a happy little gift in a not so happy time in our lives. He has proved to be the best present ever. He is the most mild mannered, sweet little dog. Here are some pictures I got of him sleeping on Steve's lap the other night. It proves I'm not the only one who adores him!

Halloween!

2007-11-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of me and the kids on Halloween, we had lots of fun. We ditched the ward trunk or treat and just hit the neighboorhood. I know a trunk or treat in happy valley where we all know our neighbors, thats why we ditched, I find it silly and all the kids walk home from the church and trick or treat the houses anyway. There is a neighbor that turns their garage into a haunted house, all of the kids went in this year even Colin. I think they tame it down a bit when they see a little kid come through. Then it was on to my moms house to meet the rest of the family and eat some pumpkin pie. All in all a fun holiday!

Tagged!

2007-10-31T15:33:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Julie, I'll do it only cause I love you! Hmmm, who may read this, hopefully Mandy will, so I say Tag, you're it to Mandy. These are questions about my husband.
WHAT IS HIS NAME:
Hey you! Not really, its Steve, and thats pretty much what I call him. Not very cute huh?
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TOGETHER:
14 years in January, but I've known him for 17.
HOW OLD IS HE:
32, he is a year older than me.
WHO EATS MORE:
No question, him. Anybody who has fed him or witnessed him eating can testify to that!
WHO SAID I LOVE YOU FIRST:
He did, but it was quickly said by me after. I actually almost slipped and said it about a week before him, but I didn't want to say it first, not that I'm insecure.
WHO IS TALLER:
Him, I love it that way!
WHO SINGS BETTER:
Me, mostly because he won't. I catch him every once in a while at church and I love it, singing in church is really out of his comfort zone but he wants to be a good example to his boys.
WHO IS SMARTER:
Depends on what you're asking, if its about anything mechanical or how anything works, definately him. I'm amazed by what he knows, I swear it runs in his family, a neverending knowledge about really random things. But me, I got the better grades in school.
WHO DOES THE LAUNDRY:
Me, but he puts it all away. He's mostly scared he will mess up my really anal retentive method of folding and he wants nothing to do with upsetting me! :)
WHO DOES THE DISHES:
That's really 50/50, depends on the night and who has the time.
WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED:
Me.
WHO PAYS THE BILLS:
Him, I did it for the first 9 years of marriage, then I decided I was done and he took over.
WHO MOWS THE LAWN:
Me, yet again, I'm really picky about how it's done, so it's easier to do it myself:) Plus I actually like it.
WHO COOKS DINNER:
Me, usually. If it involves fire, he does, oh and chili, he makes a mean chili. With school now he is taking the cooking over out of necessity, sounds like we'll be eating a lot of burgers.
WHO DRIVES WHEN YOU ARE TOGETHER:
Him.
WHO IS MORE STUBBORN:
Depends on the situation, luckily we usually aren't both stubborn about the same thing.
WHO IS THE FIRST TO ADMIT WHEN THEY ARE WRONG:
Both, we don't really have long arguments, we fess up to it when we've screwed up pretty quick. Life's too short!
WHO'S PARENTS DO YOU SEE THE MOST:
Mine, mostly because they live close. Steve's mom doesn't always recognize us or she is too out to wake up, so visits are pretty quick.
WHO KISSED WHO FIRST:
Him, we were 16 and he asked. Even the second time we were dating it was him, I like to think about that second, first kiss, it always puts a smile on my face:)
WHO PROPOSED:
Him. A ring and taco salad, what more does a girl want!
WHO IS MORE SENSITIVE:
Again, that's probably 50/50.
WHO HAS MORE FRIENDS:
Me, only because my friends from high school are fabulous, his weren't so much. Since we've been married, we've been pretty even in the friend count.
WHO HAS MORE SIBLINGS:
Me, 6 to 2.

All done, I can't wait to see yours Mandy:)

Fall Fun

2007-10-28T19:20:00.001-07:00

Steve took the kids to the park the other night to feed the ducks. I didn't get to go because of the monstrous amount of reading I had to do for school. But hey, he took pictures so I could see the fun, plus the house was quiet for an hour.

We carved our pumpkins last monday, the kids love the messy part of pulling out the guts. Colin wanted his to be a cyclops, if you can see it, I thought that was pretty funny. The dryer was on that night and the outlet is at the front of the house, so it made part of the picture look foggy, I thought that was a nice effect for halloween.

Another tooth

2007-10-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Marissa lost another tooth, she was so excited to get her $ from the tooth fairy!

Aaaaah, camping.

2007-10-17T16:22:00.001-07:00

The last great camping trip this year. I so loved our trip, Steve took 2 days off work which is practically unheard of. We went to goblin valley for the first day then to white wash for the next 3. This picture is of white wash, and here is the confession, I forgot my camera so this is from our trip last year, but hey its beautiful and you get the idea. There is slick rock, sand, dirt trails, complete riding paradise. It was Colby's first trip on his new motorcycle, he had so much fun. (yep, a picture would have been nice) Shelbie's family came with us, well, Shelbie, Nick, Mitch & Alec and Mike Gull, he's a hesperia transplant and adopted son of my sisters, haha. I believe Mitch got some good pics at goblin valley, hopefully I can get some and post them. By the way Mitch got his mission call about a month ago, he is going to Houston, Texas and of course is totally excited, he leaves mid December.

Painting

2007-10-08T18:15:00.001-07:00

Here is Colin in our newly glazed family room. I spent all day saturday listening to conference and painting my kitchen, dining & family room. I really do love painting, when I can find the time. I just tend to go a little overboard and take on too much for one day.

This is my family room, I did a brown glaze over cream colored walls, all of the walls on my main floor now look like this. I love how it made everything look old, Steve wondered why he bought me a new house when all I want is for it to look old.

Here it is, my kitchen, as my friend put it, "in Yamaha blue". Okay so its bold, I painted a pretty bright blue then I did a brown and white glaze over it, I wanted it to look like old pottery. I like it, so I guess I succeeded!

One for the road

2007-09-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is one more picture from yellowstone, notice the sign (in case you can't read it, it says CLOSED, unsafe conditions). We were too late to get the people standing on top of the rocks in the background, which by the way over looks a pretty tall cliff . One misstep and your a goner.

Family

2007-09-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

We decided to have Colby be our official photographer of our annual Yellowstone trip.

Pretty good for a 9 year old:)

And here he is, notice the clean face. Kids get messier the older they get, I thought it would be the opposite, but this child has proved that theory wrong.

This is a picture at our friends cabin in Idaho, we went to Bear Lake with them this summer. It was such a great trip, other than the fact that our friend had to buy a new boat after we got back. By the way, you don't want a boat you want a friend with a boat.

Here we all are at Disneyland.

Look at me, all grown up!!

2007-09-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

Yep, I decided to go for it, lets call it peer pressure. When my friends all started to do their own blogs, and I noticed how quickly I became addicted to reading them (hint, this means you all have to obsessively read mine) I decided to go for it and join the 21st century. It is such a nice great way to know whats going on with my friends, at least the ones who have blogs. So here goes.