A few more cards I made...

I gave all of these homemade cards to my neighbor for her birthday.  I like to have pictures of them, so I can remember what I did, so I can make more in the future....(but also, these are for my mom to see).  :)

Happy 15th Birthday, Dallin!

Happy Birthday to Dallin! 

 

Just a few days ago on Sept 2, Dallin turned 15 years old.  He's already begging for the driver's manual so he can take the test to get his Learner's Permit.  Oh my word!  I'm pretty sure I can't handle another teenage driver at this point.  And honestly, it's not their driving that worries me, it's the OTHER drivers that stress me out!!

 

Dallin wasn't sure what he wanted for his birthday this year.  He's actually like that a lot.  He's humble and grateful for what he has and he doesn't ask for huge things. On Monday, Todd took him to Riverton Music to pick out a couple of new piano books that he'd like.  He came home with two new books:  Man from Snowy River and Hymn Preludes for Organ, volume 3.  Pretty awesome!

 

After school, I let him open the rest of his present...

 

A card with a little cash (always a winner)!

 



 

He asked for a "lifetime" supply of peanut butter Balance bars, but I decided on a "case" of 15 instead.  How many bars would be a lifetime supply...do you think?  I don't know either, but too many, right?  Sorry Dallin...

 

Dallin loves to put these 3D wooden puzzles together.  He has quite a collection on his dresser.  Although when he opened this one, he said, "Where am I going to put this?"  It's a valid question, actually.  :)

 



Grandpa and Grandma Johnson came over when Dallin got home from school and gave him a card with some more cash in it!  Turning 15 isn't so bad after all!  And then Grandpa Jones came over a couple of days later and gave him even more money.  Wow!  Maybe I want to be 15 again....um. no, I don't!  :)

 



 

And here is the cake I made for him.  No applause needed, really.  It wasn't that hard.  :)

 



 



 

We even sang to him and made him blow out his candles...all 2 of them!  Party hard Joneses!

 



And here's the brothers enjoying a piece of that marvelous cake I made.  Honestly, they don't care that it doesn't have fancy characters, several layers, or various colors...they just want to eat it.  I can accommodate that, luckily!  (barely, mind you, but still...)  :)

Dallin had a great day!  We love you Dallin.  We are so proud of you and we are so lucky to have you as part of our family!  You are awesome! 



First day of school 2014

We all survived the first day of school!

Brandon started his Senior year!  He's pretty excited!  He and a few of his good friends are on the Music Committee again this year.  I think it's going to be a great year!  This is your last one Brandon.  Make it count!  :)

Dallin started the 9th grade.  He also has Seminary this year for the first time.  He already LOVES his teacher!  We got him brand new, leather scriptures and he has been so excited to use them.  He's got some hard classes this year, but he will do great!  Good luck Dallin!

Kyle started 7th grade!  Oh and he got braces the week before school started.  (Welcome to junior high!)  :)  He is also taking Chinese this year and so far, he really loves it.  He's learning new words everyday and comes home and talks to us in Chinese.  Funny kid!  Way to go Kyle!

And Jacob is a big 5th grader.  He is our only child left at Arcadia Elementary.  That is just crazy!  

When I walked him into his class, he quickly found his desk.  He introduced himself to his teacher and then he sat at his desk.  I sat with him for a minute and then I said, "Well, I guess I'll go.  Are you going to be ok?"  He quietly responded, "Yes, Moooom."  And then I did something that was apparently the worst thing I could have ever done to my grown-up 5th grader.  I said, "Can I give you a hug goodbye?"  And he looked at me with this terrified look on his face and said, "Not here.  Not in front of my friends."  WHAT???

This picture says it all...you can see it on his face..."Please, Mom, don't embarrass me in front of my friends.  Just go now."  (Of course he didn't say that, but I could "see" it!) 

Oh, I was so devastated.  Jacob has never been embarrassed by me.  I guess it's happening to him too.  He's becoming a pre-teen.  I walked out of the classroom feeling pretty sad and deflated.  I ran into a friend of mine on the way out and I told her what had just happened.  She asked me, "What grade is he in?"  I said, "5th."  And she immediately looked at me and said, "No, of course you can't hug him goodbye."  (Duh!)  Wow!  My kids are growing up.  And whether I like it or not, it's happening.  There is nothing I can do to stop it.  Just so you know, I didn't go home and cry.  I actually walked away with a smile on my face.  I guess I've come to the conclusion that this is how it's supposed to be.  Kids are supposed to grow up.  It's all part of the plan.  I might not always like it, but it's a good thing.  I just need to keep reminding myself of that.  In the meantime, let the school year begin!                                                          Here we go!  :)

Park City Vacation 2014

We took a week-long trip to Park City in the middle of August.  It was so much fun....very relaxing!  We rented a 3-bedroom condo with 3 bathrooms, 3 TV's, 2 living rooms, and a kitchen.  It even had a washer and dryer.  There was plenty of space in our "apartment" and on the grounds was a swimming pool, a game room, and a small theater room.  We reserved the theater room one of the evenings and watched Ender's Game...just our family. We had the whole room to ourselves.  It was awesome!  Sadly, Brandon wasn't able to come because of work.  It was the beginning of the busy season, so he decided to stay home and earn some money.  We definitely missed him!!

Grandpa Jones came up to visit on Monday and stayed over until Tuesday afternoon.  We went miniature golfing together and that was fun.

On Thursday, we went to the Utah Olympic Park.  We purchased "Gold Passes" so we could spend the day riding the zip lines and the Alpine Slide.

This is a picture of Kyle and Dallin on top of a jungle gym kind-of thing.  It was actually really small and very easy to climb.  (They are so funny!)

Here are some pictures of each of us on the Alpine Slide.  It was so fun!

Dallin

Todd

Kyle

Jacob

Mom

One of the activities at the Olympic Park was a challenge course.  Actually there were three of them...a beginner's, an intermediate, and an advanced.  Right before lunch the kids and Todd decided they wanted to try the beginner's course.  So they all got suited up in the harnesses and began their journey.  I sat this one out because I wasn't sure I would be able to do it.  It looked kind-of hard, and it was also high up, so I relaxed a bit while they did the obstacle course.

The course began with a rock wall.  Of course everyone was hooked into a cable, too, in case anyone fell.  (Scary!)

Kyle

Jacob

Dallin

Todd went last

At the end of the course, they got to zip line back to the base.  It was pretty cool.

 After lunch and a few more zip line runs, the kids decided they wanted to do the obstacle course again.  So this time, I decided to try it.  It's hard to tell from this picture (below) what each obstacle was, but trust me, it was HARD!  Well, for me anyway.  I was cursing my entire family the whole way through and I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end.  Somehow I persevered through it.  But I didn't like it!  I didn't like being up high and hooked into this little cable thing, which I was pretty sure wasn't going to "save" me if I fell....Oohh, I'm scared just thinking about it.  I WAS proud of myself afterwards....but I'm not lining up to do that again anytime soon.  :)

This picture was taken after I completed the obstacle course.  I was pretty much drenched in sweat, and the ONLY reason I'm smiling is because I was on the ground again!  HA...(That is the obstacle course in the background.)

See how wet my hair is from sweating under the helmet?  It was very attractive.  :)

All in all, we had a great vacation.  It was a nice break from the day to day "regular" summer activities.  I'm glad we got to go!  Good times!