Horses vs. Cats

My friend, Brenda, took us to see her horses. It was a nice stable out in the country on a gorgeous night. Inside she showed us where the horses stay and how to take care of them. She got out her horse, Maggie. The girls are shown here brushing her.

She was so big. It's been a long time since I've been around a horse and this is the first for the girls. They were a bit timid at first, but warmed up as time went on.

They are getting a lesson on how to clean out her hooves. They declined the offer to help.

Since the girls were afraid, I had to show them how it was done. It's been some 20 years since I've been on a horse. It was fun, but very intimidating. I may have to go try that again soon. I was reminded of an experience in which a close friend (whose name I will not say) had a very comical yet scary experience on a horse some 20+ years ago in which she was riding on the side of the horse along a trail. The saddle was falling off.

After Jenna saw me doing it, she got the courage up and let Brenda lead us around the arena. She was a bit scared, but I am so proud of her for doing it.

Next, we went to the neighbors to see Eli. Eli looks just like Black Beauty.
Long mane. Hairy feet. Absolutely gorgeous!!

Then the girls decided they were done and ready to go find all the cats that were in the stables. I am not sure how many there were, but they were in heaven.

Jenna took this picture of a mother cat who was hiding with her little kittens.

I found one and Jenna was able to hold it briefly. It was so adorable. Almost made me want to take him home. Almost...

Jenna took this picture while I was off riding Maggie.

Megan's Uh-Oh!!

The day after school pictures...Megan was outside playing with her friend. I was in the basement and heard Meg crying. It didn't seem like an urgent cry, so I didn't rush up. But when it continued to go on, I decided to go up and find out what was going on.
I reached the top of the stairs just as she did. She was covered in blood from head to toe.
The first thing she said was, "I DON'T WANT TO HAVE STITCHES!!!!!"
She and her friend were playing with a bungee cord. They were trying to stretch it from one end of the slide to the other. Megan was hit when it slipped out of her friends hand. She had a welt where it wrapped around her right eye. She is so lucky it didn't hit her in the eye.

It was pretty obvious that she needed stitches, so I took her to my work (and our pediatrician) just to be sure before devoting my next 3 hours to an ER. Sure enough we needed them. We headed up to Urgent Care and got "ZAPPED." It's a gel that is used to numb in certain places instead of using needles. It takes about 45 minutes to work, but SO worth it. It was a much more pleasant experience. 3 stitches and 1 1/2 hours later, we were on our way home.
The picture above is the day I took them out. She was so proud because she didn't cry like Jenna did when I took her's out. Ha Ha!! Silly girl.

The scar should continue to disappear....I hope.
Jenna has a similar scar,but hers is in the middle of her forehead and is really hard to see.
They both got 3 stitches on the forehead at the age of 5.

Jenna's 8th Birthday and Baptism

Jenna's 8!!
It's hard to believe she is this old. She is such a joy to have in our home. Her personality and fun nature makes our home such an interesting place to be.

Jenna and Justin before her baptism.

Jenna's Cake
She loves LPS (Little Pet Shop)Jenna's friend Lily made some confetti and dumped it on her head.

The girls ate pizza, made sun catchers, painted rings and had cake and ice cream.
Lots of fun when crafts are involved. It was so fun!!

Jenna got her ears pierced. She is showing off her new earring holder. It was filled with earrings. Now if only the 8 weeks would go faster so she can change them.

Jenna's best friend Abbie

Thank you Jenna for 8 fantastic years. We are so proud of the choices that you make and the sweet girl you have become. You are such a great daughter, sister and friend.
We love you so much!!

The First Day of School - 2010

The First Day of School

I can't believe it's here. The kids were excited, although the older ones wouldn't admit it.

Tyler starts 5th Grade with Mrs. Houser.

Jenna begins 3rd Grade with Mrs. Lima

Megan starts Kindergarten (yes I said it!) with Miss Salisbury

Megan was so excited to start school.
Here she is standing in front of her locker.

I think Megan was ready for me to go. She just sat down, put her drink next to her and started to work on her puzzle. For those of you who know Megan can attest to her "fussy-side." Well, she did not show it at all today when dropping her off. She was a CHAMP! No fussying. No clinging to my leg. No tears. I on the other hand could not get out of the school fast enough! I have been so excited for this day and now it has finally come and I am sad.
On to life's new adventure....

Temple Square

After our adventure in Park City, we took the high road and went through Salt Lake to get home (to Provo). I am not sure my kids have had the Temple Square experience so we decided to take advantage of where we were and do it. It was a hot day and the kids didn't last as long as we would have liked, but we did it.

Megan is being the example and posing for a picture. This is so not like her. She (as you will see soon) is not one for getting in and smiling without some tears.
Here we are resting in the shade and having a snack.
I love the flowers all over Temple Square.
They are so beautiful!!
Here is Justin giving Megan a pep talk. As you can see she is not willing to sit close to her sister for this picture. She was hot and hungry. We tried to explain if she would cooperate, we'd be done a lot sooner.

Summer 2010

We took our usual trip to Utah, but this one included a few special events. The first being my 20th High School reunion. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures (I didn't want to carry my camera around with me). It was so much fun seeing so many familiar faces. Although Justin didn't particularly enjoy it, I still had a great time and do not regret attending!! The second big event was to celebrate my parents 50th Wedding anniversary. They did not want a big party, but instead wanted to get us all together to spend a few days in
Park City, Utah.

Since we were able to get everyone together, Dad took some pictures of us all. A professional came later to take the "real" pictures, but these are the ones my dad took.
My family
Bert & Sherice's Family
Brent & Kim's Family
All the grand kids with Mom & Dad
I love this silly picture. It was the best!!!

These pictures are of us at Jordanelle Reservoir. We had 3 jet skis which were lots of fun. It was a beautiful day on the lake.

The water was really cold, so Megan enjoyed watching the others from the shore. Ashree took her on a the jet ski, but we couldn't get her to go out again. Too Cold!Tyler swimming with his cousins: Shelby, Madison, and McKenzie.
Nanie and Papa hanging out with Meg in the shade.
Justin and Ashree being pulled by Brian (Justin's cousin). Great times!!
Justin getting Jenna ready to ride.Braxton celebrating victory. Hannah was pitched off!

We stayed in some condos there in Park City.
Here are some random pictures of the fun had by all.
Waking up with cousins readily available was awesome!!
Jenna and Megan sitting with Shayla.Breakfast!
Nice face Ash!!Bert and Sherice making Pancakes.
We did all the cooking in Mom & Dads's condo because it was the biggest. We split up the days and took turns cooking.Megan loves her cousins. She wouldn't leave Housten or Brennon alone.
Here she is getting loves from Housten.Bert with two of his beautiful girls, Madison, 11 (left) and Shelby, 9 (right)

We went to the park to play soccer and volleyball.

One night the girls went to see Twilight: Eclipse at a special preview (awesome by the way) and the boys stayed back and had ribs. Tyler Loves Ribs!!
Here is another picture of them all eating such a "manly" meal!!The kids loved the pool. They would have gone swimming 24/7 if we'd let them.
The start of the pool pictures:
Megan and Brennon in the hot tub
The "Bun-head" table is ready!!!
This is our favorite game.
Tyler wanted to have a ping pong tournament, so he recruited the players, made a bracket and saw it through.
McKean was the champion.
Tyler wanted to have a ping pong tournament. He signed up the players, made a bracket and saw it through to the end. McKean was the winner!