July 9-11 Chris' Birthday Trip

For Chris' birthday I surprised him with the one thing he always asks for. A weekend getaway for just the two of us! He was so excited. Sheri has Fridays off so we made it an extra long weekend. We left Thursday evening and had dinner in San Francisco. We wanted to go to THe Cheesecake Factory but the wait was way too long. So we walked down to the mall ate and then walked through the mall. Was this my birthday or Chris'? We stayed at a hotel in San Francisco and went to Napa on Friday for a Mud Bath and Massage! Chris chose the Mud Bath. It didn't really sound good to me, it's mud! I hate to be dirty, but it was very relaxing. Since our spa time was in the afternoon we decided to do some sight seeing before. We went and saw the Geyser and went to a Castle that was a winery. We also walked around downtown. It was nice just to walk and enjoy each other's company without the kids needing something. On Saturday we did some shopping and then went to get the kids! It was a very fun weekend!

Riley Jo Graduates

My little girl graduated from the 3 year old Pre-School class! She sang some songs, did the Chicken Dance, and then there was a dance party afterward! It was a very fun day! Next school year, she will be in the 4 year old class. My how fast the years go by!

Girls Trip to Tahoe

In May we took a Girl's Weekend trip to Tahoe! We had a blast! The weekend went by very fast though. We drove up Thursday afternoon, April J., Hayley, and Valorie left in the morning, so by the time we got there they had dinner ready for us! Valorie had come from Idaho for our weekend and we hadn't seen her in about a year and a half so we spent some time catching up. We decided it would be fun for everyone to be interviewed Oprah style! So April P. took on the roll as Oprah and we interviewed a couple people each night. Anyone could ask questions though, it was a fun way to get some unanswered questions about people. We laughed, we cried, and laughed some more. We all had a great time and can't wait for the next trip. One night we had a SPA night and we all put masks on. We felt very rejuvenated afterward! We also watched some movies, worked on a puzzle or two, took day trips around Tahoe, and went hiking. I absolutely love my girl time just being me, so I can come back and be a good mom instead of stressed out all the time!

Here we all are. This was on one of our trips shopping. Starting at the front: Tara, Brittany, Valorie, Teri, Jen, April P., Hayley, and April J.

We posed by the lake at sunset!

Young Women Mystery Trip

So last year the young women in our ward had the privilege of going to Utah on an amazing adventure! SO this year we were planning our trip we asked the girls what they wanted to do and they said they wanted it to be a mystery. So the leaders started brainstorming! We had great ideas and all we needed was a place to stay to figure out the final details. Then we had a place in Napa and the plans were finalized.

We started our trip in San Francisco where we walked on the Golden Gate Bridge.

From there we went to Point Bonita Lighthouse. We walked through a tunnel that was picked with an ice pick! It was extremely dark inside. Then we had to go across a bridge to get to the lighthouse. Only 2 could go across at a time. Then we ate lunch, and then headed to the ropes course. That was an amazing experience. We worked on team building exercises and then went on the high ropes.

We had to climb a 40 ft. pole to go on the zip line. That climb scared me to death! I was shaking so hard. But jumping off the top proved to be harder than the climb! Then we climbed a 30 ft. pole and walked across a log. Some of the girls went on a tight rope type wire. Then the last thing was called the pamper pole. You had to climb up a pole I think 25 ft. Then stand up on top of the pole and balance there without holding onto anything. Then you had to jump out and grab on to the trapeze. I wasn't going to attempt this obstacle but I fell into peer pressure! I was glad I did. It was scary, but fun! I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for the girls pushing me! We ended that day by going to the house we were staying at and swimming. Then on Saturday we met up with our Stake and cheered at the Special Olympics held at UC Davis. We showed up and it was 100 degrees out there. No one was cheering and our group got up and started cheering, even doing some High School cheers and the athletes totally appreciated it! We had some of the athletes come over to have their pictures taken with the youth and thank them for cheering! It was an awesome experience! Then the girls got to ride the Amtrak home! They all had a fun time!

I was at this point on the pole for a long time trying to figure out how to get on top of the pole without falling.

Finally made it to the top! Now all I have to do is jump! What? Yeah and try to grab onto the Trapeeze before you fall! Ok! Got it!

June Vacation to Carson City

We started out Summer out with a vacation to Carson City. We have a time share their so it was fun to stay the week there and swim in the natural hot spring water. We did take some day trips along the way! Chris stayed and worked the week and came up on Friday-Sunday. Michayla's cousins were in town and it was her grandparents Wedding anniversary so she stayed behind and came up with Chris on Friday. Summer is our busiest time for the business and we usually don't get to go away. This is the first time we have ever done a vacation during the summer and it was great! The kids and I drove up on Sunday and got all settled in. We even unpacked all our bags and put our clothes in the dressers. The kids liked that since we usually live out of our bags. Monday we hung out at the resort all day and swam.

Tuesday we went to Reno for the day and Riley Jo went on her first Go-Kart ride. She loved it! We played a round of mini golf and then I took the kids to Circus Circus to play the games. We all had a blast! Riley Jo was so cute, in order to his the golf ball, she would put the ball down close to the hole, then sit down to hit it! She got a hole in 1 every time! Tyler got a hole in 1 on one of the holes and so did I!

The rest of the week we did some mini tourist trips and swam.

There was a playground at the resort for the kids to play on, pool table, air hockey, and foosball. We spent a lot of time in the pool and spas too! It was relaxing and fun just to get away with the kids!

Blog Summer Vacation!!

You know it's been a long time since you signed on to your blog when you have to type out the entire web address! WOW! 3 1/2 months, did not think it had been that long. I thought I had done some updates during the summer. We have had such a busy summer and have had a lot going on. School starts next week and I am pretty sure the kids are ready to have a schedule again, or maybe it is just me! I know they are all excited to see their friends, not so sure about the classes and the homework though. Oh well, and so the fun begins. Michayla and Tyler in 8th grade this year. I know they are excited about that! Kyle in second grade and Riley Jo in Pre-School again!

Wedding Dresses

Tonight at Young Womens we made Modest Wedding Dresses out of toilet paper! We gave them the guidelines that the dress had to go to their ankles, needed sleeves, and it couldn't be too low in the front or the back. Then they were able to design the dress for their friends. Morgan and Carissa were paired up, Alaina, Christina, and Emily were paired up. The girls had so much fun as did Laura and I! The girl's did an awesome job creating dresses. We were getting a little pressed for time so everyone helped dress Alaina and Christina! Then we did some posing for fun! Everyone had trouble at the beginning getting the dress to stay on! But the results were awesome!