Being Grateful

I just love Thanksgiving not just for the food but because it makes me reflect upon all of the things I am thankful for. Last week for family home evening we made lists of things that we are thankful for and as we made the lists they just got longer and longer. I could never list everything I am thankful for but there are a few things that I do want to mention. First, my Family (kids, husband, parents, siblings, in-laws the whole dang clan) without them I would be lost. They are my joy. They are the ones that inspire me to try harder. Second, my testimony in my Savior and in the Gospel it is what keeps me grounded, it gives me guidance and direction in my life. I have been blessed with so much and I would feel very ungrateful to not acknowlege them this holiday season.

Football Season

Our family loves football. Since Garrett isn't playing football this year, we have been able to see more of the BYU football games. Ashley has been begging for a foam finger forever, we finally found one for her. She even wears it at home when we watch the games on tv. So far the Cougars seem to be off to a good start. I hope they continue to do well.

Southern Utah Road Trip

It is sad to say but I have lived in Utah all my life and never been to some of the most famous attractions that are so close. So we decided to take a road trip. I let Mike do the planning and so in four days we traveled 1331 miles, spent 27 hours driving, stayed in four different RV Parks and saw: Dinosaur prints in Green River, Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Four Corners, Monument valley, Antelope Canyon (slot canyon), Glen Canyon Dam (including tour), and finally the Grand Canyon. It was so much fun. I would have loved to have stayed a little longer in all of the places but we just didn't have time. So we are already planning to go again next fall.

Dinosuar Prints














Arches National Park




Mesa Verde





Four Corners


Antelope Canyon (slot canyons)








Glen Canyon Dam




Grand Canyon

Homecoming Dance

Here are the pictures of Brittney and her date Skylar before the Homecoming dance. We lucked out in the dress department. We only went to two stores and it was probably the third dress she tried on. It didn't need any alterations which was great for me. I can't believe she is a senior. I hope she enjoys this last year of High School.

Tag a Roo! :)

(Thanks Wendy)

8 Things I look forward to:
* Building a house
* Having a yard
* Having a garage
* Having more than one bathroom
* my next vacation
* Spending the rest of my life with Mike
* The holidays
* My next date night

8 Things I did this week:
* cried with Ashley for the first 2 days of school
* Pickled beets
* all of my laundry in one day (wow)
* actually went to work twice and stayed more than 2 hours
* went to lunch with my mom and dad (Thanks guys)
* rode bikes with Amber
* Went swimming at mom and dad's for one last time this summer
* got rejected to donate blood for having low blood iron :(

8 Things I wish I could do:
* Keep my house clean
* Keep my kids from growing up
* Lose 15 pounds and never find them
* Go to bed earlier
* Remember
* Get more things done in a day
* Make fantastic meals every night
* Not cry at every silly thing

8 Places I'd love to travel to
* Nauvoo
* New York (Palmyra)
* Hawaii
* Boston
* Ireland
* California Oregan coast
* Italy
* Australia

8 Shows I watch
* HGTV Designed to sell
* O'Reilly Factor
* Curb Appeal
* What Not to Wear
* Gilmore Girls (reruns)
* Fox 13 morning news
* Yard crashers
* Phineas and Ferb

8 people I tag are:
* Brittney
* Amber
* Carrie
* Mom (get a blog)
* Kelly (update your blog)
* Kara
* Bobbi (get a blog)
* Cindy

Brittney's Birthday

We just celebrated Brittney's 17th birthday! It was on the 19th and so I probably should have posted this sooner, but I think I am in denial that my little girl is growing up. If I don't admit it then maybe, just maybe, it won't happen. Brittney has been such a joy in our lives. Here are some of her pictures through out the years. Brittney was always a determined little girl, once she sets her mind on something there is no stopping her. That stubbornness used to drive me crazy and I really had to pick my battles with her. Looking back over the years that stubbornness has been such a blessing to her it has helped her stay spiritually strong. It has helped her achieve good grades, and always want to do well at everything she does. I know that she will never cave in to peer pressure. She knows what she wants and she is going after it, so look out world she graduates next spring!

Suprise trip to Denver

Mike suprised me with a trip to Denver to see a Colorado Rockies Game. When the shock of actually going to Denver (instead of going to our friends cabin) wore off I got really excited. I have always wanted to go to a professional baseball game. I am so glad our friends Mike and Billie came along for the ride. It was fun to get away and just hang out with friends. Thanks Mike for the great get away!! Love ya Shari

Usernames and Passwords

I don't know how any of you keep track of all of your usernames and passwords but mine are starting to get a little out of control. They are on slips of paper that we keep in a basket next to the computer. You have to dig through them all to find the one you need. It is really quite annoying.

I was getting desperate for a solution. So I came up with the following:






I bought a small address book and alphabetized all of them by company name.

I think that it will work out a lot better than the scraps of paper method. Yeah!!! I would love to hear any other suggestions or ideas.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARRETT!!!

It's hard to believe but we just celebrated Garrett's
14th Birthday.



He has grown so much this last year!! Here as a look back at him through the years.


This is his kindergarten picture. One of my favorite stories about Garrett in Kindergarten was when I checked him out to go to the dentist. It was at the first of the school year and he didn't know his way around the school. I walked down to his classroom to get him and he was in the process of asking his teacher to draw him a map so that he could get to the office.










Garrett has always been such a fun and entertaining kid. When he was younger he was always in a cape. He was out to save the world. One day he said to me "Mom, I can't decide if I should be Superman or Batman when I grow up."













This is Garrett's 8th grade picture. He is now 5ft 8 and

weighs 120 lbs. Below is a picture of him and Brittney just to show you how much he has grown.

Garrett we love you tons and can't imagine our lives without you. Thanks for all the joy and fun you bring us. Happy Birthday. Love Mom and Dad

Summer Fun

We have been having a lot of fun this summer. Here are some of the highlights from the last couple of weeks.

Ashley set a goal to run a 5k this summer. I said that I would run it with her but when the gun went off, she left me in her dust. She took 55 overall out of about 300 people. She was 7th in the 9- 12 age group and she took 1st in the girls 9-12 age group. She was pretty excited. This is her crossing the finish line.



One day Grandma and Grandpa Clark, all of the grandkids (except Garrett who was out scout camp) and all of us girls took the Frontrunner to Salt Lake and went to Gateway. It was a lot of fun. All of the kids enjoyed playing in the fountain at olympic square.























I love summer. One of the highlights of summer for me is the Ogden Days of 47 Rodeo. We love to go early and watch all of the prerodeo events and activities. Of course it wouldn't be fun without all the great food.

Thank you cards

I have been wanting to make some thank you cards for quite a while. So I finally put aside some time to do just that. It was fun to let my creative juices (what little I have) just flow. These are the end result.