Snow and Cornbellys

If any of you haven't heard yet, we here in Utah got snow on Sunday! Carter woke up and looked directly out the window and screamed, "SNOW MOMMY!" He wanted to get into his snow clothes immediately but I told him he had to wait until the sun was totally up. Was this really happening? October 12th? I swear it gets earlier every year. This weekend is supposed to be warm again, so I am not totally upset yet. Fall is still here for another week atleast.

Carter finally got to use his Diego shovel we bought on clearance this summer. It was supposed to be used for Grammy's sandbox but somehow never made it over there. It seemed to work just as good with the snow. This snow was totally melted by about 5 o'clock that night. Carter and James even built a snowman, but I was too cold to take a picture of it by the time they were finished! Just imagine a cute little baby snowman...
Today was Carter's first fieldtrip for preschool to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point. Well I guess it wasn't technically a "real" fieldtrip since I just drove him from our house to Thanksgiving Point because I couldn't find my keys for about 20 minutes. They ended up being in my purse the whole time, grrrr. I was supposed to be a helper mom and take care of a few other kids while we were there. It definitely kept me on my toes with Preston along! We made it there a little before the rest of the class so we took some pictures while we were waiting.

I wanted Carter to put his arm around Preston for this picture but Preston was not happy about it. How cute is that beanie?! It was Carter's and I couldn't wait for it to fit another one of my boys. I love it. We definitely needed it. It was FREEZING when we first got there.
Derek and Carter on a fun hayride that was really bumpy
The cow tractor ride was where Carter reminded me that he has a very strong personality(not that I needed any reminding). He wanted to sit up front and didn't want to share a little car (cow) with anyone. Two other girls wanted to share but had to sit in the front so he had to switch with them. Big mistake. He was kicking and screaming the whole time until the ride started. Even trying to get his picture after it was over was still traumatizing. The funny part was that I asked him on the ride home what his favorite part was and he said the cow ride! Kids are so funny. Don't you love the cowboy boots? He had to wear those today, I figured it was pretty appropriate.
I thought he would say that this was his favorite part. They had old style water spigots that you could pump water through and push some rubber ducks along the little gutter thing. He played here for a good twenty minutes and managed to get his whole sleeve soaking wet. He didn't complain, so I didn't complain!
Snacktime! Carter was in charge of the snack and couldn't wait to give out the fun Halloween frosted cookies. I think they were a hit. I went with the orange theme with the goldfish too. Ok, I only realized after I had them both but hey it works!

Cambrie and Carter in the cute wooden train
In the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkin. Carter saw his right away and held onto it. He was so proud! We are going to carve some tonight that we bought last night but got home too late. I love fall!
Preston with the pumpkin he picked. It was a little green and moldy so I kindly chose another one for him while he wasn't looking. :)
Again, how cute is that beanie?! Okay really you have to have a cute kid to go with it!
I thought that they would be totally tired out from the 2 hours outside, but they still had a little more to get out before lunch time. They had their plates ready and were chasing each other around with them. What a fun game! I think I am tired now after writing this post! Whew!

A tribute

My hair dryer (is it two words?) finally bit the dust a few days ago. I have had this hair dryer for atleast 10 years. It's like I am losing an old friend. Does anyone else feel that way maybe about a hair brush or favorite toothbrush? Am I crazy?? I went to Target looking for a replacement hoping they would have the same kind, but to no avail. I had to settle for this revlon one that is way stronger and has more gadgets and settings. It even came with a free lime green scrunchie. The scrunchie did soften the blow, but I am still missing my old conair. May she rest in peace.

Update on my boys

My boys are growing up. Some days it seems like it isn't coming fast enough, and then days like today I am just reminded how time moves too fast. Preston will be 2 next month and it literally seems like about 2 months ago that we brought him home from the hospital. He has started to get quite the little personality, and is talking so much more. Carter has always acted older than his age and lately he has been cracking me up with all the questions and phrases he comes up with. One of my favorites is when James couldn't find his keys and was frustrated and said as any normal Brit would, "Where are my bloody keys?!" to which Carter turned to me and asked, "Mommy, why are Daddy's keys bloody?" It was pretty hilarious. He also thinks he is a diver and came over to me while I was on the computer a few days ago looking like this. I couldn't resist a picture. Notice his ears folded under the strap around his head. So cute. He has learned some nursery rhymes at preschool and recited them for me on the way home last Thursday. I was floored with how perfect he remembered them all. Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Hey diddle diddle, and Hickory dickory dock are the ones he knows. I'm sure if you ask him to recite one for you, he would love to. He is so proud of himself, and gets a little smirk on his face when you tell him how good he did. His preschool class is going to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point next week which he always calls "Corntummys". He asks to go every day and can't wait for his first field trip with his class. I love this age!

I went in to check on Preston before church to see if he had woken up yet so that I could get him dressed and this is what I found. How comfortable can that be? He is my night owl and will sit and kick around in his crib for hours sometimes after I put him to bed. He doesn't cry, he enjoys it I think. I sometimes hear him growling like a dinosaur or talking jibberish to himself. He is a good little dude.

We went up to Nunns Park in Provo Canyon tonight to see all of the leaves changing. It is so beautiful! I love fall. This is when I knew that my boys were growing up. I didn't really have to worry about Carter up there this time. He kept close by us and didn't whine or complain at all. This is a big step for Carter who has been my challenge in that area. I think he is finally starting to grow out of that stage (knock on wood!) Even Preston did really well with only some wet shoes from walking too close into the river while throwing rocks. They had a blast. Hotdogs, smores, rootbeer, a river, rocks, and friends, how can you go wrong? Thanks Canlas Fam! Here is our attempt at a picture with the changing leaves. Carter thought he was so funny running away. Little punk! He finally decided one alone would be okay. I bought this jacket for him and got a 5t for some reason which is totally huge on him. What was I thinking? Well atleast it will fit him for sure next year! Well I figured the grandparents would like a little update on what has been happening with these two little cuties. For all the rest of you, I'm impressed you made it this far!

Need input

I am looking into putting together a 5k race for my cousin Sean who has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. All proceeds would go toward his medical bills and treatment. Does anyone know how to go about this? He and his wife of only one month were both University of Utah students so I am wondering if maybe the school could get involved somehow. Winter is approaching quickly so we need to act fast on this. If you have any contacts or know how this can be organized, please respond!

Andrea's Shower

I love my family! Yesterday we had a shower for my cousin Andrea who got married in July back East. Her and her new hubby are living in Provo going to school so we wanted to get her anything else she needed for their new life together. She is the nicest girl ever and didn't like to be in the spotlight, but handled it really well! We got to hear how they met, how he proposed,(I love hearing those stories!) and their future plans. We also got to meet my cousin Julie's new boyfriend which was fun. He was pretty brave to come into a room full of women! He seems great, and I am really glad that he makes her so happy. Love was in the air!

The Stephenson girls
Jason and Andrea-aren't they so cute? I miss the newlywed days...doesn't he look like Chris O' Donnell? I kept telling him that, but he doesn't know who that is. I must be getting old.

Gratitude

A few things I am grateful for this week--

*Redbox movies-can't beat a dollar/free with code!

*Discovery Park

*my new job starting Monday

*My sister-in-law Bethany for watching my kids while I work

*Valley Center Playhouse-(please read singletonliving.blogspot.com for further details)

*more zucchini than I know what to do with

*Good books including Stargirl and Tuesdays with Morrie

*diapers

*the weather-it stills deserves a shout out

*old friends

*people I can be real with

*snuggling with Carter

*cafe rio

*reading books with Preston today

*fresh fruit

*my hard working husband
*50 cent cans of cream of chicken soup(go to Albertsons)

*a nice 3 mile run outside this morning

Today was a good day. Nothing exciting happened, just got to be with my family. Life is good.

chef James is back

After a long absence chefjamescookingpot.blogspot.com is back up and running. I have been busy in the kitchen trying new things and concocting some great dishes which have been tested on friends and family. Check it out I will have a lot to share in the next little while.

James

Blog Love

I got tagged by Adhis because she loves to read my blog (I love to read her's too, it is so funny and well written). Thanks Adhis! I am so flattered. The rules are that I have to tag 7 other people and tell them how much I love to read their blogs. I have so many that I love, but I can only choose 7. Sorry! So if you are one of those 7 , feel free to post this on your blog and give some other bloggers some love.

1. My cute sister Melanie- carlmelwhiting.blogspot.com

2. My hilarious single friend Katie-really people, if you haven't read her blog you need to, it will make you laugh for days! -singletonliving.blogspot.com

3. The girliest blog on the net- cupcakechowder.blogspot.com

4. The biggest twilight lover I know- annban10.blogspot.com

5. My neighbor with great stories of junior high- werewinginit.blogspot.com

6. A funny mom and great chef trying to survive in Australia- benatriley.blogspot.com

7. Adventures of a single mom while her husband is in Iraq-gardnerhawaii.blogspot.com

Girls Trip 2008

It was that time again for our annual Stephenson family girls trip (My mom's side of the family.) Although we were smaller in numbers this year since my cousin Jacque's father-in-law passed away suddenly so her family attended funeral services, we still had such a great time (but missed them too!) We went Thurs.-Sat. up to Park City and stayed in a nice condo right in Red Stone Plaza right next to a lot of shopping and restaurants, it was awesome. Here are the girls minus Aunt Sharon and Bethany:

Back: Mom, Melanie, Aunt Mary, Shauna

Front: Me, Shannon, Sarah

So the first night we looked through the dining books and decided on this place called "Good Thymes since it had a variety of food that hopefully everyone would like. Wrong. It was disgusting! I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak and got it with American cheese. Does anyone else think that is just wrong! Provolone people, hello! Shannon and Melanie ordered a quarter chicken and got a huge piece of a bloody chicken leg served to them, nasty. And the most annoying thing was the lady wouldn't split our checks up! Needless to say, they got the thumbs down from me. Of course I was the only one brave/stupid enough to get up on the wall in front of the restaurant and make such an ugly face! The next night we ended up going to Red Rock and it was amazing!! Chicken Parmesan to die for. I was bummed I forgot to take a picture with a thumbs up in front of it. Oh well ,there's always next year.

We stayed up talking until about 2 am and it was so nice to wake up at 10 and not even feel bad about it! We got ready and hit the outlets. Here are the Tenney girls ready for a good day of shopping.
And shop we did! I got a lot of fun things for me like 2 hats, earrings, and a new purse. Here we are with all of our bags (well almost we still had some in the car from before.) Bethany met us up there and we talked her into spending way more money than she wanted! Everything she tried on just looked so cute on her she had to buy all of it! That is the fun in shopping together, you get everyone's opinion.
My mom got a purse last year and I took a picture of it, so in keeping with tradition, since I got a purse this year too, we took one together. After shopping is the funnest part because we do "Show and Tell" and show everything that we bought and lay it all out. We also add up all of our receipts and see who spent the most. This year since Jacque was not here (she always wins!) Melanie took top prize for most money spent. Although I do have to say most of it was for her kids' school clothes, so that doesn't really count right? :)
My mom is also a personal stylist for my aunt Mary and dyes and cuts her hair. She has actually been stopped by people and asked who does her hair because it is so cute. The funniest part is that my mom doesn't have a license but she still does a great job! I kept telling my aunt she looked like she had white dreadlocks. I am sure she will love me for putting this picture on here!
I love being with my family and I think this getaway is so necessary to keep connected and for my sanity!! I had a ton of junk food, no sleep, a hurt stomach from laughing so hard, and memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks for the fun girls!

Perfect Weather

Since I am one of the biggest complainers about the weather, I decided to do a post about how wonderful the weather has been in Utah the past few days. I have turned off the air conditioning and just had my windows open all day, it's the best! Being in the high 70's and soon to be low 80's is the greatest. Thank you Mother Nature for being kind to me. You deserved a shout out.

First Day of Preschool

It finally arrived! Carter has been talking about this for a long time and was so excited to go. I take him to a girl that lives in my sister Melanie's neighborhood. She was a kindergarten teacher for about 10 years and just had her 4th baby and decided to stay home with her, so she started a preschool. She seems great and I know Carter needs the structure of school, and to mix things up twice a week! He mostly was excited about his new spiderman backpack which is about as big as he is, and to wear his orange helicopter shirt which he picked out himself. When we got there I said bye and he didn't even acknowledge that I was there. He went right in and did his thing. That is definitely his personality! He has never been afraid of anything new, he just dives right in. When I picked him up after it was over he told me that he played with dinosaurs, described each of them, and that was about all the details I got. He pretty much just said yes or no to everything else. Kids are so funny. I just need to figure out what I am going to do for the 2 hours that he is gone. It is not exactly close to my house so I don't want to go all the way home and come right back. Today me and Preston went to my brothers pizza place and chatted with him for awhile and then went to Ross and looked around. I may start going to the gym and putting Preston in the daycare there so it will force me to work out. Any other suggestions? All in all, it turned out to be a good day.

Big Boy Bed

Since Carter is now 3 1/2 and a week away from starting preschool, I figured it was about time to put the crib away! He loved his crib and knew how to climb out, but still would wait for me to get him every morning. I wasn't about to mess up naptime and bedtime with a normal bed that he could get out of easily! We decided to try him out in a normal bed for a few nights in our guest room and he loved it. He still would call for me to come get him in the morning so I thought that this wouldn't be too hard of a transition for him or me. We headed over to Ikea to scout out a new bed for him. We decided on this one because we want him and Preston to share a room when we have another baby (don't get any ideas, that won't be for awile :) and thought this was perfect. It is a reversible single or bunk bed you just flip it over and can make space for a bunk bed by putting a mattress on the ground. Pretty ingenius I thought. Carter also spotted the canopy on top and had to have it! Since Ikea is so cheap, we sprung for it and the fun duvet cover to match. James had a "fun" time putting it together last night while the kids were in bed and put the last screw in tonight just in time for bedtime. Carter was so excited. It made me a little sad to see him so grown up! Time keeps flying by...

Ode to my Husband

Let's just face it, my husband is awesome. I know some of you hate the "bragging blogs" but too bad, James totally deserves it! Today he finished his first OLYMPIC triathlon and did a great job. He has done some sprint tris in the past and really wanted to push himself so has been training for this for the past four or five months. Many of you may have seen him running or biking around the neighborhood making loop after loop trying to get the allotted time in he needed to train for that day! He finished in about 3 hours (his watch broke) and said it was the hardest thing ever. They had to swim in the Jordanelle Reservoir for 1 mile, bike 25 miles, and run a 10k (6.2 miles). I am so proud of him and that he was able to accomplish this! We also had our 7 year anniversary on the 10th, so here are 7 things that I love about James:

1. His accent---I thought it was adorable when we met and still find it totally adorable now. Although it has definitely gotten more American sounding, I still smile every time he says Heather, garage, trousers, little turtle, dirty dancing, rooty tooty fresh and fruity(from the IHOP menu),water(which every waitress never understands), ponce, bloody, the list could go on and on!

2. What a wonderful father he is to my boys. They absolutely adore him and he is definitely the fun one of the two of us. He takes them to the Dinosaur Museum, Cabelas, and the pool without me all the time. He also lets Carter get a pink cookie every time after they go swimming which he thinks is the greatest thing ever!

3. He always puts my needs before his. That is how it has always been. He always knows when I have had a bad day and need a break and is happy to let me get out and do my thing. Girls nights, bunco, hanging out with family, he will always stay home with the boys for me to have fun. He also really encourages me to run and makes sure I get my long runs in no matter what.

4. He still is romantic after 7 years. He is one of the most thoughtful, fun, original guys I know. He always has something cool planned for big days throughout the year. He makes a huge deal about my birthday and throws me a party with all my family and friends. On my race day he presented me with a certificate to get a massage at 1pm after the race. Breakfast in bed, flowers, picking me up a yummy treat he thought I would like, making t-shirts, watching chick flicks, project runway, the hills, and other girly shows with me, making me countless gourmet dinners, I love it all.

5. He makes me laugh. Although technically I am the funny one in our relationship(he still tries to disagree with me on this one), he still is pretty funny. :)We can sit and laugh our heads off at his one liners. For instance today I was crying from laughing so hard about his description of his race..."Getting kicked in the face about 100 times was fun, followed by veering off course only to find myself totally away from everyone else at the edge of the lake, and running to the finish with the lady with the megaphone asking me what my name was and where I was from, as I can barely breath let alone chat with her." Okay maybe you had to be there, but I was laughing pretty hard. He makes me laugh, enough said.

6. His politeness and manners--This comes with the territory of being British, but I still love it. He still asks me if he can eat things at our house, will always let me get my dinner first, and if there is only a little bit of food left he always asks if I want the rest. My family is anything but polite, especially when it comes to dinnertime and he learned this first hand when we were dating. We do it buffet style and get in line and you better hurry or you might not get any. James didn't want to be rude and waited for everyone to get some. Sadly, my brothers are pigs and there was nothing left when he finally found the courage to take his turn. He learned the ropes pretty quick after that but still would never take the last piece of meat or potato in fear that someone else might not get some. I love him!

7. He is a great listener. He will just let me talk if I need to vent and at least acts like he is interested and cares. He also remembers things I say I want or like even if I am just saying it in a nonchalant way, and will surprise me with them later. That means a lot. He gets me. When you get married you think you know who you are marrying, which you sortof do, but there are some things you just can't know until you live with someone and see them in different situations. James has been 100 times better than I could have ever imagined. He is everything I ever wanted and way more. Cheesy I know, but true. He is just a deep down good person with an amazing heart. I love you babe, here's to a lot more!

Half Marathon #2 Completed!!

This race turned out to be a lot different than what I had in mind. I have learned quite a few things from this race as compared to the last. One being to try to train on the course you are running BEFORE you run it on race day. I had been training on a flat surface and this race was downhill which I thought would be easier. It was in some ways but it killed my knees and made me get blisters on my toes, both of those things I hadn't experienced before the race. I also ended up having to go #2 halfway through (sorry if that was too much info!) and found out I had a stomach bug that lasted the rest of the day. It was pretty brutal. I have a lot to learn!

Here is some of us carb-loading the night before at the best place ever, Brick Oven.

Here are my number one supporters on race day- James even made the cutest shirts for the boys to wear. They were a hit!
It said "My Mummy ran the Provo half marathon and all I got was this t-shirt." So funny!
Here are the four of us at the finish line Bethany, Melanie, me, and Brooke
Here is us running toward the finish. Brooke finished about 30 minutes before us and decided to run back and find us and cheer us on the rest of the way. She kept me going when I wanted to stop and told me to just pick up my knees and finish! Thanks Brooke, I needed your encouragement. By mile 10 I pretty much crumbled and was finished. I had to walk a lot and I appreciated Melanie and Bethany for staying with me the whole way so that we could all finish together. I killed their chance of getting a good time, but it was nice to go through the finish holding hands and knowing that we had done it all together. I love these girls! I was so proud of them and they were doing so awesome. Bethany said she could have gone for 5 more miles! Thats the hard thing about running, you have great days and then you have bad days, I guess it was one of my bad days. I am still proud that I finished, and I actually did beat my time from last year, but feel a little disappointed knowing that I could have done better on a different day. Life goes on! I guess this will push me to do another one and keep improving. Well maybe tomorrow after my body doesn't feel like I'm 90 years old...

Crazy Stephenie Meyer Fans!

I love the Twilight books don't get me wrong, but people are crazy! I went to the midnight release of the Breaking Dawn book at Walmart with my cousin Megan and it was insane (see my review of the book below). We went to the Walmart in American Fork only to find 2 registers open and about 1000 people wrapped around the store. We then decided to go to the Lindon one thinking it might be a little less crowded. This is what we found:

Another big line but it was moving faster so we decided to stay. As we waited in the back of the line, a car drove by saying that there were copies over at Smiths and that they didn't have many left so we better hurry. Alli and I booked it to Megan's car and were in hot pursuit of Smiths. As I was running I thought to myself "Am I seriously running to get a book? This is ridiculous!" , but all the fun of being there was totally worth it. We were one of the last people to get a book there so I am glad that we ran! I immediately went to bed when I got home so why I got it at midnight is pointless, but still so hilarious to see all of the crazies waiting to get their hands on a copy. Thanks for a fun night girls!! I loved it!
L to R Me, Kaylynn, Megan, Sarah, Alli

Breaking Dawn Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD* IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE BOOK DON'T READ MY REVIEW!!

I just finished the book and let me just say, I have definitely mixed feelings about it. I loved the beginning and was so happy to be back in the world of Edward and Bella again. The wedding and honeymoon were great too and then the tables turned a little bit. I thought the whole pregnancy was weird. I kept picturing this alien child with bright green scary eyes and it just disturbed me! I have actually been a big fan of Jacob throughout all the books (I love Edward more) but in this book he really irritated me. The whole book from his perspective was not my favorite. Bella REALLY was getting on my nerves during the pregnancy. It was as if she had no respect for the Cullens and if they lived or died didn't matter because she was going to have this baby no matter what. I just hated how it was all about her and if she wanted to snuggle with Jacob in front of Edward that was cool .Whatever! She is married!! The weirdest part was how Edward was totally cool with Jacob and her having a baby together. That was so not necessary! I also was annoyed with Rosalie and Bella's friendship all of a sudden. What happened to Alice, is she chopped liver? I thought the delivery of the baby was WAY graphic. I don't think I will ever read that part again. Okay, all my rants are over and we can start with the good stuff.

I loved how she wrapped it all up. Although the imprinting was definitely weird with Jacob and Renesmee, it made it more believable that he could be over Bella but that they could still be friends. I loved how Bella transformed and discovered all of the abilites she had as a vampire that she didn't human. I loved the vampires coming from all over the world to help Carlisle. I really liked the Garrett character and would like to see if she will do any more on him and Kate. Anyone else agree? I am glad that she is still able to keep contact with Charlie and that he was finally able to find someone to be with that makes him happy. My favorite part was the last pages of Edward being able to read her mind and her going through all of her memories. It made it all come together into a great ending. I'm sad it's over but atleast I can get back to normal life again! Thank you Stephenie Meyer for this wonderful series. It has gotten me into reading again.

*Please share your thoughts/opinions on the book with me. I would love to hear your insight!

Itty Bitty Soccer

I signed Carter up for Itty Bitty Soccer for 3-4 years olds at the Legacy Center. It is for two weeks and our last day (thankfully) is Friday. It has been another one of those things that I envisioned in my mind totally differently. The first day he cried almost the whole time. The second day he did much better after being bribed with a toy that he could get afterward. The last few times has been kindof a mixed bag with him sometimes wanting to play, but most of the time just running around aimlessly. It has been pretty humorous to say the least. My friend Brooke has her son Teagan in it too so we just sit and laugh at how ridiculous our kids are and always question if we will go the next day. Here are some out of focus shots of the action:

Here they are "stretching" at the beginning of the class
Carter has wanted his own soccer ball the whole time and doesn't like it if they all have to share one ball. Notice how he clings to his ball tightly! (he is in the yellow shirt)
His favorite part of the entire day is at the end they all get to run to the wall and back before they get their candy. He thinks he is so fast and loves to race. Note to self: Preston won't start until he is atleast 5. I guess the oldest always ruins it for the younger ones. haha

p.s. James came back with no cavities again in case any of you were wondering. The dentist said he had some of the strongest teeth he had ever seen. SO unfair!

Great News

I finally scheduled a dentist appointment after having not gone to one in almost 5 years. So shameful, I know. I hate the dentist and have in previous visits had tons of work done. So I was having anxiety all night last night about how much all of my dental bills were going to cost and how much all of it was going to hurt, the root canals they would have to do, and the scary drill noise. Yikes. I was even nervous about the cleaning since last time I left in tears-am I just a HUGE wuss? My appointment along with the two little ones was this morning at 8am so I could just get it overwith. Turns out the whole experience was almost pleasant! The hygenist was super nice and didn't hurt me in the slightest (I don't know what the last girls deal was) and after taking all the x-rays I have ZERO cavities!! I don't think that has ever happened to me in the history of me going to the dentist. Carter also had no cavities and got a little award and his picture taken to put up on the wall. He was so excited about his new toothbrush and plastic caterpillar he earned as a prize. The funniest part was for having no cavities he got a certificate for a free ice cream at Arctic Circle. Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose? He'll eat it for sure but I am just glad I got the okay from the dentist! Preston just had a "friendly"visit and basically was just running around the office the whole time. James goes in about an hour. He has never had a cavity so we will see if this tradition continues or if he has run out of luck. To be continued...

Happy Days

Oh, the summer has been flying by! Today as I was driving home with two boys asleep in the backseat, I had some quiet time to think about all of the blessings I have in my life. I have had quite a few lunch/dinner dates with friends and family lately and have felt so lucky to have such good people to learn from and be with. I don't have pictures of all of the lunch dates but here are a few and some other things that have made me happy lately-

This is my cousin Josh who turned 18 on the 18th. I can't believe he is that old. His mom (my mom's sister) died when he was 7 so he came to live with us my senior year of highschool. We have always had a special bond ever since and I try to keep in touch with him as much as possible. This picture was our third attempt since one of us either had our eyes closed, or looked like we had three chins (yes that would be me!)

Today we went to my sister's sister-in-law Stephani's house (did I lose a few of you on the relation?) She was also my manager when I worked at the Anniversary Inn in Logan (my favorite job ever.) She is one of my favorite people in the whole world and I haven't seen her or her house for a long time! She was so great to get my boys anything they needed--including hosing Carter's bare bum after playing in the sandbox and getting it stuck all over! She also got in her attic to get this fun little ramp for cars to go down for Preston and all the boys had a great time with it. I told Carter we were taking this picture and he said "Blake! Hurry and hold my hand!" How cute is that? We had so much fun I wish I could hang out with her every day!!

L to R Melanie, Stephani, Mel's mother-in-law Cathy, and me

It was also fun to have Cathy there with us. Most of you don't know her but those who do know that she is famous for the hugs she gives. That was another thing that brightened my day today. She gives the kind of hugs that are really tight and she doesn't let go right away. She means it when she hugs you. I love that about her.

I love it right after I have gone grocery shopping. My pantry, fridge, and freezer are full and is just gives me a good, secure feeling. Is that weird? I came home and saw all of these yummy fruit/veggies sitting on my counter and it just made me excited for all the good food I get to eat soon! By the way, those zucchinis(or courgettes to you British folk) are fresh from our garden. We have eaten 2 already with dinner and nothing tastes better than fresh! I didn't think I could tell a difference in zucchini from the grocery store, but I can definitely tell!

Finally, I am thankful for bubbles and these awesome bubble blowers that have already provided atleast 2 hours of enjoyment for my boys. Mel told me that they were on clearance at Target for 5 bucks so we got two on our next visit. What a hit! They used all of the bubbles it came with pretty fast. I went to Walmart yesterday I searched high and low for more and of course spent 20 minutes looking in every department with no luck. James stopped on his way home from work today and found some at Target which was the last bottle! I have a great husband that is so thoughtful about little things like this. There is so much more I could write about but I think the post is already long enough, so I will end. Just thank you to all of you great people in my life for making me laugh, cry(in a good way), listen, learn and give me so much happiness.

8 years

As I was writing a check out to my friend Callie for dinner last night (she just paid for all of us) I was trying to figure out what the date was. July 17th. Hmmm...why does that date sound familiar? I then realized that it has been 8 years ago today that James and I "officially" started dating. Crazy! 8 years ago we were at Camp Echo at "Monday movie night" watching "Cool Runnings" and chatting the night away. He had me at his first little British hello. Awww, memories. This picture has nothing to do with anything, just us kissing a stingray in Grand Cayman and a side shot of our guide Vernon. I figured we needed a picture for the post. Enjoy.

Garden Update

Our strawberry plants are producing this year! Last year I didn't really read the instructions and was so bummed when we didn't get any fruit. Well by this year the plants have tripled in size and we go out every morning and check to see how many are ripe and we eat them right of the plant. This is Carter's favorite time of day. This photo is of today's "take". I love having a little garden and seeing your efforts being rewarded with yummy fruits and vegetables. We also have tomatoes and zucchini planted and they are getting bigger by the day. Who knew I would enjoy this whole gardening thing this much?! Tomorrow some serious weeding needs to take place, that's the part I don't enjoy so much.

4th of July Celebration

We had quite a busy 4th of July this year. I woke up and had to be ready by 6:30 to run the Sandy 10k with my sister in law Bethany. We hadn't signed up because we couldn't figure out the website, so we just decided to be cheap and run the course anyway! We both had our ipods on when the lady was giving instructions so we ended up running with the 5k runners instead of the 10k runners who would be starting 15 minutes later. Whoops. The race didn't start until 7 and by that time it was already starting to get hot. So by the end of the 5k, I was spent. I felt like such a wuss but I was so overheated! So we left only running half of what was supposed to be our long run for the week. I have figured out that I can't run when I it's hot outside. We ended up running 7 miles on Saturday but started at 6 which made it so much better-- Just in case any of you cared! Anyway, we got home, went swimming around lunch time at Bethany's sister Stacia's pool which is now our tradition for the past 3 years. We love her pool and Carter enjoyed getting out every toy he could find to put in the water. He did really well swimming with his lifejacket and is becoming quite the little fish. Preston fell asleep in the car so we put him down for a nap but it was cut short by little boys running in and out of the room. He was cranky the rest of the day, which was not fun. Then we came home, got showered, and headed up to Heber to have a barbeque and fireworks at my aunt's house. We have been going up there since I can remember, so it is fun to carry on the tradition with my kids. This was the only place I remembered my camera so enjoy the photos:

L to R Mom, Aunt Taffy,Aunt Elaine, Grandma, Karen, Sean, and Dad

Sean and Karen are getting married in August. We are so excited to have Karen joining our family. She is such a cool girl and it was fun to sit and get to know her better. My cousin Sean just got done with chemotherapy after a bout of testicular cancer and is going in for surgery in a few weeks to remove another tumor in his abdomen. He amazes me with his strength and positive attitude about the whole thing. What a thing to go through right before you get married! All I can say is that I am grateful for my health, you never know what is around the corner.

LtoR Mike, Elaine, Jeff, Megan, Stephanie, Lowell, and Jared chatting the night away
Don't mess with the Tenney girls!
L to R Shauna, me, Jeanette, Erin, Ann, Alana, Megan, Amanda, Cathy, and Stephanie

Everyone wore pink that day--what happened to red, white, and blue??

My dad's 3 sisters--Elaine, Carolyn, Taffy(her real name is Kathleen), plus my mom and Grandma

It was fun to see so much family that I don't see very often and eat some yummy food. James of course cooked some mean barbeque while I tended to our screaming children. And yes, they were really screaming. I went a little crazy at the beginning, but after getting them fed things ran a little smoother. We also enjoyed my uncle's awesome fireworks and watching my brother in law trying to blow his hand off by throwing about 10 fireworks in a box and seeing what it would do. He is worse than the kids, it's hilarious! All in all a great day.