Wow, has it really been 3 YEARS (?!) since we've done anything with this blog?

  Time is passing more quickly because I know for sure, that we really JUST went on that Martin's Cove trek with our old neighborhood.  And then I slow down a minute and realize that Sam has taken our kids on another trek with good ol' Orchard 3rd neighborhood, with one more kid added to that group, while I stayed home preggo and sick. So we've added TWO more kids to our family since my last trek.  Jeepers creepers - time is going by faster and so is losing my mind!

  So since we've got 5 kids in tow now getting the world updated on our family would be too crazy, and too long of a story.  We have Kaylee, Ginger, Chloe, Lucy, and Elijah - 4 girls and a boy.  Yes we finally got our boy.  All of our girls are wonderful in their own, unique ways; and our son is such a joy to have in our family, he's definitely one spoiled little mister!

   We live in Eagle Mountain, Utah which is a great little suburbia - tons of kids and families and quiet streets, parks, and walking paths.  We miss Orem, but we really do love it out here.  Our kids have good friends and we have good neighbors, some of whom we have come quite close to.  My best friend lives not even a block away, so our kids see each other practically everyday.  It is practically perfect. 

   Something I have thought of before but hadn't pursued until this past summer vacation from school was homeschooling my older children.  I'm really thrilled with the opportunities it has given my children.  Chloe started kindergarten this year at the local elementary and she loves it, but she'll join my other two in our homeschool next year. Please don't get me wrong - I'm not against the public schools or teachers in any way.  I feel badly for them, they have so much on their plates and so many kids in their classes that it's hard to focus on the one.  Personally I don't think the federal government is doing the right thing with taking funds away from schools to punish them for not getting high enough test scores and giving it to other schools that are performing well.  I think they have it backwards and that it is creating an even more defined class system in our country.  But anyhoo, don't get me started on that one!  My girls are looking forward to their "fun" classes this year, French language through Rosetta Stone, and Digital Drawing, Sculpting and Animation.  It works out to be a great incentive to finishing their core classes of math, language arts, and history. 

   Homeschooling my children is something I really feel good about, I feel like it's helping my children head in the right direction in their lives.  It's also helping all of us feel like we're really simplifying our lives and instead of trying to do it all, we're just trying to do what we can do, better. It has all come in pieces over this last month and now fits like it should. 

  Sam has been really busy between the fire station and his handyman business, but somehow still manages to be an incredible husband and father.  He's a great man, he still loves his work, and tries hard to be there for all of his kiddos. 

  It might sound like I'm bragging about my perfect life.  I'm sorry if it does sound that way, but would you rather hear about the good things going on or hear my whine about my bad days?  I'm trying to be more positive in everything I say or do, I have found it really affects the atmosphere in my home. 

  I'm hoping to post some pictures soon.   Our original hope was that this site would be a family journal of sorts, and I guess it has since it's been at least 5 years since I've started this blog, but it needs pictures! Soon, they will be up soon :)

  Any hoo,

   I'll post some more soon, like in the next 72 hours! 

We've been Slacking on our blog

Martin's Cove Trek

We had the opportunity to go to Martin's Cove, Sixth Crossing and Rock Creek Hallow on a handcart trek with our ward neighborhood. We took the girls along to make the experience more like the real thing. It was amazing! I echo the comment of one of our neighbors, this could've been in a swamp in the middle of the desert and we still would've gone because of the people that were there. We absolutely love our neighborhood and they're part of the reason the trek was so good.

If you don't know much about the Martin and Willie handcart companies that got trapped in a blizzard in Wyoming I highly reccomend reading up on your LDS history and then go and experience the spirit at these sacred and hallowed places. Here's some photos from our trek...

Chloe's First Birthday

On the first weekend in June, my great Uncle Lloyd and great Aunt Mary came to visit. It had been two years since we saw them last and we had a wonderful time visiting with them and my Gramps and Tante Terri, mom, and brothers.

They were all able to make it to Chloe's first birthday party at Southfork Park in the Provo Canyon. It was a bit chilly, but when the sun came out it was perfect.

Chloe loved her cake, but she had to have a spoon to eat it! Guess this little one doesn't like to get her fingers sticky!

Chloe had a party at home with her sisters and some of her cousins on Friday, June 5th. She got into the spirit of opening presents pretty quickly and loved all her new clothes and toys.

Princess Festival

This past Friday we went to the Princess Festival in Lindon, Utah. The girls had a great time helping the Prince from each princess story rescue the Princess. The entry fee went to helping women and children in Africa build their communities and create businesses to generate income. It was a worthy cause and fun too!

Owies!

So Sam took the older girls fishing one morning and they had a blast - they didn't catch a thing but that was okay. They got doughnuts and time by themselves with Daddy. Kaylee also got a huge scrape on her cheek when she fell on a rock there and it's finally healing. Ginger got bit by mosquitos around her eye on our Martin's cove trek and it was so swollen! Thank goodness our bishop is an eye doctor!

May 2009

We had some great weather in May so we played outside a ton. We also got a lot done on the exterior of our house - a new roof, new siding on the gables, shutters, and just recently a new porch cover in the back. There's a little bit more to do on the house, but it's coming along so quickly!