A trip to Neola

I know what your asking. Where in the world is NEOLA? About a year ago my sister moved to a little place called Neola. It's about 40 minutes away from Vernal, 15 minutes from Roosevelt, at the base of the Uintah mountains and pretty safe to say...in the middle of nowhere.

We all cried (me, my mom and Adree) when the news hit of her moving back to Jonny's home town but I'm happy to report that she LOVES it there. It cracks me up to go visit and see her transformation into a true blue country girl. Instead of shopping and going out to eat she is branding cattle, starting controlled brush fires, fishing for fun, and taking care of her 10 acres of land. Those of you who know Adree will realize just how crazy this is. This is the girl who always wanted to live in a big city, work in a glamorous salon, and could shop with the best of them.

This last weekend most of my family invaded Neola for a little weekend getaway. (Troy, Rob and Rachel all had to work). Adree was the "hostess with the mostess" and fed us lots of yummy food and treats. We were entertained with all the animals around including cows, horses, dogs, and a family of foxes. The kids were in heaven and I'm pretty sure Jonny and Adree will get the award for the "favorite aunt and uncle" to visit. Sorry everybody, but it's pretty hard to compete with that.

This is the view from her front door step. She has to go down a 1/2 mile dirt road to get to her mailbox or to take the garbage out to the road.

This is the view from the back deck. She has amazing views and it definitely is peaceful. That is, until I realize how far I am away from the closest mall or Target and then I feel like I might hyperventilate :).

Thanks for a fun time Binghams!

A little four-wheeling, an attempt at fishing, playing in the lake and on the rocks, a hot dog roast, and fun memories with the fam = GOOD TIMES FOR ALL!

Oh RATS!

No we didn't make to the Energy Solutions Center last night. The rain and a sick baby kept us away. Instead we did the pajama and popcorn thing right from the comfort of our own home. Hallee was so cute to watch in the final moments. She kept burying her head under the covers but then the suspense would be too much and she would have to come out. Hope just kept asking, "did Archie-letta win mom?" And then finally the big announcement..... DAVID COOK WINS! Hallee ran around the room screaming and when all was said and done her eyes started to fill with tears.

I really liked both of them but had to go for the home town guy. I loved his voice! I didn't realize how disappointed I would be until it really happened. Oh, well. He has quite a future ahead of him and I know many family members that will be buying his albums. I'm kind of sad that my American Idol Tuesday nights are over for now but hey look at the bright side... SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE is just around the corner!

IT'S TIME! WHO YOU GONNA VOTE FOR???

I'm still trying to decide if I am brave enough to take all three of my kids by myself to the Delta Center tomorrow night for the big DAVID bash party. I'll let you know.

Straight from the Gut

I am quite certain that there is nothing quite as cute as the sound of a baby laughing. You know, The kind that comes right from the gut. Hallee and Hope seem to have the knack. They can get Caymbree laughing in a way that no one else can. The other day I was upstairs when I heard quite the commotion down stairs. Here is what I heard....

*** PAUSE MY MUSIC ON THE PLAYLIST FIRST *****

This one is more of the same but Hope chimes in with a major concern that all women face. Two words....BLADDER and LAUGHTER. You get it.

I think I'll leave these posts here mainly for me. It's pretty hard to stay in a bad mood when you hear laughter like this.

Hope's first soccer game

I know it seems kind of late for Hope's first soccer game but when we signed her up for soccer we didn't realize we would be gone the first three Saturday's of the season. Hope didn't realize there was more to soccer than just walking across the street to the park and kicking the ball around with Coach Neil and a few of her friends.

We thought Hope would be our aggressive player but I couldn't help remembering Hallee's soccer days when I saw Hope picking dandelions out on the field. For her first attempt things went relatively well with the exception of one melt down after a fall to the ground.

Thanks for coming Grandma Smith and great grandma Larsen! We had a fun day with you!

A dream come true?

Oh, come on. Don't try to tell me you haven't thought about taping your kids mouths closed every once in a while. You know on one of "those" days. Well, today I dreamed no longer because Hope took care of it herself. She "taped" her mouth shut with not one, not two but FIVE band aids. And not just five regular band aids but an assortment of sizes, textures and colors. She had fabric band aids, plastic band aids and even threw in an Elmo band aid. (Interesting that there was only one of those. Perhaps she didn't want to "waste" HER band aids. )

I was kind of hoping it would last a minute or two but then I started worrying about her ability to BREATHE.

Lagoon!

Hallee had her first "real" competition at Lagoon last Saturday so we decided to take advantage of it and spend the day there. This was the first time Hallee has been tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides and she was so excited to try it out.



Perhaps THIS was not the best ride to take her on for her first experience.

I wasn't sure we would get her on anything else after that but she eventually worked up the courage to try a few more. Truth be told...I'm not a huge fan of amusement parks. They might as well call them Barf-O-Ramas. But not to sway my children I put on my game face and rode the rides as well.

This was their favorite ride of all and we spent a lot of time here. All of the kids could ride it including 2 year old Jovie. It was hilarious to watch their faces in total terror as the ride "dropped" them but then they would get off and want to go right back on again. It was a fun day full of fun memories. Here are just a few of my favorite:

- Troy stuffing the lids of water bottles into Hallee's shoes so that she would be tall enough for some rides.

- Troy, Tara and I all squeezing into one seat to ride "The Rocket." I think it is only meant for two people but they wouldn't let us ride alone so we improvised.

- Poor Hopers getting absolutely drenched on rattle snake rapids when all the adults fended for themselves and scrunched in a corner to avoid the waterfall. We kind of forgot about Hope.

- Hallee having a melt down because she wasn't tall enough to go on the adult bumper cars. Ironic isn't it? She can ride "The Bat" but can't bump a car into another.

Hallee's Big Debut at Lagoon

So grandmas and grandpas, HERE IT IS....Hallee's big performance at Lagoon. She is the third one in from the left on the front row. (I took this video with my regular camera so the quality isn't great.) NOTE: PAUSE MY MUSIC ON THE PLAYLIST FIRST

Hallee worked SO hard to be ready for her performance. It has been fun to watch her progress as a dancer and more importantly watch her self confidence grow.

Thoughts about Motherhood

Every little girl thinks about it, dreams about, and even pretends to be it. And yet, nothing can truly prepare you for what it is really going to be like. I'm talking about becoming a MOTHER. My journey to motherhood started 6 1/2 years ago and lessons learned are coming fast and furious. Just when I think I start to figure a few things out life (aka...the kids) throw me a curve ball and I have to start all over again. Motherhood has been an evolving process with lots of highs and lows and plenty of mistakes in between. Good thing kids are pretty durable and they seem to recover quickly. So today's post is dedicated to just a few of the lessons learned thus far.

LESSON 1: Don't sweat the small stuff. I know, we've heard it a hundred times but it truly is my key to sanity. I can still vividly remember my emotional meltdown when Hallee just would not take her nap at the scheduled time. I was a wreck and just knew I was doing something wrong. Three kids later has taught me that kids WILL in fact survive without a nap one day. Life will go on even if my house is dirty. It's okay for a baby to cry for a minute. They WILL forgive you.

LESSON 2: CHILDREN DO/SAY WHAT THEY HEAR/SEE. I have to laugh every time one of my kids says something straight from my mouth. Sometimes it's good....sometimes not so good. Not so good when your three year old says "Zip it lady" just like her daddy :) It's a lot of pressure to think that everything I do and say is being recorded in their little brains.

LESSON 3: OUR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED. I had no idea how much I would hurt when one of my kids hurt. Watching your child get left out or get their feelings hurt might as well be happening directly to you. How do mothers ever survive the teenage years?

LESSON 4: YOUR KIDS WILL BE WHAT YOU TELL THEM THEY ARE. Another vivid mother moment was when I was stopped in my tracks at the fabric store. After introducing Hallee (who was buried behind my legs) to a friend from high school, my friend asked, "Oh, is she shy?" Acknowledging the obvious, I confirmed it. Then all of sudden from out of now where a woman attacked. She said, "Don't EVER tell a child they are shy. They will be what you tell them they are. Tell them that they are friendly, and happy and that people love to meet them and they will respond." At the time I was very disgruntled and thought it was pretty lame that this lady chimed in out of nowhere. BUT it turned out to be a life changing moment. After that Troy and I followed her advice and soon Hallee's personality started to blossom.

LESSON 5: I CAN'T DO IT ALL. I'm learning to stop beating myself up. I can't do it all, I can't be like everybody else. I just have to do the best I can and hope it is enough. Some days I feel like I have really messed up but its just means I have to try a little harder the next day.

LESSON 6: BEING A MOM IS HARD! It's the hardest job I've ever had and makes teaching middle school seem like a cake walk (and those of you who have heard my stories will appreciate this statement.) No other job has so much on the line, so much riding on you, so much at stake. There are no raises, no award ceremonies, and some days it seems like there even isn't any appreciation. And yet, I CHOOSE this job. I choose to do it again and again. And just when I am convinced that I have chosen the wrong profession I have some unexpected magical moment with one of my children. And then I realize that I have the BEST job in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

LESSON 6: MOTHERS ARE AMAZING. Especially mine and Troy's . How did they put up with us? Every year I add on to my motherhood resume seems to make me appreciate my mother that much more. Thanks to both of you for all of your time, patience and sacrifice. We love you both! Happy Mothers day!

Hope's Date night

Ice Cream Cone at Arctic Circle = $.99

3 pack lip gloss =$3.99

Hubba Bubba gum =$.99

Watching Hope's face as she drove off with Dad on her very own date night = PRICELESS!

It was kind of fun to see how simple Hope's date night request was but it truly encompassed ALL of her FAVORITES - ice cream, lip gloss and gum. Who could possibly ask for more?


HOPE MOMENTS vol. 4

* After noticing a little boy crying she walked up to him and handed him her cookie. Then she looked up at me and said, "that was way nice of me huh mom?" "It sure was," I replied. "Use gotta make sure and tell Jesus about that kay?"

* After quickly stopping at a stop sign, Hope said in disgust, "MOM! You did NOT stop at that stop sign." "Yes, I did," I replied. "No you didn't. You just slowed down and went wite frew." BUSTED!

* I had two somewhat similar shirts laid out on the bed trying to decide which to wear. Hope walked in and said, "MOM! Why did you buy that shirt? You already have one just like it! You shouldn't have done that mom!" Troy was beaming with pride.

My favorite places

My blog is my journal. It's a daily account of activities. It's a record of my thoughts. It's somewhere that I can record those little insignificant things that may not seem so insignificant in years to come. With the passing of my grandfather I have realized just how valuable this documentation is. My friend found a great blog called TUESDAY TELL ALL that provides thought provoking prompts and she always does a great job of recording them on her blog. They are my favorite posts to read because they are so telling of who she is and what her life is like right now. So trying to follow in her footsteps I've decided to do the same.

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO...

GRAB LUNCH: Right now it's Carls Jr. Big open playland for the kids, teryiaki burger for me and fry sauce for everyone. However, Chick-Fil-A is opening soon just down the street (with a playland :)) so things might change soon.

GO FOR A DATE NIGHT: I love going out to eat with the hubby. Just me and him, no whining about what's on the plate (well, most of the time), I actually get to eat an entire meal without getting up and down a hundred times, we can have an entire conversation uninterrupted. It's Bliss! Olive Garden is still top on our list.

PICK UP CREATIVE GOODIES: It might be a tie between Robert's and Hobby Lobby. Love 'em both.

KEEP THE KIDS BUSY: I love the splash park by my house in the summer. It's basically a playground with lots of sprinklers. No drowning hazards, it's FREE and I can still get some sun.

GET WET: We love the ocean. It's not often we get to go there so when we do it's a rare treat. We also love Bear Lake and Troy's cabin provides the perfect getaway.

BUY A TREAT: Carl's Jr. shakes. YUM!

SHOP FOR FUN: Target. Random I know but I love to browse the store.

SPLURGE: The mall, ANY mall.

GET SOME FRESH AIR: My cabin up Logan Canyon.

DRIVE FOR A WEEKEND AWAY: Still love to go home to Logan. Always will.