Happy Birthday Doug

Doug's birthday is on Christmas and we always forget about it. Even he does. I just want to take the time on this Christmas day to say how grateful I am for him. There are so many reasons why I love my husband of almost 16 years. Wow! I just wanted to write a few down.
I love Doug because:
You are sarcastic and a tease to everyone but me!
You play board games with the kids. You are a fun dad.
I love the way Paityn looks at you. She loves you so much. All the kids do.
I love your big hugs.
I love that you take pictures of everything, but we don't have many of him(that's not good).
You always have music playing in our home.
You are smart and spiritual at the same time.
I love your knowledge of the gospel.
You are generous and kind.
You are a strong leader but sweet at the same time.
You are always there for us through thick and thin.
You tell me when I'm wrong without making me feel judged.
I know this sounds cliche but you are my best friend. I'm so happy to be with you. You make my life complete.
I love you.
Happy Birthday.

First Snowfall and Santa

BCS Bound!! (again)

Go Utes! We are so excited that the Utes clobbered BYU. I think Max Hall should get the MVP.

I love Fall

We have had a very busy fall. When you are in the middle of all the hectic carpooling, eating hot dogs at the ballpark, and not sure if it's going to be too hot or too cold at the games, you can't wait till it's all over. And then it is! Then you find yourself with all this free time. I find myself missing the soccer, football, baseball, and softball games. We love watching our kids play sports!

I love fall! Riding my bike with friends up the monument or around Fruita's country roads is so beautiful especially this time of year. I'm sad to think I won't be able to ride my bike for months. I love watching the leaves change and the slight chill in the air with the sun shining on your face. The only problem with fall is it goes by too fast and then winter is upon us!

Where does the time go?

It seems like yesterday that he was carrying around his blanket with his thumb in his mouth. He was so cute.

I can't believe that Jaxon is 8 years old and is now baptized. He has always been my little buddy. I love him so much. He is such a good kid. He is highly motivated. He does great at school and in sports, but most of all he so loving. He is caring and kind. We love you Jaxon.

Halloween fun!

We had a great Halloween. We all dressed up this year. Jaxon and Taylor were Karate dudes! Cydney was a 80's preppy girl. Paityn was Snow White. Doug was Nacho Libre. I was a Jazzercise aerobic teacher. Doug took Cydney, Jaxon and Taylor to a haunted house. They were terrified but they tried to play tough!

Palin Power!!

Sarah Palin came to Grand Junction last night. We decided to go down and listen to her speak. There were 15-20 thousand people there. We were able to shake her hand and meet her family. She was awesome!! She talked to Taylor and of course I started to cry! It was a really cool moment. I wish she was on the top of the ticket.

I love this country and it was really fun to watch the political process. We had a the Gibbs, Bairs, Nelsons, and the Grays there with us.

Jaxon turns 8

Jaxon turned eight this year, so we decided to do one last big birthday bash. We rented a bump and jump and they had a blast!! I don't know where the years have gone. I can't believe the little boy who carried his blankee and sucked his thumb is now 8 years old. We are so proud of Jaxon. He is a great kid!

I can't believe the air the kids were getting. I'm pretty sure they broke all the rules. Were just lucky nobody got hurt. Paityn started to get a little brave herself. Look at the air she got!! She is just crazy!

Wet and Wild Marathon

Well, this was a first! It rained the entire St. George Marathon this year. I just kept thinking, "This was the craziest thing I have ever done." I wore a garbage bag for 20 miles. There were times when I felt like I was going to drown. The wind was bad at times also. With the wind and rain my hair was extremely snarly. Doug said I look like I had dreadlocks. It took a lot of conditioner to get it out. Overall the race was fine. I did a 3:58. I was happy with that time, considering the conditions. I felt good and strong at the end. Andrea and Stephen ran it with me this year. Thanks guys!
It was a fun weekend. The kids had a blast swimming as usual. As we do every year we stopped at the farm in Richfield. Grandpa was making up chores for the kids to do. Jaxon and Cydney got a few driving lessons from Grandpa. I have to make sure I hide my keys to the car now. They had a blast!

Rock Jam 2008

We were able to go to Rock Jam this last weekend. We saw Poison, Survivor, Joan Jett, and Kid Rock. Kid Rock was kind of a disapointment. Really bad language and not that good. Doug loved Poison. Survivor was really good but old! The highlight to me was Joan Jett. She Rocks!! She was cool! She is 48 years old and she looked hot! Awesome entertainer.
We had VIP tickets which is the only way to go. We met up with the Kohls, Harmons, Steglmeirs, and Jolleys which made it a blast. Rock on guys and girls!! I kind of felt like I was in high school again. It was a fun weekend. I put some of the music we heard on mytunes.

Yellowstone 2008

We were invited by friends(the Vorhies) to go to Yellowstone in August and jumped at it. We had a really good time. We stayed in Cabins about 14 miles outside of Yellowstone. We went Mountain Biking and trail running. The kids went swimming in the lake by our cabin. It was really cold. Paityn fell in twice. It was so beautiful there.
One of the highlights was going to firewall and jumping in the river. It was kind of crazy. The water was really fast but warm because the geysers kind of heat the water. It was very adventurous.
Another highlight was going into Yellowstone early in the morning and seeing the smoke from the Geysers.
Jaxon and Cydney were fishing just before we left. Jaxon caught a 21 inch trout on his second cast. We were all surprised. He was surprised but exited.
Yellowstone was really pretty. It was just a nice vacation the end the summer with.

Grandma Beth

We were able to go visit my Grandma Beth this summer. She is living with my uncle and as you can see is getting older. She still has a little spunk left in her though. We don't know how much longer she will be with us, so it is great when we get the chance to go visit her. Paityn didn't quite know what to think of her.

Lagoon 2008

Doug and Taylor Handies Hike

Doug has been called to be the young men's president in our ward. He and some other leaders took the older boys on a five mile hike at 14k feet. It was really hard but they all made it including Curtis Gray. Taylor did really well. He had to keep up with the boys. They had a good time.