Christmas Poem

My husband is very talented in many ways and this is one of them.  He wrote this over the course of an hour or two on Christmas Eve and I didn't even have to spell check it!  Hope you enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas

As I write this letter

My family thought I couldn't get this done, 

But I'll show them better.

It still isn't Christmas yet

just a few hours to go,

I'm writing next to the fire

As snow falls out the window.

The kids are excited

As Santa's drawing near,

It's going to be a chore

Getting them to bed I fear.

The family's getting bigger

With a new puppy named Koko,

She's tearing up the backyard toys

And driving mom loco.

Kristy is running the daycare at home,

She loves spending time with the little ones

Joey's still working at SUU

Having fun and bringing in the funds (actually I think Kristy still makes more than me).

Kelley started kindergarten this year,

She really likes school.

Tyler spending the day playing trains and cars

And thinks he's super cool.

Well again we leave you our poem

On this most holy of nights.

Hope to see you soon,

We'll leave on the lights.

But if not, we hope this letter

Finds you and your kin

Happy, healthy, harmonious

And don't forget to grin.

For on this night the reindeer fly

And the fat man rides again.

Love, 

Joey, Kristy, Kelley and Tyler

Candle Giveaway

Go here to enter.  My neighbor across the street makes these...I like them because they DO smell good and they are Soy candles, which really are a little nicer than the normal ones.  Hurry...only a few more days...

Trains, Planes and Automobiles...

Thanksgiving night we drove to SLC and stayed in a hotel with the kids.  We had planned to go see the lights on Temple Square that night until we realized they weren't turned on until the next day.  So we had time to kill on Friday.  Tyler is OBSESSED with trains to the point that I am recording "Extreme Trains" on the history channel for him to watch later.  He calls it his "engine" movie.  (I love it, because what a fun, innocent thing to be obsessed with!)  So we decided to ride Trax around for a while.  We started off by SLEEPING IN!  Gotta love the hotel curtains that block out all daylight.  Then the kids and dad took a dip in the hot tub and we were off.  We spent a couple hours riding Trax and then the new Frontrunner train up to Farmington and back, just for fun.  The kids loved it, but Kelley was disappointed it didn't go faster.  

(I took this picture of the tracks and the kids.  Joey, my "artist" complemented me on it...WAHOO!)

Then off to the Clark Planetarium because Kelley wanted to go.  They had this ball contraption there that kept both the kids enthralled. Tyler was the only one that threw a fit though when it was time to leave. 

Tyler was also fascinated with the rocket display.  He stood there for at least 5 minutes.  Those of you that have three year olds will know how incredible that is ;).

Then dinner at Applebees...yum!  Tyler fell asleep on the bench as soon as he finished his chicken strips.  
it's back on the train and off to temple square.  We've taken the kids to the lights almost every year now I think, but this year we forgot all of our gear, so had to make due with what we had in the car.  We must have looked very interesting.  
The lights were beautiful and we really had a lot of fun just hanging out with the kids.  I would definitely suggest a day like this to anyone.  

I wish I could find the right image...

OK so my first thought was that old LDS movie about the "ugly" girl with the greasy hair who everyone teases until they find out she helps kids...do you guys know the one?  Couldn't remember the name so no luck finding that.  Next I thought...Stever Urkel, but in most of his pictures he's got a huge grin.  Same problem with Ugly Betty.  And I sure don't want to take a picture of the real deal (AKA, me) so you just get the story instead.  Here's the scene:

I had to switch cars with Joey this afternoon at the university.  I was planning on running all sorts of errands that I never get to run because of the daycare.  Today I had Misty watching the kids, so I was out and about.  Well I dropped off the car, but it didn't have a parking tag on it, so I had to park clear down the street.  Then I had all my stuff I had to take with me, plus some things I had for Joey to keep at his office.  I'm walking down the street with a huge armload of stuff and what happens?  I drop stuff all over the sidewalk.  I have to say I was very impressed as I had several people offer help and come to my aid.  I was SO embarrassed though.  But I got gathered up and dropped off the stuff to Joey.  He told me the van was parked back across the street.  OK.  So I'm walking over there and it's in between classes so there's all sorts of students around and I realized...I am a big fat dork.  At least today.  You see I was headed out among other things to clean out our garden in New Harmony.  So I had on my "work jeans"  I love em, they are so comfortable, but I have to admit are floods.  They are short enough that they show my ankles, but not short enough to be considered capris.  In addition an old SUU t shirt and sweat jacket with my ratty old tennies.  I had on my glasses, only a tiny bit of makeup and my hair was quickly blow dried this morning.  College students are extremely cute and fashionable.  I so with I could just keep it all together, you know what I mean?  But often somethings got to give...  So I'm a little irritated anyway and then I spent a half an hour looking for the van, which wasn't actually in that parking lot Joey later remembered.  Oh my.  The good news is the garden didn't take as long as I thought and I got my errands completed.  AND I saw gas for $1.47 here today and paid only $1.85 for a gallon of milk.  WAHOO!

Well, I'm not telling this to get pity or anything.  I think it's kind of funny.  It was just an interesting thing to realize I really am on a different spot on the game board of life.  Not that I didn't know that before...but anyway...thought you all might be able to relate is all.  Have a nice day :)

What a Weekend!

What a busy, fun, full weekend we had. I think it's too much for one post, so I'll probably do few over the next day or so. Check back for fun pictures of our great weekend.

So to begin we had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving feast at my Aunt Frankie and Uncle Randy's house in Tooele. Everyone pitched in and dinner was delicious. I've included a few pics here to make you salivate. My sister's salads were works of art. For those of you that know her (Kelsha) that shouldn't surprise you.

Kelsha also in a stroke of brilliance brought beads to make ornaments with and kept Kelley busy ALL morning long.  Tyler got in on the action a little as well.  

Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of Kelsha, so you don't get to see her here, but did snap some cute pics of Karmin and Kember...the young spoiled ones ;).I've also included for your viewing enjoyment a picture of Kelley doing her rock star impression.  Not sure which rock star she saw with THAT face...
Of course dinner was followed by a movie. We watched Hancock with Will Smith. It was actually pretty good, but had lots of language. Finally included here a picture of my brother and his wife Misty.  They live just around the corner from us, which is lots of fun.  We love having them around.

My new calling!

One of the greatest blessings in my life is the gospel.  I've been so grateful to always have it in my life.  I love the Church, I love the people I meet there and love that it makes me a better person than I believe I would be otherwise.  I have always been one happy to serve where I was called.  As many of you know I LOVE music and play the piano.  My entire married life I've been in music callings, mostly in primary.  They are so fun, but I am so excited now to be serving in the Relief Society.  I was called as the Education (1st) Counselor in the presidency this last week.  I feel a bit in over my head, but am so excited to serve and learn and grow.  Joey is a bit apprehensive about my being busy with this all of the time, but I believe that whom the Lord calls, he qualifies and so I have a hope that I will be qualified as I do my best. 

By the way...Joey was called almost immediately as the Scout Master in our new ward.  He's really excited.  He's been in this calling for the last year and a half and LOVES it.  It is a very busy calling for him, so we'll both have to support each other.  Somehow though I think this will make our family stronger and help us both personally and spiritually.  

My kiddos!

On to one of my favorite things to talk about...Tyler and Kelley.  I'm sure I've said this before, but they are truly the light of my life.  Sometimes that light comes in the form of a lightning storm (;), but they are my sweeties all the same.  Here's a bit about my kids:

Tyler:  Just turned three yesterday (which is why he has the honor of being listed first).  He is SO fun.  He LOVES to dance and has great rhythm.  He is obsessed with trains (Thomas as well as real trains), Cars (mostly the movie) and pretty much all moving vehicles (motorcycles, trucks, helicopters,  etc).  He is really passionate and energetic.  He loves to play baseball in the backyard and really likes the color orange.  He has off and on been a biter, much to his mother's embarrassment.  Tyler loves his sister and is a very loving kid, often doling out hugs and kisses freely.  He has REALLY cool hair, way cute dimples and a personality to match.  I got a shirt for him that I think says it all "My parents are exhausted".

Kelley:  Kelley is almost five and a half and is just turning into a little angel!  She is so much fun right now.  She is in Kindergarten and loves it.  She is so creative, constantly pulling out all my ribbon and glue and paper and scissors to create stories or pictures.  She always has a smile and is still sometimes a bit of a mamma's girl.  Kelley LOVES friends and would have someone over all the time if I had the energy.  She has always been really smart and is really fun to have a conversation with.  Kelley will wear a dress every day if you let her and adores princesses.

I could go on forever.  These two are so precious to me.  I feel so blessed, although often inadequate at the chance to be their mom.  They remind me of the things that are good in this world and that I can be better.  I find it hard to remember a time when they weren't a part of our family.  I sometimes think at life before kids and wonder what the heck I did with all my time because it seems like everything now is consumed with them, but I wouldn't trade it for the world now.  I love em!

I love my hubby!

I meant to post a new "Thanks" post each day...well you can see how well I did with that!  This week was pretty crazy.  That being as it may tonight I want to express how much I love my eternal companion.... Joseph, Joe, Joey or "Honey" as I usually call him.  I love him for so many reasons.  One of the first things I loved about him was that he was open and we could communicate really easily.  We've always been able to talk about things, even hard things.  He makes me laugh and is a decent cook.  One of my favorite things to do is watch him play with my kids.  I looked for this before I married him and tested him out on my little sisters (thanks Karmin and Kember for being guinea pigs...)  He is so energetic with Kelley and Tyler.  He can laugh and wrestle and play monster or horsey all night long.  Even after a long day at work he can still be the crazy fun daddy.  Some things you may or may not know about him:  He is a graphic designer and I love having my own personal artistic consultant to turn to for advice on scrapbooking pages, etc.  He works for SUU and LOVES it there.  I have to spell check all his stuff (that's hereditary).  He loves mustangs and being outdoors.  He went gray very young and so sometimes gets taken for more "mature" than he really is :)  He is my best friend.  He is a great husband and an awesome dad.  I feel very blessed.

Thanks:Entry 1

Allrighty folks!  Two weeks and counting.  I LOVE (can I say love, Love, LOVE) this time of the year!  I love the holidays, the change of seasons, the first snow (or if you live in Utah it's already the second or third by this point...), then the next day the Indian Summer...lots of time with family, friends and don't get me started on the food!  Anyway because Thanksgiving is fast approaching...I'd like to share some things I am thankful for over the next few weeks.  Today I am going to start with my parents.  Every time I think about it I remember how lucky I am.  My dad is smart (I've always known he knows everything :), works hard, plays hard (waterskiing in the Uintah's on New Years...) and just about the best Grandpa you could ask for.  I think I'll always be a bit of a daddy's girl.  My mom is strong and fiery.  She's a little scatterbrained sometimes (wonder where I get it from), but SUCH and example to me.  My parents together did all they could for me and my four siblings.  The love us, love each other and love the gospel and we've always known that.  As I'm writing I realize I could go for a long time on this subject...but that would be entirely too much for this little blog.  So Mom and Dad...if you read this...I love you and THANK you!

RECIPES?

So a friend of mine made a request on her blog for easy recipes. I made a soup tonight that was really easy and sent it via email to a bunch of people because my mom had requested it. This got me thinking...would anyone be interested in doing a recipe blog? This would be something where anyone who wanted to could be a contributor and whenever you try a good recipe you post it on the blog. I could see it being something that no one has time to do, but it might also be a great site for exchanging ideas to ease our busy lives, but still feed our family decent food. Let me know if you or anyone else you know might be interested and I could set something up...

UPDATE: 11/13 I've started the blog, you can find it here.  I've invited almost everyone I know and posted two recipes already.  With any luck we'll all be cooking fools before we know it.  What fun!  (If you didn't get an invite from me and want one, leave me a comment with your email and I will send you an invite ASAP).

To Music Lovers Everywhere:

Blogs are a great way to share your personality and identity, and music seems to be a popular way for people to express this. Music can create a mood that you want to direct people to feel as they are reading your blog. The only problem is when you don't give people the opportunity to turn off your music you are forcing your music taste upon others. I don't mind when people put music on their blog, it is their prerogative to do so, but I find it very annoying when they hide the stop button, or place the music player at the bottom of their blog. Please be considerate of other people who might not share the same music taste as you and put the stop button in a convenient location—say at the top of your blog.

Thank You,

The Blog Music Police

New Ward and Political thoughts

They split our ward today and we are now part of the Cross Hollows ward.  A lot of our friends from this ward will be in our new ward, but there are a lot of new people we will get to know over the next weeks and months.  We are both really excited, we love change, but are leaving behind a lot of good friends and neighbors.  In addition we now have to drive to church every week instead of walking ever because we moved buildings.  Oh well!  We were released from our callings and are both excited to see where we will serve next.  

Also wanted to mention something about our new President Elect Obama.  I did not vote for him...BUT I believe I can support him, or at least respect the fact that he was voted into the highest office of our country.  He ought to at least be given a chance to prove himself.  It's been so disheartening to hear the racist jokes that have been circulating since he won.  I don't know if you have heard them, but I've heard them from several sources.  There are things that I don't agree with him on, but some that I do.  And I think if you disagree with someone the worst thing you can do is totally distance yourself by disrespectful and hurtful treatment.  What we ought to be doing is being more respectful and getting MORE involved.  In that case then you at least have some ability to effect change.  If you merely sit on the sidelines and heckle, you won't be taken seriously and nothing you have to say will seem of value.  That's my opinion anyway...

Halloween Pics

You all know how I have to BRAG about my kiddos. Well here's all sorts of cute pictures for you to enjoy. Originally we wanted to do a Peter Pan theme. Kelley wanted to be Tinkerbell (of course), I forced Tyler to be Peter Pan. Joe already has a REALLY cool pirate costume and I was going to make a Wendy dress. Well, the Wendy dress didn't get done, and Kelley changed her mind when she saw the pattern for this Pink dress - she ended up as a "Fairy Princess". What can you do? Thanks to my mamma for making Kelley's dress. I am the genius behind the boys costumes and Walmart is to thank for Koko's outfit. And shower of thanks to my little sis Karmin for helping out with the kids hair and makeup.

...Beep

I am sorry..."Kristy"...is not available, please leave your message at the beep.

Hey just letting everyone know that halloween was great, we are still suffering from the hangover. I am sure in the next couple of days we will have this old halloween background updated and some photos of halloween up. Just bear with us.

Thanks,

The Husband

You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be

The above is something Aslan said to the children in The Chronicles of Narnia. If you are familiar with these books at all Aslan is the Christ figure in them. If you have not read them I would HIGHLY suggest it. I read them a few years ago and fell absolutely in love with them. Anyway, I was listening to a talk tonight on BYU TV and this idea really struck a chord with me. I believe that must be how Christ feels. Christ wants all the happiness and joy we can and can't imagine for ourselves. I have been struggling a bit lately as I think most people must at times with roller coaster emotions. I don't think it's so much actual depression as just feeling overwhelmed, a bit inadequate, tired. Anyway, what a statement of hope. I often let my life get very crowded with things that don't matter. It's like I'm carrying a load of rocks in a backpack on a journey to nowhere. But if we can clear that away, let Christ change us, what happiness there must be in store.

Well, I know this is a pretty personal post...but I won't apologize for it as I normally would. I wanted to share this as I think it's a message we need to be reminded of more often, especially in the world of uncertainty, evil and trial we live in.  With that, I will say good night, and unfortunately go back to cleaning...

So we left Cedar at 3 AM on Thursday morning and drove all night, taking turns sleeping and driving. We arrived just in time to take Universal Studios by storm. Joey did survive to tell this tale :). We had a lot of fun. I'd been there once as a teenager and really liked it, but I'm glad we went without the kids because most of it is geared to the teenagers or older. We got quickly from ride to ride and were done by 5 PM. 3 hours in traffic and we made it to our hotel in San Diego.
Friday morning we did an endowment session in the San Diego Temple...it is beautiful! We spent the rest of the day at La Jolla Cove and Seaport Village. San Diego is a really nice town. I wish we had more time to just relax and explore, but more *magical* adventures were in store...


This is my "Disneyland, Disneyland!" smile. Now before you all go judging us (we left our kids with Grandma and Grandpa Anderson...) let me tell you we didn't want to go without our kids. But we went with Joe's brother Dave and Jenna and they really wanted to go. Of course we couldn't let them go alone. Well we could have, but why? We had a great day. It was fun riding all the big kid rides and made us really excited to bring our kids back...hopefully next summer.


Above you can see my "I've had enough fun" smile. You see I'm the type of vacationer that loves to have fun, but once I'm cold, tired, worn out, sore...It's not fun to me anymore. I drive myself into the ground every day...I don't need to do it on vacation too. But then there's the type that can't get enough...we survived well enough together I suppose ;) I was really glad to fall into our soft bed that night.

And the trip home... I think the picture of Dave and Jenna speaks for itself. 


Kelley and Tyler had a GREAT time at "Grandpa Pete's". Of course they got lots of sugar, time in the hot tub and loves. My grandma Kelley was there as well while they were there. She spent Monday with them doing the cutest penguins out of food...Pics will have to come later, blogger's being slow and it's past my bedtime.  Anyway, it's nice to be home again and this week is less busy than any have been in a while...just in time for me to work my fingers to the bone on Halloween costumes...wahoo!

We're back

We are back from San Deigo/LA.  We had a lot of fun.  My kids aren't coming home until tomorrow though :(  I miss them!  I'll post pictures later...

Isn't it funny?

I always find it amusing that I long for times when I can have peace and quiet (AKA...no kids) and actually get something done, but then when I get to that point I start to miss my kids almost right away.  Joey and I are headed to LA/San Diego with his brother Dave and wife Jenna tomorrow morning at 3 AM (yes, I said 3 AM) and he left at 5 PM to take Kelley and Tyler to my parents for the weekend.  I'm here all alone and feel paralyzed because I have SO much to do to get ready, and I just want some cuddle time with my kiddos.  Can't have your cake and eat it to I suppose.  Don't get me wrong, I'm way excited about our trip!  I just kind of want to pack them in my suitcase and pull them out for kisses when I start to miss them ;)

Now that's Customer Service...

So I bought some paper reinforcers...you know the things you stick on your hole punches to keep them from ripping when they are in a three ring binder?  Anyway I bought a package of these at Walmart for a dollar or something.  Well they were absolutely worthless and I thought hey...that's a dollar in the trash if I don't return them.  I had a bunch of other things to return anyway, so I took them back.  The guy that was helping me out told me that he returns these things all the time, but they keep them on the shelf because they sell.  At first I laughed at it and thought...yeah that makes sense, but I've been thinking about it...and that really bothers me.  Here they have a product on the shelves that is absolutely worthless and they know it.  But it makes them money...so who cares about the customer anyway.  Most people probably just through them in the trash.  I hate Walmart...but you just can't find diapers and socks cheaper anywhere else.  So I keep going there...arrgg...

And another thing...has anyone ever wondered how the Brady Bunch girls ended up with the last name of Brady?  I guess they could have been adopted...

Motorcycles

I had to post this photo.  It's from this summer.  We'd gone down to Zions to pick up the scouts and were walking around the visitor's center.  Tyler saw this bike and was like "cool motorcycle!" with all the passion he could muster.  He walked right up to it and was ready to climb on.  He loves motorcycles and anything else that runs on wheels really, but especially these.  I added a close up of his face, because the larger picture doesn't capture it real well in this format.  He has this look of almost adoration, fascination.  I thought it was really funny.

Ta Da

So we sent the kids up with my sister to my parents house for the weekend. My mom couldn't stand it any longer...here's my very sweet cute kiddo with a haircut. As much as I did want his hair chopped, I have to admit i miss it a little already, but still think he's super cute.

As a follow up I was able to attend the funeral for my uncle.  As heartbreaking as the whole situation is, the funeral was really nice and I felt inspired to try and do a little better.  Hearing about someone's life, especially someone you know who really was a GOOD person, is uplifting.  

We spent the WHOLE weekend canning peaches, making jams and jellies and drying apples and still only got half of it done! I have a whole box of peaches left and 3 bags of apples. I am grateful for abundance, I am grateful for work. I somehow just with I could fit the tasks in without having to be exhausted all the time and stay up till midnight more often than not. Oh well!

Life is Short

Since I still haven't figured out how to put my pictures anywhere but at the top of the post, I guess you get the explanation on those first.  Kelley got her hair cut a few weeks ago!  It is so super cute.  I was going to get my hair cut and she said "I don't want to get my hair cut like yours...because then I wouldn't look like me!"  I told her that was fine and I knew she wanted to grow her hair out, but I thought she's like it shorter and it would be way cute.  Anyway, my sister took the kids while I was there and then brought them in at the end.  Kelley then said she wanted it cut.   I asked if she was sure and we went out to lunch to make sure she had time to think about it.  She was sure.  And she had enough to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (they do wigs for cancer patients.)   waited to post because I keep trying to remember to get a better picture, but haven't been able to yet...so this is the best it gets.  She LOVES it!  She tells everyone "It's so easy to comb and so easy to fix".  Long hair gets tangled easily.  Anyway, I love it too...it's so much easier for mom!  But I have to say, I'm a bit jealous.  All I have to do is blow dry hers and it's perfectly in place and bouncy and cute.  Where did that come from?  My hair certainly doesn't behave like that...

Now for some sad news.  I just feel like I have to share this.  This blog thing is an outlet for me, so anyway...my Uncle Paul Lusk was killed last night.  He was talking a walk with his wife and some 18 year old kid got distracted or something and hit and killed him.  Life is just crazy and fragile and you really can't count on anything.  This is a bit more personal than the plane crash I blogged about last month, but it's the same concept.  He was only 45, still has kids at home, healthy.  And now he's not here anymore.  Paul was just a good guy.  He was quiet, kind, always smiling.  He seemed happy and his family seemed happy.  He never seemed to draw attention to himself.  I can't ever remember him raising his voice to his kids, when I was around him or saying anything mean or hurtful about anyone.  I have such mixed emotions about it.   I feel so deeply sad for his family and how they must be missing him.  But I have felt the spirit and comfort when I think about it.  Anyway, I'm going to the funeral on Monday.  I'm glad to have known him.  I miss him even though I didn't even see him that often.  My first memory of him was attending their wedding reception, I could have only been 5 or 6.  But they weren't there, they had clothes on dummies.  Paul and Leah had got into a car accident I think driving to Ely from SLC where they got married and were in the hospital or something.  Anyway....I don't know what else to say, but just wanted to get this out and send it into the void.  So thanks for reading if you are...and please pray for the Lusk family.

New Addition to the family & Peanut Butter

So, we adopted a puppy.  We've named her Koko and she's a black lab mix.  We just think she's the cutest thing ever.  I'm not really a pet person, I only mildly like our cat, but I think I might like her more than most.  We'll see.  Joey's really excited to train her to fetch.  We chose the name because I guess Labs originated in Canada and so Koko is an indian name from one of the tribes up there.  It means 'night' I think.  She still just little, about as big as our cat.  She seems very sweet and gentle so far.  And she like green beans...go figure...

I've also included a picture to make you all laugh.  I keep reading on my friends blogs about their messy toddlers.  Well I have a cute little monster myself.  We found him like this the other day in the kitchen.  I NEED to remember to close the pantry when I'm done with it!  It also appears that he has inherited my love for peanut butter.

(As a side note...does anyone know how to put your pictures in so they don't all end up at the front of the post?)

Tagged

OK, so I got this almost a week a go, but this week has been really busy.  So finally getting to it...yeah it's Friday!  I was tagged by my beautiful cousin Rachael.

Allrighty: 6 random things about me.

1.  I find myself easily distracted.  I love scrapbooking, sewing, ballroom dancing, yoga and playing the piano, but hardly ever get time to do them because I'm always focused on the messy house, escaping my to do list by checking my email or whatever.  When I was working for the state I'd get bored with my job quickly and have to move on to something else once I got "competent enough".  

2.  I love being home with my kids.  I like doing the daycare, but I don't feel as good at it as I thought I would.  There's still so many ways I want to improve, but I love being able to hug and cuddle my kids whenever I want to.

3.  I LOVE chocolate, peanut butter and potatoes.  Not together of course...but if you put a bag of peanut butter M & Ms in front of me, or french fries I will eat them, not until I'm full, but until I'm literally sick.  I have a hard time "just saying no".

4.  I am a people pleaser and I am very wordy.  I didn't make the connection between the two until this summer when my sister in law did this personality thing at our family reunion.  I tend to give long explanations for my decisions or opinions so as to "cover all the bases" I think.  I don't want to offend anyone, or have them think I'm not open minded or whatever.  I'm pretty concerned about what people think about me.

5.  Although lately I feel like I beat myself up alot, I'm pretty happy with who I am mostly.  I love the fact that I'm book smart, can write well and can sight read almost anything on the piano.  I love that I try to be open minded.  I love my kids and my husband and I love my extended family.  I feel really lucky and blessed by my Heavenly Father.

6.  I am a rule follower.  Like this tag for instance.  It said to tag 6 people, so I did.  I spend way too much energy sometimes on this and then end up at the end just doing whatever.  Like my classes this summer.  Man the first assignments I did were perfect, but when it got to the end of the semester and I had half the tests and 3 huge assignments to complete all the rules went out the window.  Perfectionism is another word for it.  I really need to start FLYing again...that's right up my ally.

So I'm going to tag: Lara, Kristy, Rachael, Nonie, Kyle and Jenny.

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
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One Packed Saturday

Kristy left for Las Vegas this weekend with her sister Karmin, so the kids and I had some fun on our own. We went to Kelley's soccer game, where her team beat the tigers. We went to a rodeo parade and saw the Budwiser Wagon, and afterwards had some fun on the inflatable toys at the park. We topped the day off by going to a football game and watching our SUU T-Birds kick the crap out of Adams State—that was Joey's favorite part. The kids enjoyed "Thor" (our mascot) and the candy. Check out our gallery for pics.

http://gallery.me.com/benedictkristy#gallery

Look at how chipper Kristy is even after hiking and sleeping on the cold hard ground. She is one tough mamma! Kristy and I had an amazing time with some of our friends backpacking down the West Rim of Zion National Park. If you have high speed internet, check out the gallery at http://gallery.me.com/benedictkristy#100017.