Mom's "Happyday"!

It was my mom's bir...I mean "happy day" on July 19,2010. She wouldn't allow us to say "birthday" so we were required to just call it a "happy day"! She's not taking the whole aging thing too well so she hasn't enjoyed her birthdays the past few years. I keep trying to tell her that age is just a number but she won't listen. She has always been "the cool mom" with me and all my friends so she has never acted old. I love my silly mom!

For her birthday Marcel and I went to Moroni to celebrate the day before her birthday (my dad took her out on a date just the two of them for her actual birthday. How sweet!). While my family was at church I made her birthd....happy day cake while Marcel went to check his trail camera. I baked a yellow cake in two 9" rounds. The middle layer was a scrumptious combination of cream cheese, whip cream, powdered sugar and chopped up snickers (her favorite candy bar). I just frosted the top layer of the cake with chocolate frosting and then added sprinkles and candles! It was pretty good but you couldn't eat a lot because it was extremely sweet. I think it could've done without the chocolate frosting as delicious as frosting is I think it pushed it over the top of the sugar scale on this one. Everyone loved it though regardless of the tummy ache/sugar rush that came from it!

My mom is such an amazing woman and words cannot describe how much she means to me. She has ALWAYS been there for me and continues to be there whenever I need her (which is pretty often:) ). She is a miracle worker, an awesome example, a great cook, very crafty, extremely talented, beautiful, a wonderful mother, one of my very best friends, and much MUCH more! I hope to be even half as good a mom as she is/has been. I know that I wouldn't have accomplished as much as I have or be where I am today without her guidance and loving push for excellence. She has done/sacrificed so much for us and I hope she knows how much I am truly grateful for all of it.
I LoVe YoU MoM! Oh and...HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!!

EcLiPsE!!!!

I had been SOOO excited for this movie to come out and when it finally did, I was ecstatic (as were over a million other girls)! My mom, sister and I got our tickets early for an 11:35 showing at the Jordan Commons theatre in Sandy on an IMAX screen. I had softball games that night so we left after my games were over around 9pm and grabbed dinner at a Subway on the way up. We got there early enough to get our drinks (aka fuel for the long night) in souvineer cups and our popcorn in a souvineer bucket, and then got comfortably seated and pumped up for the movie in our reserved seats! There is one word to describe this movie.....EPIC! I absolutely LOVED this movie! The tension between Edward and Jacob was so intense! I'm interested to see how they are going to top this with the next movie. All in all it was definitely worth only getting about 3 or 4 hours of sleep!

I must say that I really wasn't too fond of Bella's engagement ring. That's about the only thing I was really dissappointed in though!

Oh and if anyone wondered....I'm Team JACWARD because it is too hard to choose! Lol! :)

Trail Camera setup:Take 2

We set out mid morning on June 27, 2010 in hopes that the snow would all be melted off of the roads so that we could get to the spot to set up our trail camera (and not get stuck like last time!). We were very excited when we easily passed the place we got stuck in last time and made it all the way to where we needed to go!

Changing into our hiking boots!
The hike is tough but it is very pretty and will hopefully be very rewarding!

Just filling up a milk jug at a spring to help mix the minerals (it's also cold water that's very tasty!).

Marcel setting up the trail camera!

The tree he hooked the trail camera to has marks on it that are either antler scrapes or scrapes from a bear. We're thinking antler scrapes cause they're a bit low for a bear....unless it's a cub!

Trail camera all set up and ready to catch some action!

We put out 3 different kinds of "treats" for the deer to see which they like better. The one farthest to the right is a berry/grain mixture, the middle is a trophy rock, and the one farthest to the left is just salt.

Some cute pictures by the spring!

More beautiful scenery around a waterfall we found!

And here's the one deer we saw that entire trip (it's a doe)!

It was a lot of fun hiking up there together and exploring a bit! We'll go back in about 2 weeks to see if we picked a good spot! Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Father's Day!

For Father's Day we went over to Moroni to spend the day with my family. My parents made a delicious lunch and we were able to all hang out, relax, and enjoy each other's company!

You can see how tired everyone is by their fake smiles!

Especially little Toby!

This is what I ended up wrapping Marcel's present in because it was the only bag I had that was big enough! As you can see it's one we got for our wedding! I had Toby sit next to it so you could see just how big a bag it was! Don't mind the girliness of it!

Here's Marcel unwrapping everything!

I made this pillow for him! The people and dogs were hand stitched, the letters were iron-on, and my mom helped me quite a bit with the actual pillow part. There's quite a bit of detail in the characters but I don't know that you can really see it in this picture. I'm VERY happy with how it turned out and Marcel loves it!

Toby sleeping...again! He was worn out that day!

I love this man SOOO much! He is seriously my everything! I'm so happy that we found each other! I know that he is going to make a great daddy some day (which I told him that I better be able to tell him Happy Father's Day for real next year so we'll see ;)! )

Also I love my dad very VERY much! He is one of the Greatest men I know. He has ALWAYS been there for me even if I didn't deserve it. I've always been a daddy's girl and I've loved every minute of it! He's so silly and is always trying to make us laugh (and he's usually very successful!)! He's a really great guy and I'm so lucky to be able to call him DAD!

Storm and Demon turn 6!

Storm and Demon turned 6 years! Even though they are getting old they still act like puppies! We love them so much! They always seem to be smiling and happy! They're such great dogs and I hope they live for years to come! Happy birthday kiddos!!! :)

4th of July on the 3rd!

Before I begin here's a little history about our 4th of July tradition: Every year everyone on my mom's side of the family gets together at my parents house to celebrate. We get together the day before, have a yummy dinner, hang out and enjoy each others company, then all of the kids and all of us adults that are tough enough to rough it sleep outside either on the trampoline or on blow up mattresses on the deck. In the morning we are awakened bright and early (well early for sure but at that point in the morning it isn't so bright!) by cannon blasts, we have a delicious breakfast, get ready and go to the parade. After the parade the kids go to the carnival for a little while, when they get back we have an even more delicious lunch (which is snacked on throughout the rest of the day so dinner isn't necessary), let that digest for a bit and then it's the main event........the WaTeR FiGhT!!! We always all get involved, even if by force! My parents have even started it in the house some years (this was one of those years)! We always have a blast and it's a great way to cool off on a hot July afternoon. After everyone has dried off we watch the city fireworks from the backyard (the past few years Marcel and I have headed back to Nephi for the fireworks so he can help set them up and control them when they are set off) and then do our personal fireworks out front on the road.

This year the 4th fell on a Sunday so the city celebrated it on the 3rd which means we all got together on the 2nd! As we were getting everything together to head over to Moroni my mom called us to let us know that my little brother and 2 of my cousins had rolled the 4-wheeler. I, being the worry wart I am, immediately panicked but my mom reassured us that everything was fine. I guess all 3 of them were on there and they were just being a little careless going up a hill, the 4-wheeler hit a rock and tipped over. Luckily my cousin JD (15 or 16 yrs old and pretty buff) was one of the 3. He was able to jump off before it tipped and tip the 4-wheeler back upright and off of the younger 2. Luckily the boys only suffered some scratches, bruises (which looked much worse in real life), and a headache. It could've been so much worse.... As soon as we got to Moroni I ran in the house and gave Austen a HUGE hug. I was so glad he was okay. Life is so unpredictable and we all take it for granted. The expression "see you later" is a hope, not a guarantee. My parents talked to Austen about the importance of driving responsibly, especially when other people are with you because you are then responsible for their lives. He was upset at what had happened and I'm pretty sure he learned his lesson.

Once everyone had arrived we had a yummy dinner together. Toby was already tuckered out from playing with all of the little kids so he slept under the table while we ate (he likes laying on my feet as you can see)!

A few hours after dinner Marcel had to go home. He had to work on the 3rd so he had to go get some rest so he could get to work on time. I'm not going to lie I was really bummed that he couldn't stay and I even got a bit teary when he left but I understood that he had to go. After he left we all got our sleeping arrangements figured out and got our beds ready. Most of the kids slept outside on the trampoline (the littlest ones slept in the house on the couch/floor), Jes, Toby and I slept on a blow up mattress on the deck, and the rest of the adults took the beds. You can imagine how much sleep we got having all of those kids together in one area, yeah....not so much! Every time Toby heard one of them start talking he would bark which always conveniently happened right as I was about to fall asleep. After fighting the barking, the kids noise, and the cold for a few hours I was exhausted and finally gave up and went in the house (around 4 a.m.) to find somewhere to crash but everywhere was taken. All of the beds, couches, and even some of the floor! So with no other options I snuck into my parents room, just like I used to do when I was little after having a nightmare, and went to my mom's side of the bed with Toby in tow.

"Mom.....Mom" I said nudging her arm.
"Hmmm?"
"I know this is really lame but can we sleep in here with you guys? Everywhere else is taken and Toby won't stop barking outside."

My mom being the loving mother she is made my dad scoot over so I could squeeze into their bed with them. It was so warm and quiet. Toby and I fell asleep almost instantly....and apparently we were the only ones! My mom said that I took up half of the bed while her and my dad shared the other (I guess Marcel hasn't been exaggerating)! Around 6 Jes came in shivering (the cannon woke her up) and wanting to climb into bed with us too. My mom got up so there would be room for her and started getting ready (she's the greatest!). Around 6:15 our neighbors car alarm kept going off at random and the kids said that he yelled out of his garage "that's for keeping me up all night"! Haha, what a funny guy! They totally deserved it ;)!
I had agreed to ride on CVMC's float for the Moroni City parade so I grudgingly, with the help of my mom (just like old times!), rolled out of bed around 6:30 to get ready. Everyone got ready, we had a delicious breakfast, then my dad took me to the float and everyone went to save their spot. The parade ended up being pretty fun and my family got tons of candy thanks to my handy scoop toss! I didn't get to see much of it though because by the time we got to the end of the parade and I walked all the way back to the other side of town where my family was, it was over. After the parade the kids went to the carnival for a few hours while the adults went back to the house to relax and get lunch ready. Lunch ended up being SOOO good (as usual) and everyone was stuffed! After a few hours everyone decided it was time for the water fight. I didn't really want to participate this year. I was having a bit of a pity party because I was still sad Marcel wasn't there so I was sitting in my parents room to hide (along with my dad and Jes). Out of nowhere my mom came in the room with a water gun (and not a little one!) and began squirting me until I agreed to change and come play, which didn't take long! She tried it on my dad too, who was laying on their bed, but he was too tired and refused! Jes ended up getting sick that morning so she had been in their room all day and wasn't expected to play so she got lucky! I was really glad that my mom got me to participate because it was a blast! We had so much fun and everyone, including Toby, got soaked!
Once everyone was too wet to care that they were getting sprayed with water we decided to be done! We all layed on the trampoline to dry off and I fell asleep.....with super white skin....and no sunscreen....in the full blown sun.....in July! Needless to say, I fried! My legs burned so bad that it hurt to bend my knees. I guess Austen wasn't the only one to learn a lesson that weekend!
Here's a picture of me and my super cute cousin Rakelle. We are "best friends", as she likes to say! When we were out on the trampoline drying off there was a slight breeze that was making Rakelle cold.
"Rakelle look! You have goosebumps!"
*gasp* "No I don't!" said with fear.
"You don't?!"
"No! Goosebumps are green and eat snails", said very seriously.
"Oh! Have you seen a Goosebumps movie?"
"No, I have a book!"
"Oh okay! So you have people bumps?"
"MmmHmm!"
Yeah....she's 4! So cute! :)
That night we all watched the city fireworks from the backyard (I know I'm lame for not getting any pictures). I was a little worried about how Toby would do since he'd never seen fireworks before but he did really well, in fact he slept through the whole thing! After the city fireworks were over we moved out front to the driveway where we did our personal fireworks, which were awesome! Some of the adults pooled money together and my uncle Rob went to Wyoming to get the good stuff....meaning illegal fireworks! We were having a good ol' time lighting those bad boys (as well as many other groups in our neighborhood) when all of a sudden a cop pulled up. This was new because they've never cracked down on illegal fireworks before. He threatened that if he had to come back we would be fined $425.00 I think it was (and I'm not sure if that was 1 big fine or per firework). That scared us for a bit but we could see that there were a lot of other people still lighting their illegal fireworks so we'd wait for someone else to light one and then we'd hurry and light a few because there's no way the cop could be in two places at once! We were all laughing so hard and joking about the whole thing. Pretty soon we had gone through all of our fireworks (fine free!) and were catching our breath from all the laughter. Most of the kids had fallen asleep on the lawn so we had to wake them up and get them to bed. Still tired from the night before I decided not to try sleeping outside again. Instead I set up a cot for me and Toby in the computer room. It was really peaceful, the perfect temperature and Toby slept soundly too! He only barked once in the morning when he could hear people walking around but we went back to sleep. When I officially woke up this is the first thing I saw...
...he had torn the plant apart. What am I going to do with him?! After cleaning up Toby's mess and getting all of our stuff together, everyone had a light breakfast and said our goodbyes. I was sad to say goodbye to everyone but I was excited to see my much missed hubby! I hitched a ride with my grandma to Nephi and spent the rest of the day relaxing at home with Marcel and our puppies! All in all it was a pretty great weekend!

~Marcel stayed pretty busy up in Salt Lake as you can imagine for the holiday weekend. He said that it took them an hour to go from one side of a park to the other because of the traffic and the patient was gone when they finally got there! He said he would've rather been with us but he stayed busy enough to keep his mind occupied.