Yellowstone day 1

The middle of August we took a trip to Yellowstone with our frinds Corey and Sarah. It was pretty neat for me since I had gone there in 1989 right after the big fire and now 20 years later.
It was Dave's first time coming to the park. As we drove through the pay booth this was the look on his face. Almost better than his excitement for Christmas.

This is a picture of the 20 year growth. Naturally reseeded from the fire. Sorry it's hard to see. But you can see the trees that were burned and then the new ones growing at the bottom.

As we were making our way out to our campsite we saw what we thought was a bear. We pulled over and I got out to take the picture. Well, it wasn't a bear, just a bison.

We didnt' do a lot the first day we were there because of naps and other such things, but we had a good time at our camp taking walks in the meadow and things like that. More to come later.

First Day Happenings

Aug 25th was Danica's first day of Kindergarten. She was so excited!! Every morning after we got back from Yellostone (pics coming later) she would say "I start school on Monday" or "I can't wait for the day after tomorrow" Well here she is just before we walked out the door.

And there she is with her sister in front of the school after we picked her up.
She had a fabulous day and they got to play with popcorn. How fun is that.
I wanted to make this day super special for her and I hope I can do this for each of my kids. But we had a little 1st day party that night. I made this brownie cake for her while she was at school and when she got home she ran back outside and said "MOM! The toothfairy made me a cake!!"


She couldn't wait for it to be time to go to the park for her little party and this is a bit of what we did.

Of course they had to climb a tree.

and eat the cake


and play on the playground. We also had a picnic dinner.
Overall I think the day was a success.

Why do I love Dave?

I have the best husband in the whole world! While the girls and I were in Provo, he turned back in the girls library books and was able to pick out Danica's reward for acheiving her goal for summer reading. He picked out a Pretty Princess game. The girls love this game. And the best part is that Dave is not afraid to play it with them. He is always taking time to play with his little princess's and make them feel so special. He is the reason they are always smiling.


Here's to you Dave!! We love you Pretty Pretty Prince!

rentng frustration

Okay, so this blog is me venting because i have no one else to vent to since dave is at work.
What a mess! Our water heater stopped working on Wednesday. We call our maintenence man to come get someone out to look at it. No one shows.
We call again. Finally someone comes. He checks the propane tank, lights the pilot light and leaves.
Not even an hour later it's out again. But now it's the weekend and he's on vacation. We call the head guy again today and he says he's sending the gas people out to check everything. They show up and tell me our tank is completely empty. well, that tank has been on empty for a while, but when we got here they told me it was the other tank that was ours and it still has 15% in it. But the propane man says no - this is your tank. So for the last three months we have been here we have been checking the wrong tank to make sure it was still full.
Now we have a several major fees to pay because 1 - it's the weekend and the propane man isnt' supposed to be working 2 - it's an off day for our propane route, etc, etc, etc.
And here's the best part - we are only here for another 4 weeks.
Blaaaaahhhhh
so - you think gas is expensive - try propane. YIKES

It's an alien

Kids are such fun. I was making dinner. I don't even remember what day, but it was within the last month. The girls love helping squeeze limes or lemons. Today it was limes and then Whitney did this...

I showed Dave the pictures when he got home and he said "ouch" . I would think that limes juice in your eyes would hurt too, but it didn't seem to bother her.
What a cutie.

Happy Birthday Dave

We celebrated Dave's birthday a day early while in Provo. We all had a great time despite the accidents. Danica managed to eat the dirt and rocks by grandma's garden. How fun, but after kissing the band-aids and drawig smiley faces on them she seemed to be okay. She was just as excited to see her friends as Dave was.

Kids and Ice Cream. Need I say more?


Dave and his present. It would appear he liked it.
Friends and Family!



Whitney of course had a blast playing, but once the friends started going home she found something else to keep her occupied. I look over and she has the spoon to the Cool Whip but is digging it out with her other hand. Oh she is her father's daughter!!

school fashion show

We went school shopping while we were back in Provo. Danica is definately a girl. She would have bought the whole store if I would have let her. I think we are going to have to teach her about money really early on. She picked out some really cute clothes and she loves to show them off. As soon as Daddy got there she was modeling them for him. Here is a sampling.

A true model don't you think.


Whitney had to join in too.
We are almost ready for school. We have registration later this week, but now I have to figure out what to do about her hair. She goes back and forth between wanting to grow out her bangs and keep her bangs so any suggestions would be helpful. (she does have that nice wave and a curling iron isn't very helpful in straightening them)

Atomic Days

Arco has it city celebration in the middle of July to celebrate atomic power used for peace. Arco is famous for being the first city to be fully powered by nuclear energy. They celebrate with a three day festival.

Dave chillin' at the parade. The girls waiting for more candy get thrown out.
Danica loved watching the dunking booth and made several new friends. I even let them have a turn throwing balls at the target. She thought it was the best thing ever.

What would a festival be without snow cones?

Volley ball tournements. Dave's team had a lot of fun,

and we had fun watching them.


And what would a small town celebration be without a rodeo. I will admit I had never been to a rodeo before. Well, I suppose I wasn't missing much. (sorry to those of you who really enjoy them, but I wasn't that facinated). Danica did do some mutton bustin' and managed to break her shoe. After her ride she got back up with her dad and sister and said, "Whitney, you DON'T want to do that!" Later when we asked her if she like it she got this "ARE YOU CRAZY" look on her face and said NO. She did like the stick race though and I think we may have a future track star on her hands.

Inside a Lava Tube

Dave's sister, mom and dad came to visit the end of July. We took them out to the Crater's so they could visit the National Park. There are many more pictures, but this is just one adventure we had going in and through a Lava Tube.

Danica and her cousin are learning about the plants that grow on the lava beds. The group is making their way down in to the Tube.
How cute she is with her dad's headlamp.

Posing in the tunnel. Climbing up out of the tunnel.
We had a fun time. There are miles and miles of lava tubes in the area and we learned alot about different volcanos and they way the different lava rocks are formed. It's really a neat place to visit so if you get the chance, you should come see it. There's no where else like it.

Day at the Zoo

Once a month we take a trip to Idaho Falls for my doctor's apt. We try to do something fun while we are there so the girls don't get too unhappy. They have a reward chart, and last month they spun a trip to the zoo. So here are some fun pics of the little zoo in Idaho Falls.


The animals were just as intrigued with the girls as the girls were with the animals.

How do they measure up to different birds. The birds sure don't look that big in the sky.


The lions were very cooperative. I think they wanted to have their picture taken.



The girls had a lot of fun with the different statues of the animals. Whitney was scared of the lion but loved the tiger.

It was a fun afternoon with fun animals. I love watching my girls discover new things (or rediscover things). I was impressed with this zoo even though it was small. It had a wide variety of animals and it was well taken care of.

One of my jobs

So sorry for not posting anything in a while. I've been busy. In fact I'm not even at home or on my laptop so there won't by any pictures, but just wait I'll get them up soon.
This past week I have been in Utah for Stampin' Up! Convention. What a BLAST! I love being a demonstrator. I got 4 free stamp sets, made 8 make-n-takes, got the new catalog (coming for you aug 11) and lots more fun stuff. I also met a ton of people - and what a small world. I met a demonstrator from Lethbridge (Canada for those that don't know) who knows my Grandma!! What fun times I have had.
There are so many new and exciting things coming this Aug I can't wait to show them to people. So if you like crafting in general, start checking my website (link to the side) and you'll be amazed at the new stuff that just won't stop coming!!