The Trees at Mirror Lake

Fishing with Pops

This fishing trip was exactly what the doctor ordered! This has been such a crazy week and it was nice to just connect with nature. Because of work obligations, it was a short trip but I am very grateful to Dad for inviting us. Dad, Harrison, Zoey, and Daniel went out in the canoe first. Dad caught the only fish (Daniel is holding it up in the picture).Dad said he was greatful that he brought his power boat because Daniel paddled as he and the kids fished. Zoey wanted to bring the fish home, and so Dad gave the fish to her. Daniel took my out in the canoe when they got back. It was beautiful, and it was nice to be with him in such a serene and calm place.

Dad told his classic jokes to Harrison, Zoey and Daniel for the first time, and taught them our traditional driving songs. (Bottles of Milk on the Wall, and the Green Grass Grows All Around) It was fun to hear the jokes I have heard a million times through a new light as the kids and Daniel laughed. The kids had so much fun singing as well as playing the ABC game. It was a glimpse back into my childhood. I hope we will be able to go camping and spend a lot more time up there just connecting with nature and with ourselves. Daniel and I were able to really connect on such a personal level and we are looking forward to a lifetime of these adventures together!

Thank you Dad for such a special morning. It is one we will never forget.

Thank You

Thank you to those that really truly care about my pain.
I realize that most of you can not do anything about it.
I am doing much better now.
I am not hurt anymore.
I am just done.
I will live my life the way I have.
They will live theirs the way they have.
My life has been happy.
I will continue to be happy.
I say I choose positive energy.
I will only talk with positive people.
There is no reason to ask me to do otherwise.

Hurting

Hurting

I am hurting so bad.
I do not understand what is happening to my family.
We have always been close.
My family does not understand.
I love my family.
I love my man.
I should not have to choose.
No one has said I have to choose.
Yet I am in that position without the words being uttered.
I choose happy, positive energy.
I do not choose this.
Daniel is good, and loving and wonderful to me.
I wish my family understood.
They don't.
Not yet.
I hope someday they will.
Maybe they don't see how hurt I am.
Because I have no way to express just how torn up I am inside.
I will find a way to tell my story.
I love you all.
This does not have to tare us apart.

Andrea's Birthday in August?

Okay, not really! But we pretended for tonight that I was not almost four months late for her birthday dinner! :) Makes the birthday last longer right? Just to set the record straight, her birthday is on May 10th! (as you can tell we really don't need another August birthday on our hands! lol) I like to cook. I don't do it very often, so I use each of my sibling's birthdays as an excuse to cook, and to get together with their families. Jordan's birthday was on August 20th and Brendan's will be on August 30th, so we sang to all three of them today. :) I had a lot of fun catching up with my favorite sister in law!

Pictures taken out at Robert's request

Robert, Andrea, and Trevor (left) Jordan and Brendan (Right)

I made a peach, pecan and spinach salad, beef stroganoff, bacon wrapped mushrooms, mac and cheese (all pictured above), as well as citrus chocolate cupcakes for dessert. I did not take very many pictures because I was too busy cooking, but I think everyone really enjoyed the experience! Both my Dad and Daniel could not be there because of work, you were both missed very much! :)

Happy Birthday Andrea, Jordan, and Brendan!

Fire On the Mountain

Bella, Daniel and I went out to get some lunch yesterday and by the time we walked out of Taco Time the fire had started. It looked really close and we were curious to see where it was coming from. It was a lot farther away than we had expected. This is a picture I took from the Walmart parking lot on 13th East and 12300 South. (This was taken with my phone, I was so disappointed that I did not have my camera with me... who knew?) Anyway we wanted to get a better look at it so we went up on south mountain and pulled off to watch and see if we could spot the plane dropping water on the fire. No luck there.... But as we were waiting, Bella pointed out the window and said Look! Bunny ears! And sure enough there was a great big bunny in the air!

We drove by the temple while we were up there and I thought it looked really cool with the smoke behind it, so I just thought I would share! :)

Is It Really That Time of Year Again?

Today is the first day of school for Harrison (5th Grade), Merlin (4th Grade), Charlene (3rd Grade), and Zoey (2nd Grade)! Harrison is entering his first year in Spectrum (a school for the smart kids :) ). We are so proud of him! Charlene and Merlin took their first bus ride this morning! Since Bella was going to the day care across the street from their school last year, they did not take the bus. I am excited to have them take the bus because it will save a lot of time and gas for us. They are excited too... 'cause it is cool to ride the bus! We sat and waited for the bus this morning and when it was a few min late I decided I would take them up to the school. But as we left the bus stop we saw the bus coming so I turned the van around and chased the bus down! I was so relieved to not have to drive up to the school! LOL. Merlin and Charlene are going to Bella Vista again this year. Zoey will be going to Wasatch Elementary again this year as well. Zoey is excited that she will get to walk home by herself this year since Harrison will be attending a different school! I hope they all have a fabulous first day back! :) I will be registering Bella for the Head Start program which she will be attending soon! I am excited to see her smart little brain at work!

I Owe Christina 100 Bucks!

I guess I was a little jealous of Daniel's new look 'cause I went out and got my hair cut a couple of days ago. As she was cutting my hair, I got a little worried about it because my hair kept getting shorter and shorter as she tried to even out the sides. It has taken me until today to start to like it.... I have never had my hair this short. Not that I can remember anyway! When I was real young I remember having a conversation with my big sister Christina. She at that time had very short hair and mine was pretty long. I told her that I would never cut my hair short ever. Looking back on it, I probably offended her by the way I said it, but her response was ''I bet you $100 that you will''. I have since brought this up to her and she does not remember this conversation. However, it has stuck with me, and quite honestly I think that is one of the reasons I have kept my hair long for all of these years. Well even though it was not by choice, my hair is now above my shoulders, and I am starting to really like it. So guess what Christina? I owe you 100 bucks! LOL

Raingutter Regatta

Today was Merlin's Raingutter Regatta. His sail kept coming off but he was a trooper and kept taping it back on. His boat never finished first but he had a lot of fun! I am proud to be his mom!

A few happy songs for me :)

I have been having kind of an off day and when I saw this cool playlist on Andrea's blog I thought I would make me one with a few of my "happy" songs so I could listen to them, and of course so I could share them with you! :)

A New Look

Daniel has been doing a lot to change his image over the past couple of months. I am very proud of him. :) Today we went and got his hair cut and colored. I honestly did not know what to think of it at first. It was a lot darker than I expected and he just looked so different. It only took me a couple of hours to really like the new look. I haven't quite gotten used to him without glasses since his Lasik procedure was done on Aug. 4th! He looks amazing and I am so proud that he is mine! :) Here are a few pictures of his new do!

What a Handful!

Our Children!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Davies!

My Grandpa Davies turned 87 today! I still have not gotten too old to sit on his lap! He always teases me about being too skinny! He is amazing at cross stitches and he always has a story to tell. I love to listen to him. He always seems so happy and you can tell how much he loves my grandma! It is so nice to know that two people can love each other that much for so many years!

We Love You Grandpa !! Happy Birthday !!

Celebrate

It really does exist! :) The elusive signature of Morgan Johnson on our Settlement agreement! We will be filing all of the paperwork tomorrow (Only three and a half years to the day since the day of separation!). We still need to wait for the judge to sign the final divorce decree, but something tells me that her signature will be much easier to obtain than Morgans!

Happy Birthday Linda Linda

Happy Birthday.. Uh.... Oh Happy Birthday....
There is sadness in the air... People dying everywhere....
But... Happy Birthday.. Uh... Oh Happy Birthday!

It is my big sister Linda's birthday today. I like to give her a hard time, and if you come from my family, you know that it is not really a birthday unless you hear that song! Hope you are having fun at girls camp Linda! Happy Happy Birthday!

"My Ornery Self"

When I was taking pictures at Knighton and Jessica's party I saw Bella walking across the yard with a scowl on her face. I took a picture and said Bella come here, look how ornery you look!

Tonight when the kids got home from their Dad's house I asked Bella if she wanted to see the pictures from the party, and I showed her the pictures on my blog. She looked at all of them as if something was missing, and said, "I want to see my ornery self"! I wanted to post this picture anyway because it is a classic Bella look, and she just gave me the perfect story to go along with it!

Bella's Ornery Self

Really Charlie?

A coat and a swimsuit? You do realize it is August and it is HOT outside?????

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Knighton and Jessica's Party

Knighton turned 10 on the first of Aug!.............. Jessica will be eight tomorrow!

Merlin, Charlene and Bella had a blast!!!

Pictures removed of Trever Brendan and Jordan at Robert's request

Robert, Andrea, Jordan, Brendan and Trevor were there, sorry Andrea, looks like we
didn't get a picture of you!

It doesn't look like she likes being a Grandma much, now does it?

Ally sure enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa.... Robert wouldn't give Linda a hug after
soaking her with water, Hmmmmmm..............

Yes this is a cake.... Crazy I know but it is. Linda spent over 8 hours decorating it.... Now
that is dedication!

The party turned out great! The kids loved it! Thanks again Linda for a fun time.

Bella and Me

Today I took the kids up to their school to register. Charlie brought the little digital camera that she got for her birthday. When we got home and downloaded the pictures she took this one came up. I had no idea she took a picture but I love how it turned out. Bella's little personality comes out even in her cute little walk! Thank you Charlie for the picture!

Happy Birthday Charlene!

It is Charlene's 8th birthday today! Daniel had a shirt made with this picture on it because he calls her Chuck. When he calls her chuck she usually rolls her eyes and says "I'm not Chuck!" but you can tell she loves it! We hope she has a wonderful day today!

Charlene did have a good birthday! This is a picture of the cake I made for her at her request. Please don't compare it to my sister's cakes... Everybody has their own talents! LOL

Charlene got a mini digital camera, a pair of shoes, a diary with a matching pen, a puppy figurine, an High School Musical Doll, an outfit for the first day of school, a necklace, and of course her CHUCK shirt!

Son of Rambow

A few nights ago Daniel and I (and the five kids) went and saw Son of Rambow. What a cute story of two friends from totally different worlds coming through for each other. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone. There aren't a lot of movies you can sit down and watch with your kids and enjoy it as much as they do! :)

Happy 80th Grandpa B!

I was not able to attend my Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration up at our cabin last night. However my Mother and Christina brought me a DVD that was given out to everyone with pictures of my Grandpa (and most every one else in the family). I watched it and when this picture came up I had to laugh. This is actually the picture that comes to mind when I think about my Grandpa and I am grateful it was included on the DVD! :) It is his 80th birthday today and I wanted to share this picture and say that I am grateful for a lot of the accomplishments this man has made in his lifetime. The one accomplishment that I am most grateful for? Well, having my Dad of course! :)