Bronson's Birthday Blog

I can't believe it, but Bronson turned two today! Just like two years ago, Grandma Marcia is here to help celebrate:)

We started the day off lazy and slept in. Bronson didn't wake up until almost 10am. We all helped to make a Birthday Breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. After "brunch" we decided to do Bronson's favorite new thing: SWIMMING! He is a crazy man! He jumps off the side without any help, kicks his way to the top, and when his head finally makes it out of the water, there is a huge grin! We are definitely getting our money's worth out of the family pass I bought! The good thing about swimming is, that it absolutely wipes him out and he always takes at least a 3 hour nap when we get home. The other day he even fell asleep in the car while licking his ice cream cone! Today was no different, we all came home and had a good rest and hoped that it would warm up enough to go out on the boat.

It didn't really warm up, but we still went out on the boat. The kids had a blast playing in the sand with Grandma, and collecting piles upon piles of clams to help decorate their castles with. They turned out beautiful, but I don't have any pictures of them because my battery died while we were there:(

So, we came home and I charged the battery. Kelly got busy on the grill. We ate and then had some friends over for cake and ice cream. Bronson got a t-ball set, some match box cars, GEO Trax, and a reversible Batman/Superman cape. What a lucky little guy!

We love you, Bronson, and are so happy to have you in our family! Thanks for keeping us all entertained! Happy Birthday!

summer trip: phase 3

Blanding+Monticello+Lake Powell= Three of my favorite things!

After we dried Maika's tears after leaving Grandma's house we drove through the reservation to get to Blanding. It's funny, because when I was young I thought the landscape in this region was ugly! I think it's so beautiful now and miss the area so much!

We arrived in Blanding and met some friends at the "Midnight Madness" softball tournament. It was fun to see so many people that I hadn't seen or talked to in years. I loved catching up with some of my best friends Steph and Storm and also got to see Candace for a few minutes. It was getting pretty late, so we decided to head up to Monticello and get some rest. My grandma's house was waiting for us:) Mel and her family also met us there and we visited with dad for awhile before heading to bed.

July 4th: I love a small-town 4th of July celebration! We sat in front of the theater with Steph and her family and my kids gathered in the candy! They were in Candy Heaven. We even scored a t-shirt from The Patio Drive-In. Back in the day, I spent many hours there, slaving over the hot grill and still have some scars to prove it. They still have some dang good food, too!

After the parade we waited in line for a freakin' hour and a half for an authentic Navajo Taco. Not worth it. And I got sunburned. And we lost Nalani TWO times. BUT I got to people watch, so that was fun! We were all pretty much hot and grumpy by this time so we took our boats to Recapture Dam and cooled off. Note: if Blanding would put some money in to that place it could be nice! Here are a few suggestions. How about a DOCK? Maybe a nice campground? Some bathrooms? A designated swimming area so people don't get run over when boats are trying to load or unload? Charge $5 per vehicle and earn some of the money back. Okay, enough ranting about that, but it could be such a nice place.

We went back to Monticello to eat dinner with Grandpa before heading back to Blanding for the fireworks. We were so impressed by the fireworks, they rocked! The new-to-me ball park and everything was so nice, and again we loved visiting with people. Even Kelly got to see some old girlfriends from Montezuma Creek, where he grew up! After the fireworks we went home to get some much needed rest and to prepare for our trip to Lake Powell.

Lake Powell: holds some of my best memories of growing up. I was so excited to take my family there and create some memories of our own. Ah, such lofty hopes! We got there and it was so windy! None of us had been to Hall's Crossing in years so we couldn't remember which canyons were which. We couldn't find a beach that wasn't already crowded so we just parked in this awesome canyon and let the kids swim and had lunch.

Then it started to get REALLY windy and decided we better start back. My dad said he had been in a few bad storms down there, but these were the biggest waves our boat had ever seen! We were all soaking wet. Logan and Macy were FREAKING out! I admit, it was a little scary, but they thought we were all going to die! The bolt to one of our wake-board racks sheared off and the whole thing fell in the water with both boards still attached. Luckily they didn't hit anyone in the head and we were able to retrieve them. Bronson slept through the whole ordeal, and it was nice to have my dad with us to help hold kids:) We finally made it back to the docks, got our boat out of the water, wiped it down and loaded up the kids. Then, the wind stopped! But we were done, so we went home. Hopefully we can try Lake Powell again and hopefully it will treat us better!

I forgot to mention that the plumbing at Grandma's house was acting up. So, when we got home we could only pee in one bathroom and couldn't take baths or showers. Riley and my dad tried everything to get things moving but nothing worked. So we just enjoyed the night visiting with Kayela, J.J., and Asa while they endured our stinkiness (thanks for coming up guys, it was so good to see you!).

We got up the next morning and cleaned as good as we could with clogged drains. We said good-bye to grandpa and packed up, ready to return to Orem and stay with Auntie Nani for a night. We decided to stop at Wilson's Arch because our kids had never hiked it. They had a great time. We also stopped at Denny's in Moab for a last meal with Mel and Riley and kids.

Phase 3.5: We stayed at Nani's again and got to see more cousins. The next morning we visited Auntie Jo and picked up Tutu's old shave-ice machine. The girls have big dreams of making loads of money selling shave-ice in our neighborhood. Hopefully dad can get it cleaned up soon before the weather turns cold:) Then the long, boring drive home. We finally made it! We had so much fun on our trip! Thanks to everyone we stayed with and made our trip so nice! We love you and miss you!

summer trip: Phase 2

Moccasin: The next phase of our trip was to visit Kelly's mom and family. On this phase of our trip I discovered two new favorite road-trip-snacks! Dill Pickle flavored sun-flower seeds, and Blue Diamond "Wasabi and Soysauce" flavored almonds...yummy!

Grandma Winna is always a terrific hostess! Although, I'm a little grateful we don't live closer to her...I would weigh 300 pounds being tempted by her yummy "Winna-mon" rolls and homemade doughnuts! They are to die for, and I ate waaaaay too many!!

The kids had a great time helping grandma in the kitchen, riding the horse of a friend (Logan so wishes she were a cow-girl!), playing with cousins in the yard, and basically doing anything they wanted because it's such a tiny town:) Of course, it's tradition for Auntie Jennie to "do" everyone's toes cute when we're around her. Even Kelly and Bronson got in on the fun:)

As I mentioned before, we towed our boat All-The-Way-Down-There, so we had to take advantage of Sand Hollow, near St. George. It was a beautiful little lake and the HOT weather and water temps. were perfect! One of the best days ever on our boat! Bronson found his courage and started jumping off the swim platform with no help. He would just pop out of the water and kick over to the ladder, climb up and do it again, over and over and over! He slept for 14 hours straight when we got home that night.

On one of the days we borrowed a huge blow-up swimming pool/water slide. The kids had a blast and it kept them entertained for hours! Grandma, Kelly, Auntie Jennie, Uncle Mitch, and I had to take our turns too. I think those things are geared for the smaller members of the family:)

We ate like royalty on this phase of our vacation too. The first night there, Uncle Anson and crew had an awesome BBQ with ribs, steak, chicken, sausages, salads and everything else yummy under the sun! We had so much fun seeing our family. Maika had such a hard time leaving! She cried until we got to Page, AZ. and as soon as she heard grandma's voice on the phone she started all over again. Sometimes it's so hard to live far away from family! We are grateful we got to spend time with you all and love you very much! Thanks for everything!!

Up next, Phase 3! Blanding, UT

summer trip: phase 1

We just returned from a wonderful vacation! It was split up into three major phases, so I'm starting with the first :) Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Kelly was able to drive down to Utah with us, instead of me driving by myself, which was the original plan, phew! So we packed up the truck and boat and headed out. Nalani kept us entertained on the road with her countless "I Spy" games. She always spied something green and it was usually a tree:)

We made it to Utah and spent the night at Auntie Jo's and Uncle Jason's house. The next morning we visited Auntie Nani and Auntie Belle for a few minutes and then dropped Kelly off at work, he decided to work in Utah for a few days. I was off to Jackson with the kids. My mom has a time-share there so we met up with my side of the family for about five days.
The kids loved to play together at the pool, in the park or riding their bikes together. They got some mean games of "Old Maid" going on Grandma's window bed. We ate like royalty. My mom's friend, Gary, is an awesome cook.

The first few days we just played around at the pool. My brother Jesse came up on Wednesday so we saved the fun stuff for when he could come. Thursday we made it to Yellowstone. It was beautiful as always! I did manage to lock my keys in the truck, which was a pain in the butt, but the guys were resourceful and got it unlocked with the antennae. Note to self: Call Ford and get the key code! It would have been nice to know!!

On Friday my mom and Gary stayed home with all seven grand kids and took them swimming while Jesse, Mel, Riley, and me went river rafting on the Snake River. It was too high and swift for kids under 10. We had a great time and the rapids had me really scared, but we made it through without going in the water! I realized I've become a major wuss in my old age. I honestly about cried when we made it through the first 10 foot wave! Honestly.

On Saturday we packed up and headed back to Utah. We stopped to let the kids watch rafts go through the rapids "Lunch Counter" on the way. I think they were relieved they got to go miniature golfing with Uncle Riley instead of rafting after the second raft we watched got tipped over and people were floating down the river!

When we got back to Auntie Mel's the kids had fun playing on the trampoline. Then Auntie Rachel, Brandon, Lauren, and Zoe (the dog) came to visit for a few hours. It was fun to see everyone!

I took the kids back down to Auntie Nani's to spend the night and I went to pick Kelly up from the SLC airport at 10:30 pm. We made it back to Nani's house and had a good time visiting with them and prepared for Phase Two of our trip. Moccasin, Arizona. To be posted soon.

12 Years...

Happy anniversary to me and Kelly! Twelve years ago we were married in the St. George, Utah Temple. I've shown friends the engagement picture above and they've totally made fun of it because (except for the fact that Kelly has hair) they think we (I) look way older than I do now:) I was so young, barely 20, but I guess the helmet hairdo added some years!


I honestly couldn't have picked a better partner! We've had some wonderful and hard experiences during our marriage that have made us grow. We've added four beautiful children to our family. I thought I loved Kelly as much as I could the day we were married, but now, looking back, I barely knew what love was. I love him so much more today!


I'm grateful for his patience, for his cute grin when he's trying not to let me know he thinks I'm funny. He loves me and our children so much and would do anything for us. I love the quiet ways he shows his love for us!

I love this picture. It was so hot that day and the sun was shining so bright that you can barely see the temple in the background. If you've ever been there you know how beautiful and bright- white it is. It really stands out from the red rocks that surround St. George.





Here we are at our reception. Don't you love the standard cultural hall backdrop? The only thing I would change about our wedding is, I wish we would have gotten a good photographer. I loved our reception! I thought it was so much fun. Kelly's Auntie Nani sent over all the fresh-flower leis from Hawaii. The most embarrassing moment of my life happened at my reception...I was forced to dance the "money dance" and I think I'm still scarred for life!! First of all, I don't dance. Second of all, there was mostly non-Polynesian people at my reception and they had no idea what to do. So my mere $300 seemed like a drop in the bucket when my sisters-in-law made thousands of dollars during their dances! I figured it had to be my dancing and people didn't think much of it, so, like I said, I'm scarred for life!


Happy Anniversary to us! Here's to many, many, many more!

Reminiscent Tag

My friend, Jenny, tagged me and I thought it was fun. Especially since we grew up together, some of the things we were doing were the same.

20 Years Ago: I was going to Girls Camp for the first time. I remember being really scared since my mom had just had Rachel, I was sure I would leave and something bad would happen. When I was away my mom had to go to the hospital because she had blood clots. Thankfully everything turned out okay.

I lived in the best neighborhood! It seemed like all the kids were the same age. We played Kick the Can almost every night of summer! I also did water ballet (synchronized swimming) with my good friends Jenny, Candace, Sunny, Jayleen, and my little sister Mel. Do any of you remember what songs we had routines to? All I can remember is Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer".I lived at the pool during my summers and had a killer tan!

10 Years Ago: I had been married for two years and had a cute 6-week old baby girl. Logan. Just starting out on this thing called motherhood:) We enjoyed spending time with our families in Blanding whenever we could get away.

5 Years Ago: We were living in the Beaverton, Oregon area. We had added Maika to our family. I was working part-time at Charlotte's Weddings as a bridal consultant, helping to pick out wedding gowns and doing some of the shipping/receiving, and book keeping. It's funny to me that I worked with brides...SO NOT my personality to care about what shade of pink their snotty bridesmaids have to wear!

3 Years Ago: We were in the process of building our new home. It was so exciting to be able to pick out colors and flooring, etc. We were loving the idea of having lots of space. Nalani was about 6 months old and such a cutie! Three little girls for us! I got to go on an Alaskan Cruise with my mom and her side of the family.

1 Year Ago: We were celebrating Bronson's 1st birthday...yep a little boy sneaked into our family:) We had just bought our boat and loved getting to spend so much time together as a family. We got to go to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for my family reunion and got to have most of Kelly's family visit us to help celebrate with Bronson's luau. I got to go to Hawaii and Chicago with Kelly!!

This year so far I've made it through another school year. We are enjoying summer. I'm learning how to sew really easy stuff:) We are planning a few vacations. We've been able to see family and hope to see lots more. I've enjoyed getting to spend time with friends and have shared lots of meals and laughs together.

Yesterday I took the kids to a magic show at the library, ate cheap KFC at the park while visiting with girlfriends and watching the kids be monkeys, and played some Bunco that night.

Today I'm looking forward to Kelly coming home from a work trip, blogging, and trying to recreate my grandma's bean recipe. I've never made them before, but they are smelling dang good!

Tomorrow I'm celebrating my 12th anniversary with Kelly! I'm thinking dinner and a movie.

In the next year I will have two kids in school all day and one in preschool. I'll have so much time on my hands I might decide to take piano lessons or something:)

I tag Jenni H., Lisa W., Kayela, and Nani

Happy Father's Day!

I hope Kelly has a good Father's Day! He kind of jipped because we both had to speak in Sacrament meeting so I wasn't able to get up and make him a nice breakfast or anything. We knew we actually had to be on time today:) We probably threw off the whole chemistry of the seating arrangement because we usually sit in the overflow area!

Kelly gave an awesome talk about his dad's life and how he was a pioneer for his family. I'm tempted to post it sometime, so our kids and grand kids know how awesome their grandpa was! I took Bronson out to the Mother's Room during Kelly's talk and was able to listen to it there. I'm glad I was the only one in there because I could cry without worrying about who could see me!

We are having a BBQ with some friends later this afternoon. I will post pictures later...

We got him some model rockets and Rochelle and I made Jer and Kelly matching "manly" aprons for BBQ-ing. Last night we came home from a date with a plate of cookies waiting for Kelly and a cute card that the kids made for daddy with the help of some awesome babysitters.

I love you, babe! I'm so glad that my kids have such a great daddy!