Over the last two weeks...

It's been a busy couple of weeks!  I wish I were better about blogging as things happened because I have no energy for details when I just want to catch up!   But, I'll give it a shot!  (I'm so long winded, it really shouldn't be a problem!)  We just got back from a quick weekend to sunny, I mean WINDY St. George for my nephew Troy's baptism!  It was windy for the get together afterward, but we still had a blast!  We were so happy to be able to be with Troy on his big day!  Chad is getting so excited to be baptized in a year and a half!  Yes, he talks about it all the the time since a lot of his cousins have been getting baptized!  We're so thankful for all the good examples!   

 Chad had a blast in St. George because Jeff was finally able to take him golfing!  OK they ended up going and buying him his own clubs from Play-It-Again Sports and just hitting a bunch of balls at the driving range, but it made him so happy!  They've talked about going golfing for a long time!  I think they might be hitting the driving range a few more times before they actually do a round!  He might need to start lifting some weights to be strong enough for his big-boy clubs!  

Chad and Kyle both got to go on a fun hike with Jeff and their Uncle Casey, cousin Eva, and Casey's friend Jason.  Kelly and I went and watched the Ironman with the little girls and had our own fun!  I can't even begin to imagine doing anything on top of running a marathon!  There's no way I could run a marathon AFTER swimming OR biking any distance!  Those people are AWESOME and INSPIRING to watch!  Makes the marathon seem like a walk in the park, but some things aren't for everyone!  We actually went on a family run tonight for Family Home Evening!  Just one mile and Chad acted like he was going to die!  We're "training" for the Fill the Ark 1 mile race on the 22nd, and Chad really wants the shirt so he'll keep at it!  I wish I could've done the hike with these guys!  I love those red rocks!  Next time!

So here's where I get to start playing catch up!  :)  Last Monday we went out to dinner with our BBQ group from last Summer!  Jimmy (on the left) works at Donovan's Steak & Chop House and invited all of us to come experience the place!  WOW!  So good!  The company wasn't bad either!  ;)  We were so loud and laughed so hard!  It was great!  (Apparently I didn't get the memo to wear a pinkish colored blouse!  I even dreamed about it the night before...but at least I showed up on time with something on and not just leggings!!!)

My sweet Alison turned TWO on the 21st, but Jeff and I were both terribly sick that day along with Kyle!  The boys kept asking when we would have her party, but I could not get myself up to make the cupcakes but we finally wheeled her new wagon in and gave her her gifts!  I had decorated the night before when I was feeling fine, so at least it looked like a party on her birthday!  We do what we can!  The highlight of the day was Skyping with Grandma and Poohpa in the morning!  Alison didn't want much to do with the computer, so I enjoyed a good chat with my parents!   My poor writing skills will not do justice to how much I just love Alison!  I melt when she grabs my cheeks and quietly says "I love you Mom!"  She is so smart!  She loves reading books especially the short version of Go, Dog. Go!  She has most of it memorized!  She sings Twinkle, Twinkle and ABC's.  She counts to Firteen (13) thanks to her big brothers!  She loves treats thanks to ME!  We love this little curly-haired-two-year-old!  It was 5 O'CLOCK in these pictures and we were all in our pajamas except for Chad!   Alison zonked on Jeff's lap during scripture reading!  It was so precious!  She was sick with the stomach flu on Friday & Saturday, then Chad on Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, then Kyle, Jeff, & I on Wednesday & Thursday!  We all felt like zonking for the entire week!  

On Friday we were all feeling fine, so we FINALLY had Alison's PINKALICIOUS party with Clay and Trish and the kids!  They were good sports to come up and enjoy dinner and pink treats with us!  If you haven't read the Pinkalicous books, you should the next time you're over!  Alison loves them and says pinkalicious in the cutest voice ever!   She is pinkalicious!!!

The day before Alison's birthday is our wedding anniversary!  We were feeling fine with no signs of anyone being sick, so we headed to TGI Friday's where Jeff and I had our first date a little over 10 years ago!  It wasn't a big fancy trip or anything, but I was with the people I love the most!  :)   

And one last catch up...I forgot to post this the last time I blogged!  The Elementary School that Chad goes to is AWESOME!  They have an amazing Arts program.  A few weeks ago they held a huge fundraising event.  They had silent auctions for everything from donated items from local businesses to art made by the classes.  They also raffled off HUGE baskets put together by the different classes that had the most amazing things in them.  There was a BYU/Utah basket with tons of sports paraphernalia, an art supply basket with an assortment of supplies and a $50 gift card to Michael's, a camping basket with TONS of stuff, a movie night basket, and so many other totally cool baskets.  I let the boys put their own tickets into the baskets that they wanted while I stuck a few in the one's I thought were cool!  Well, I guess having EIGHT tickets in the Bakugan basket was a good thing!???  Seriously?  An entire basket filled with BAKUGAN things!!!  It came with a Wii game that they love and an instructional DVD on how to play with the Bakugan toys!  I actually learned a little about what these silly balls are all about!  I said "a little!"  Look how happy they were!!!