Stay-cation Park City, Utah 2013

 Since we are on a year-round school schedule it cuts our Summer Vacationing time in half. Luckily, we are on A track so we get a longer summer compared to most kids. We get six weeks while some only get 4! Having a shortened summer break really cuts down on what you are able to do in those 6 short weeks! I really try to jam pack our Summer Vacations with the kids with a ton of fun outings and activities. Mark and I decided that between swimming lessons and all that we had planned this summer we would try doing a stay-cation. We decided it would be fun to take the kids to Park City which is less than an hour away from our home. I did some research prior to our vacation and we decided on staying at the Marriott Mountain Side Resort. It is a beautiful Mountain Resort and it is close to the Alpine Slides and Coaster. In fact, the Alpine Slides and Coaster are right on the property! So we could leave our roon and with a short walk out of the Hotel we were at the Alpine Slides and Coaster all ready to play! We thought this to be the perfect set up. 

I was able to book a villa for our  family. It was one bedroom villa that had a large Living Room with sleeper sofa for the kids, Kitchen, Laundry Room and a Large Bathroom with a tub the size of a Jacuzzi!  No joke, our whole family could have fit in the tub! It was the perfect little set up for our family. It was plenty of room for us and having our own spaces made it nice. We left on a Sunday afternoon and came home on a Tuesday afternoon. So it was a quick trip but we jam packed in all that we could. 

On Sunday afternoon, we arrived at the resort, checked in, unpacked and then headed out to explore the facilities. We were able to find all that we had planned to do on Monday. We also found out that it is the perfect resort for families. They offer activities all day long for their guests at an additional fee. Ex: river rafting, horseback riding, arts and crafts, movie afternoons and nights, chocolate tastings. Think excursions on a Cruise. You name it, they probably offer it! We loved this and look forward to coming back in future years with the kids.

After we checked out the what resort had to offer, we headed back to our room to make dinner. It was nice because we brought dinner to make in our kitchen. We made chicken spaghetti for dinner with garlic bread and broccoli and then made gigantic chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The kids were in heaven and it was nice to be able to save a little money and cook in our room!

After dinner, we had a movie night. We ate our cookies and popped popcorn and drank soda. We had so much fun!

On Monday morning we got up and headed to arts and crafts. They were painting with water colors. So we let the kids get involved. Kaleb and Karmindy had so much fun!

After water-coloring, we headed to the game room where we played pool with the kids. The kids never have played before and it was so fun to watch them try and hit the billiards balls with their sticks.

 After pool we headed outside to ride the Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slides. The kids LOVED it!! Too bad each ride costs our family a whopping $60 bucks for each ride! I remember coming to these exact Alpine Slides for a year book camp I went to in High School and if my memory serves me right, there were around $5 bucks to ride then. Jeez. Gauging your customers much?  We decided that we were paying for the experience and we were making memories, so that softened the blow!

It was amazing how hot it was on this day in Park City because we were looking forward to escaping the heat from Riverton. I guess Mother Nature was not a force to be reckoned with and had other plans for us. We decided that we were glad we only spent what we did on the rides because it was bloody HOT!!

 After we rode the rides, we headed to get some burgers, fries and shakes for lunch and take it back to our villa to cool off. After lunch and watching TV for a bit, we headed down to the pool. The pool was wonderful and we enjoyed spending some time there. We found out that there are BBQ grills located around the pool so we look forward to taking advantage of them next year! We also found out that they have dutch ovens that you can use free of charge. You just have to pick them up, fill them with your own items and then bring them back down to the pool area and they will dutch oven your food for you so you can have time to play with your family. I think it's a pretty sweet set up they have at this place.

After pool time, we headed back to the room to go and clean up and head out to dinner. We found a delicious Mexican Restaurant with in just a short walk from our villa. It was called the Baja Cantina. They had the best Chile Rejeno's and this sweet and salty drink. Think 7- up that has been doctored up with salt around the edges of the cup. I know it sounds gross but it was really quit refreshing and no it wasn't alcoholic!  After dinner, we found out there was a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory just across the street so we picked up an chocolate covered apple for Mark and I to share and the kids got ice cream. We headed back to our room and spent the rest of the evening in doors vegging out to cable. We don't have cable so we enjoy watching it when we go on vaca!

Our little Stay-cation was the perfect getaway and the kids are already asking if we can go back and make it a yearly tradition. I think we just might and are already planning on next Summer's Getaway. I think next year we will just stay a few more days!

Love the beautiful view from our villa!

Riverton Rodeo

 For the past two years, our family has attended the Riverton City Days Rodeo here in town. My kids look forward to it and so do I. I have always loved going to Rodeo's and have fond memories of going with my family as a child. So going to our city rodeo has become a fun family tradition for our family. It is also fun  because we have met up with my second cousin Amber Odekirk and her cute little family for the past two years. Each family brings their own dinner and we sit and eat while we wait for the Rodeo to start. The gates open early and to get a good seat you have to arrive promptly.

 This year, it was a sweltering 100+ degrees and we were dying!! Reaching over 100+ degrees is typically not normal for Northern Utah this time of year. We tend to stay in the mid to high 90's. This summer has been especially warm for some reason! You would think that this born and raised Southern Utah girl could handle the heat but I think I have acclimated to the more mild Northern Utah summer weather. Luckily, we came prepared and we had plenty of water to keep us hydrated and treats to eat while we passed the time waiting for the show to start. 

At 7:45 pm, the skydivers jumped from the airplanes and landed around 8 pm. Just in time for the show to start. My kids always look forward to watching the skydivers! Another favorite is all the kids ages 7 to 11 are called down from out of the stands and they get to head out onto the field.The authorities then release several cows that have dollar bills duct taped to them. The kids then run after the cows and try and get the money. It is pretty funny to watch and quite entertaining. Kaleb has enjoyed participating for the past two years. Last year he didn't get any money and was quite disappointed but we reminded him that there are over 100+ kids out on the field and very little money to go around. This year he was determined to get some money and he did!! Kaleb is getting quite a quick little sprinter. He did an awesome job and we were so proud of him and his efforts. After it was all over, he said he wished he would have used both of his hands to grab the money off the cow. You live and learn!

Karmindy was a little sad she wasn't old enough to run for the money and I was a little glad. It makes me nervous watching those baby cows run around. She seems so little and it worries me that she will get trampled. She is on tap for next year though to participate and when we told her she could do it next year she didn't to be so disappointed. She was so funny to watch during the whole night though, she loved watching all the bull riding and bronco busting. She got really into it! Also, she enjoyed dancing to all the music they would play in between the riders riding the bulls and bronco's. She is such a funny and silly little girl. I love her zest for life!!

Even though it was so hot and we were melting it was a fun night to spend as a family at the Rodeo. You can see in the pictures how hot it was. My hair was wet from sweat and all of our family's cheeks are pink from it being so warm.

We look forward to going next year!!

Home-made Strawberry Jam

There is nothing better than enjoying home-made things! I prefer home-made over store bought any day and I think it is better for you because you know what you are putting into it! I haven't been very good at canning for the past few years. Frankly, we haven't gotten much out of our gardens to really have enough to preserve. However, strawberries were on sale one week while I was grocery shopping and I decided to buy a huge container of strawberries so I could make some home-made freezer jam. I love strawberry jam! I was able to make 6 little bottles and was so proud of my efforts. Unfortunately, they haven't lasted for long. We have already pretty much gone through them. I also made some jam for the sisters I visit teach in my ward. I have given them some jam for the past two years now, and they seem to love it. I feel so domesticated and self-reliant when I can make food from scratch. Canning is a fun past time of mine and I wish I had more time and produce to work with. Since we have gone through most of our jam, I guess I better hop to making another batch of Strawberry Jam!

Boredom Buckets

To kick off Summer Vacation this year, I decided that Mark and I would get the kids their own boredom buckets. I have seen a similar idea/tradition that a friend of mine that does this with her family each Summer. I thought it was a cute idea and wanted to do our own. For the kids Boredom Bucket, I filled them with treats, water toys, new beach towels and Workbooks to keep the kids on track still for school this next year. Kaleb and Karmindy were thrilled with their buckets and have used them quite a bit this summer already. We also got the kids a new sprinkler that they could run through. They have used the sprinkler a lot and have enjoyed having the new things to look forward too. It has definitely helped me out this summer. Whenever I hear they are bored, I just refer them to their buckets and tell them to go and play with something out of their bucket. It has been a huge life-saver and has cut down on the "I'm Bored's!"

Last Day of Preschool

I can't believe that Karmindy is done with preschool. Even though Karmindy had her preschool graduation on the 10th of June, they still had class until June 19th! It was hard for her to go a week and a half longer than her brother. It was also hard on mom because I was ready to have my babies home with me. Karmindy did enjoy her last few days of preschool though. They had "Summer Camp" at school and made smores, put together a Camp Bag that held a water bottle, binoculars, a map they made, and a few darling crafts that she had made. On the very last day, they played with play-doh, ate popsicles and celebrated the end of the school year. On the last day of school, we took Mrs. Gaylene a present. Karmindy wrote her a note thanking her for being her teacher this year. Karmindy has come along way with her handwriting this year. She was writing her name so BIG because well her name is a BIG  one. So Mrs. Gaylene and I both spent extra time helping Karmindy write small. So it was a big accomplishment for Karmindy to write her teacher a note. For Mrs. Gaylene's present we gave her the cutest scentsy sock monkey candle warmer. It really was cute and Karmindy picked it out all by herself. We both thought it would be so cute in her classroom next year. When it was time to say goodbye to Mrs. Gaylene, Karmindy got a little teary eyed. It made me cry. She had both her teacher and me crying towards the end of the day. Goodbyes are so hard to say especially when you have formed such great friendships with friends and educators. I will always be grateful to Mrs. Gaylene for helping Karmindy out this year. She always had patience for her and really worked with Karmindy to help her succeed and prepare her for Kindergarten, and prepared Karmindy is.

 Here is Karmindy with her amazing preschool teacher, Mrs. Gaylene Rose.

We are so proud of you Karmindy and all that you have accomplished this year! We love you Sister!

Super Dad's!

 How grateful I am for these Super Dad's in My Life- my dad and my sweet husband.

I am first and foremost grateful for my dad. He has been a tremendous example in my life. He has taught me how to serve my fellow men; especially since he was gone a lot when I was a little girl into adulthood serving those he worked with, his family, the Stake as a High Councilman and our ward while he served with several Bishoprics and as a Bishop. My Dad is a good man, one who drops what he is doing to go and help others in times of need. I have also admired my dad for being someone who has great knowledge and wisdom both with life and the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has amazing street smarts and I have often seen him spending hours preparing and learning the gospel through scripture study and reading the Ensigns. He is an excellent counselor and advisor and I have always appreciated his counsel and advice; although, I am sure he never thought I was listening to it in my youth. I am grateful for his testimony of the Gospel. My dad is a great example of friendship and love to me. My dad can make friends easy and is a friend to everyone he meets. He is so very kind-hearted. He would do anything for his friends and family and that is one quality that I have tried to emulate in my life. I have also loved how my dad has treated my mother. He is so very respectful of women and to women, he is often found holding the doors for women and is still so classy and chivalrous. I have never seen him belittle my mother or make her feel inferior.  I am grateful that I have also found an eternal companion who has also treated me like a queen. What a wonderful dad I have and I hope he always knows how much I love him and how much I have always appreciated him.

I love you dad, what a great dad, father, grandpa, fisherman, hunter, brother,son, and friend you are to everyone. Happy Father's Day to my incredible dad.

I am also so grateful for my husband and father to our two beautiful Children. Mark has been such a wonderful husband to me. He is an quiet example to all who meet him. Mark is also such a great dad to our two children and makes time just for them; especially after he has worked all day and is tired. He is often found reading books to our kids in the evenings, along with playing games with them and working on projects, with them. He truly has a special bond with Kaleb and Karmindy. I am so thankful to my handsome, honest, meek, kind, hardworking, loyal, classy, husband. I love you Mark and I am so grateful to be your wife. Thank you for making me a mommy to our two beautiful kiddies.

For Father's Day this year, I tried hard to make it a special day for Mark. It was hard because he had early morning church meetings that took him away from us around 7 am. When we got home from church around Noon, I made Mark some Muffins and we had a light brunch. For Dinner, I asked Mark what he would like me to make. He requested a Pot Roast with all the trimmings. While that was in the oven the kids and I gave him our presents. The kids made some darling cards, and we gave him some new pants, a couple shirts and a few new grilling tools and a superman apron for when we hopefully get him a new grill soon. Mark loved all his gifts. After dinner, I made Mark a Homemade Peach Pie with Vanilla/Caramel Icecream.

Mark seemed to have a great Fathers day. I hope it was a wonderful day for him. Happy Father's Day Sweetie. I hope you know how much you mean to me and the kids. We love you and appreciate how hard you work for our little family.

Preschool Graduation Program

On June 10th, Karmindy had her preschool graduation. It was held at Herriman Elementary in their Auditorium. It is so hard to believe that our baby is graduating from preschool and moving on to Kindergarten. I don't know where the time is going. It is definitely passing us by quickly. For the graduation program the kids from several morning classes put on the program together. The kids sang songs, recited poems and a short slideshow (set to music) was shown that featured pictures of the kids that were taken throughout the year. It made me cry. It is hard to watch your kids grow up and let them go but it is also exciting as a parent to watch them grow and learn and experience life. Karmindy did a fantastic job during her program. She sang her little heart out and we were so proud of her and all that she has accomplished and learned this year. She has grown so much this year and has improved so much academically and socially. It is amazing for me to see the growth that has taken place in her and as her mom I couldn't be more proud. I am very grateful that we enrolled Karmindy in Small Wonders Preschool this year. This preschool was the perfect fit for her. She has learned all her letters, numbers, colors, can count to 100, and even left reading small books. She has grown leaps and bounds this year!

The pictures that I took during the program were really poor quality but I was able to take some cute pictures of  Karmindy afterwards. She was so proud to be a graduate!

 Our little family after Karmindy's Graduation. I love her grin. She was so excited to have received her certificate, a graduation cap and a lei from her preschool teacher, Mrs. Gaylene Rose.

 Karmindy and Kaleb together after the ceremony. I love this picture of my two cute kiddies.

 Karmindy made many friends this year at preschool but her two besties were her neighborhood gal pal, Emilia Pidcock and new friend, Jake Simmonds. Karmindy and Jake got to know each other pretty good throughout the year and formed quite the special bond. Mrs. Gaylene (Karmindy's teacher), would often comment on how cute they were together. I know that Karmindy appreciated Jake's friendship this year. Jake was such a sweet boy to Karmindy and is also very tender-hearted like Karmindy, so they were the perfect fit for friends. It is always nice to have friends who stays by your side and never leave.

Here is our Graduation Gal! I can't believe how grown up she looks. I love that cheesy smile! We are so proud of you Karmindy, we can't wait to see what Kindergarten, as well as, all your school years hold in store for you! We love you sweetie!

PTA & Teacher Appreciation

For the past two years, I have had the opportunity to serve on not only the PTA Board but also the committee at Midas Creek Elementary. Last year, I was asked by a gal in my ward (Ardis Bird) if I would be her Secretary (she was the President). Then this year, another gal in my ward (Becca Hyer) took over as President and asked if I would help out with Teacher Appreciation and the Teacher Appreciation Weeks for the Teachers at the school. We have two weeks of Teacher Appreciation because we are on the track system and there is always one track that isn't on during the two weeks.

I have had fun this year being involved at the school and helping out with Teacher Appreciation. I was also glad to be able to have my friend and neighbor, Nicole Rowe, help me execute everything. It's always fun when you have a friend to work with.

For the Teacher's gifts this year we have done a few nice things. As Nicole and I talked about what we wanted to do for the year, we decided that we wanted to give the teachers nicer gifts but just less often. In years past, the teachers have been given small things, like a fun-size candy bar, smarties, etc. Something little each month to let them know that they were being thought of and appreciated. This year, I feel like Nicole and I went above and beyond and did some really nice gifts for the teachers.

In September 2012, (at the beginning of the school year) we worked with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and got each teacher and staff members their own Chocolate covered apples. We also were able to have Chick-Fil-A come and cater lunch for the teachers and staff for FREE!! The staff was so grateful and it was so nice for Nicole and I because they Chick-fil-a came and set everything up and also brought their own table decor. We just showed up and helped with anything they needed from us. We also got a FREE lunch out of it which was nice!

In December 2012, we got each of the teachers and the rest of the staff soaps from Bath & Body Works. We paired the soaps up with a free Book from our book fair. (I wish I took a picture of this). We made cute tags that said, "We hope you have a Scent-Sational Holiday Season." We tied the soaps and the books together with holiday ribbon.

My Gallbladder surgery at the first of the year kind of through things for a loop after the first of the year, so we ended up not doing anything for the teachers until May. Its was a struggle for me to feel well enough to do much of anything let alone think about teacher appreciation. This ended working out, because our budget was limited and we wanted to save the majority of our budget for the actual week of Teacher Appreciation Week for all the tracks.

Here is what we ended up doing for Teacher Appreciation Week for the tracks:

Monday: Doors Decorated and Notes from the Students to the teachers (I ended up doing a couple decorating a couple of doors myself.)

Tuesday: Large Candy Bars

Wednesday: We gave each Teacher and staff a Book from our schools book fair. Each Teacher and staff member got to pick their own book.

Thursday: Each Teacher got a gift certificate for a free salad at McDonalds. (The PTA President arranged this for us!)

Friday: For C track teacher appreciation week it was a little tricky because we only had 9 teachers to get lunch for. It is hard finding businesses who will cater to just 9 people so we opted for having Kneaders cater. They put together the cutest brown boxed lunches for us. Each lunch included: a sandwich, potato salad, chips, drink and a cookie/brownie. I came up with the table decor and made the cute clip boards to display on the tables. I think it turned out nice. We used the same table decor for the following week for the second teachers lunch.

For the rest of the teachers the following week we had over 85+ faculty and staff and we had Costa Vida cater the lunch. The teachers got to make their own salad. We had several options for them. They got to choose what type of meat (chicken or pork) and what type of beans(black or pinto). We also had drinks and chips and salsa for the teachers as well.

For our last gift for the year for the teachers, I found some cute Fluorescent water bottles at the dollar store. My friend Nicole and I worked on the tags together and came up with the cute saying, "Thanks for helping "Quench" your students thirst for Knowledge this year!" Have a Cool Summer.

I am so glad to have Teacher Appreciation over with. It was a lot of work and a good Learning experience. I have enjoyed serving on the PTA for the past two years. It has been a wonderful way to serve others, get to know new people and be involved in the community. However, I have decided to take a break from it this next year. It was to hard to do both Teacher Appreciation and volunteer every other week in Kaleb and Karmindy's classes. This next year, I am really looking forward to helping in Kaleb and Karmindy's class each week and being a Room Mother for Karmindy's class.

The Puppet Master

Kaleb has become an official puppet master! Over the past month, his teacher, Mrs. Goodman has worked with her second grade class to write their own puppet plays and make their own individual puppets. The class was split into groups of 4 to 5 and they were assigned to come up with a mixed up fairy tale. Kaleb's group chose the Bear and the Goldilocks Family. Everyone of the students wrote their own parts for the puppet play and made their own props. After writing their own parts, each student made their own puppet character. They made the puppets body out of paper mache, sewed their own costumes and added their own embellishments like hats, hair, lips, wiggly eyes and earings. I was able to go in on the day that they were putting on the embellishments and it was so fun to help the kids and see the puppets come together. I am also grateful that I got to help Kaleb a little bit with his puppet. He was Papa Goldilocks! I also was able to help Kaleb put hair on his puppet. He seemed so happy to have me in his class helping and I am so grateful when I can go in and  help.

Last week, the parents were invited to come and view the puppet plays. It was so fun to watch all the plays and see how creative all of the kids were with writing their own parts and putting a spin on the traditional fairy tale. I loved all their mixed up fairy tale stories! So cute and creative. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pictures of Kaleb while he was performing his play but I did get a picture of him with his puppet when he brought it home from school today. I am so proud of Kaleb and the hard work that he puts into each of his projects at school. He is a very creative and so hard working!

Cardiology Appointment

Today was Karmindy's yearly Cardiology appointment with Dr. Ronald Day. He has been her Cardiologist since birth and has been a good fit for our family. Karmindy's appointments are at the Primary Children's Riverton Extension office located in the Riverton Hospital. We have been so blessed to live right down the street from this amazing facility. It truly makes it nice having these services in our own "backyard" and saves us from spending all day driving to and from Primary Children's Hospital located  in the heart of  downtown Salt Lake City. These appointments are so mentally and physically draining for Karmindy and us and it is nice to be able to cut the commute out on these long appointment days.

These Appointments consist of getting chest xrays taken, blood pressures taken in both her arms and her legs, an echo, a EKG and another round of blood pressures being taken. After all of these are completed, Dr. Day will then meet us in an exam room and will go over what has changed and what hasn't for the past year and any concerns that he has. This year things seem to be about the same. However, Karmindy's stats  look great and her blood pressures in her arms and her legs are very close in numbers which was great news to us. This means that there isn't a huge difference in her upper and lower bodies blood pressures. Having blood pressures that are far a part can cause all kinds of problems. Dr. Day did express that Karmindy still has the same kinked or "pinched" space on her aorta which is located directly under the three branches that feed (the blood supply) her left and right sides of her brain. This has been a concern for the past couple of appointments over the past few years. The problem with the Pinched space is that it does lie right under the three branches that feed her brain. Normally they would put a stint on these "pinched" areas in the aorta but they would like to avoid a stint in this case because the metal fibers that the stint is made of could cause blood clots to form and she could have a stroke. So are only option is patching the area with a graft from a cadaver.

It sounds like the procedure would of course be risky (any surgery is a risk) but with her getting older and her body getting bigger it is a better surgery to do now rather than if she was a baby. The down time and healing process would end up being good and not hard. So for now, we will wait another year and see what the future holds. I hope modern medicine continues to get better; especially in the cardio-thoracic field. I am sure it will. They are always doing amazing procedures

We take the information that we received today as good news. We will hold on to the fact that Karmindy is growing, learning and keeping up with the other kids her own age. Dr. Day gave her clearance on any form of aerobic activity (baseball, soccer, dance, running) but warned against  gymnastics or any other type of sport that would place strain on this area. So no gymnastics, wrestling or weightlifting for our princess! :D Which we are ok with and not too worried that we will have to fight her on or talk her out of participating in!

I am so very grateful for modern medicine and all that has been done to keep our little girl here with us on earth. We are so grateful to have Karmindy as apart of our family!

Karmindy loves the waiting room toys and activities at Primary Children's Hospital Extention. Today she made a pinwheel, colored a picture and drove the pink car (her favorite color) all around the waiting room. I am glad for these fun things to keep her occupied while we wait. It makes these doctors visits more manageable and bearable.