The Gunn Family

Solo Performance

2011-04-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

McKenna Before Her Performance

My niece McKenna has been dancing since she was three. She is such an amazing dancer. She has been on competition teams since I think she was four or five, she has been in Ballet West's The Nutcracker twice now, she was chosen for a point ballet dance class and now she can add solo performances to her list of accomplishments!!! I am so proud of her and how dedicated she is to her dancing. I was lucky enough to go and watch her perform her solo in competition for the last time on Friday night. I was so excited to see her perform. She did her solo to Save The Last Dance For Me by Michael Buble. She was so nervous before her turn, but once she was out on the dance floor you never would have known. She did such a fantastic job, she was absolutely beautiful and amazing. I know I may be biased since I am the Aunt but I don't care. She ended up taking first place (which the way the do it she took second). The placings go Queen, first, second, and third. There were four girls in her group total. The girl that took Queen seemed a little more advanced if you asked me but thats my opinion. I can't wait to see her dance again, way to go McKenna. Love you sweetie!!

Baseball Season!!!

2011-04-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again for our boys to put on their baseball cleats and hit the fields. Our lives are going to be consumed with baseball for the next three months. With both the boys playing again this year and with us bumping Riley up a year early to play machine pitch our schedules our crazy!!! The boys each play two games a week and practice up to two times a week besides. The boys happen to have quiet a few games that fall on the same night and at the same time or close to the same time!!! I will be spending five nights a week at the ballpark, thank heavens for my Nook. Once again this year Logan will be playing for the Seattle Mariners. He has a new coach, which he is fantastic and we love him already. He is doing a great job with the team and wants all of the boys to learn how to pitch, which Logan is looking forward to. In the meantime Logan is playing Left field. If the weather would cooperate my dad and Brandon want to start practicing with him. Riley is so happy to finally be out of coach pitch!!! He is our little die hard ball player. I swear the kid eats breathes and sleeps baseball during this time of year. He is playing on the LA Dodgers this year and he also has a fantastic coach. Riley is playing third base and is super excited about this. He is doing such a great job even being the youngest on his team. Now if mother nature could just make up her mind about this weather maybe we could actually play our games in nice weather. Heres to hoping!!!!

Logan Before His First Game

Riley Before His First Game

Deer Valley

2011-04-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Deer Valley Ski Resort

Well we finally did it, we went skiing!!! For the past three years Brandon's client, which happens to be Deer Valley Ski Resort, has been giving Brandon 4 passes to go skiing as a Christmas present. Well the first two years we let them go to waste!!! I know we are absolutely nuts right??? Well we had great excuses, I haven't been skiing since I was 16, Brandon has only been skiing once ever when he was 16, we have kids etc.... At the time we really thought they cons out weighed the pros so we didn't think much more of it.

Well this year Brandon decided we were not going to let them go to waste. So he got online on Thursday and found out that it was going to be the last weekend Deer Valley was open for skiing. So he found another couple to go with us to use the passes and asked his parents to watch our kids. We decided we should do this year without the kids to see what we thought of skiing. We got up early on Sat. April 9th and got ready. We dropped the boys off and went to pick up our ski's and meet our friends. Once we had all our gear it was off to Deer Valley!!! I have to admit I was so super nervous. I use to love skiing and was not too bad of a skier, but let's be honest I am older and WAY out of practice. It was a great day for skiing in my opinion. The weather was crappy down in the valley, but up on the slopes was beautiful. It snowed off and on for the majority of the day, but was still fantastic. Our friends that went with us were a guy Brandon works with and his wife. This was going to be her very first time evr skiing. So really she fit right in with Brandon and I. One of my biggest fears was the ski lifts!!! I hated them as a kid and still am not fond of them. However I didn't fall on my face getting off them once and by the end of the day they didn't bother me at all!!! Brandon was an absolute natural at skiing. You never would have known it was only his second time skiing!!! I was so jealous of him. Once I was on the slopes it all slowly started to come back and felt really good. However I let me nerves take over and couldn't bring myself to venture off the bunny slope for the majority of the day. When I finally did let's just say there were tears involved but I did it!!! Mindy didn't take to skiing so after giving it a few tries she ended up going into the lodge and sitting by the fire in a nice comfy chair and read and enjoyed her quite time. Even though I felt bad she wasn't out with us on the slopes I know she was enjoying some much needed quite time from being a mom of five. Greg and Brandon spent the majority of the day on the big slopes and had a great time. We all enjoyed a great lunch together and all in all had a fabulous time. Brandon and I have even decided we want to put the boys in lessons next year and maybe start skiing more. Who knows what next year will bring but thats the plan.

Getting Ready to Hit The Slopes

Traci and Brandon

Deer Valley Ticketing

The Lifts

Top Of The Bunny Slope

Jazz Game

2011-04-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

On April 7th I got to do a Mom's night out with Logan. He played Jr. Jazz during the winter and recieved 2 tickets to a Jazz game for playing. We went with one of his teammates, and very good friend, and his mom and sister. It were at almost the very top row in the arena!!! The boys had so much fun even though the Jazz of course lost. The car ride home was a very loud ride since all three kids were coming off their sugar highs. I can't wait to do another Mom's Night Out again soon.

Logan and Decator

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Kids Playing On The Slides

Spring Break!!! I was so excited that my sister's kids were off for Spring Break the sametime my kids were off track. Tuesday two of my nieces came out for a sleepover. My boys were so excited to have them come out. I only took the older two kids thinking it would be easier that way, boy was I wrong. They girls were great, but I found out by taking only them I was a mean Aunt and hated my other niece and nephew. I feel sooooo bad and am for sure going to try and make it up with a sleepover for them.

Wednesday we had decided to meet up with my sister and the other kids and have lunch and go swimming out in Bountiful. The boys were thrilled to be doing something fun with their couisns and so was I. We did lunch at Pace's, a family favorite, in Bountiful. After lunch we headed to Bountiful Rec. for swimming. The kids were like little fishes. They all had so much fun. Ry surprised me with how well he did at swimming and how fearless he was. Logan also did a great job swimming and not getting nervous about the deeper water. The kids loved the slide!!! Even little Hayden was excited to go on the slide. I was the one who decided to take her on the slide. Well just as we were going down she happened to untie the one side on my swim suit bottoms!!!! I couldn't believe it, I had to just hold it as we went down the rest of the way. She was loving it until the bottom. I went under with her but came right back up, however because I was trying to hold my swimsuit bottoms on I accidentally put her face in the water again!!! What a great Aunt I am, I felt so bad and was so embarrassed all at the sametime. From now On I will be double tying my swimsuit bottoms. It was such a great break for all of us. I can't wait to get together again soon. We really don't get to see each other enough. I am the luckiest Aunt to have such great nieces and nephew. I look forward to our next sleepover where everyone will be included.

Holden Trying To Not Shake From Being Cold

What A Cutie Little Hayden Mae Is!!!

Peyton And McKenna

Ry And Cam

Logan

Kenna and Holden

Riley Bug Swimming Like A Fish

Logan Bud

Kenna

Cam

Hayden Mae and Aunt Traci

Peyton

Ry Bug

Logan, Peyton, McKenna, Camryn and Ry

Hayden All Done Swimming

Logan Climbing The Rock Wall

Holden and Ry Climbing The Rock Wall

Ry Climbing The Rock Wall

Vegas 2011

2011-04-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

The Sleeping Lions At MGM

A Pirate On The Strip

M&M Factory

Michael Jacksons

Halo Guy

Every 3 years Brandon has to go to Las Vegas for work at the Con Expo Show. This year our 12th Anniversary fell on the weekend he was suppose to come home.So Brandon decided to fly me out on Friday to spend the weekend with him and celebrate our Anniversary. I was so excited and nervous at the sametime. This was the first time in 5 years that I have left the boys to where I couldn't be back to them within an hour if needed. I have such a hard time putting faith in others to take care of Logan's diabetes. However Logan is growing up and has learned so much about his diabetes and how to manage it on his own. So I put all my faith in my in-laws to take care of my boys and went off to Vegas.

I was flying stand-by on Delta and was worried it was going to take a couple tries to get on a flight. I got to the airport at 9:30 in hopes to get on the 11:10 flight. Of all the days for mother nature to resort back to winter. It was snowing so bad it delayed the flight by 30 mins. I was so excited when I was cleared for the flight 10 mins. before boarding. That excitment all changed once I was on the plane. The pliot came on and annouced that there was a small crack in the windshield and that were having it checked out. Well needless to say two hours later of sitting on the plane in Salt Lake watching it snow they cleared us for take off. It then took another 30 mins for them to de-ice the wings. We were finally in the air YEAH!!!! The plane ride was not my favorite, we hit major turbulence and by the time they got to us to give us a drink and peanuts it was time to collect them!!! I had not eaten since 7:30am that morning and it was now 2:40 Salt Lake time. When we landed everyone on the plane was so glad to finally be getting off the plane. We headed to baggage claim where we waited another 30 mins. for the luggage to start showing up. Lucky for me mine was one of the first to come off since I was a stand-by passenger. I then headed to get a taxi where I waited yet again for 20 mins. I was so happy to get to the hotel until I saw the check-in line. Oh YEAH another HUGE line!!!! I waited another 35 mins. to check-in. I went up to our room to clean up and wait for Brandon to get off work. I was so hungry I went down to the gift shop and bought a cheap sandwhich to hold me over. I had hope that this day was going to get better.

Brandon got to our hotel around 6:00pm Vegas time. It was so good to see him after him being gone 4 days. He cleaned up and some of the guys from work came and met us for dinner. We went to the MGM Grand to have dinner at the Fiamma resturant. We had to wait yet again, surprise surprise. However at least this time the wait was entertaining. Lady Gaga was performing that night at the MGM, so we watched all the crazy costumes as the were headed to the concert. I so wish I would have had my camera!!!! Dinner was great and helped the night end on a positive note.

Saturday we walked around and went into the different shops and casinos. Later in the afternoon we went back to our hotel and went to the pool. It was such a nice change from the cold back home. The pool was so great and super relaxing. That night we went out to dinner to a Mexican resturant in Planet Hollywood, the food was fantastic!! After we headed to a Vegas show. We had so much fun, it was a great night. After we headed back to the pool and went off to the hot tub. I was sad that our weekend was coming to an end. The next morning we got up at 4:30am so we could be to the airport by 5:30am. My flight was at 6:45 and Brandon's wasn't until 9:45am. I was still flying stand-by but had hoped I would get out, boy was I wrong!!!! They people at the Delta counter told me there was NO WAY I was getting out on a plane. Well Happy Anniversary to me!!! I wanted to cry, we started frantically looking at other options. We called other airlines to try and purcahse a ticket one wated $385 and Delta wanted $185 for the last flight that night. So instead of spending the entire day at the airport we decided to change Brandon's ticket to Monday and stay one more night. At least we got to spend our anniversary together!!! We went back to the Tropicana and got another room and took a nap!!! We ended up having a great day all in all. I think the hardest part of it all was telling the kids we weren't coming home. The ended up having to go home to our house where my mom spent the night with them. We took lots of pics for the boys with our phones and sent them to them. It helped a little, but the kept telling us how much they missed us and wished they were with us. I was so disappointed I hadn't played one slot machine the whole weekend. So when we were walking back through the Luxor I talked Brandon into letting me play. I put $6 into a penny machine, I won a little then lost it all within 5 mins. I was sad because it wasn't even my favorite kind of machine so I blammed my lose on that. Bradnon asked me what my favorite on was and so we found one. It was a quarter machine, which I usually only play penny machines. Brandon said you can play $5 then your done. I happily sat down put in my $5 and started doing the max bet. I won and ws up $2, then I went down to $3. I hit the max bet and spun. I hit a win and the machine kept paying out!!! I couldn't believe it, we couldn't add it in our heads how much I was at. When the machine finally stopped I cashed out and had won $218.25!!!! Needless to say it paid for the xtra night we had to stay in Vegas.

Luckily the next morning we headed to the airport again at 5:30am, where I was able to get on the first flight home. This flight was much better then the one going down. It was so nice to be home even if the weather was crap. Happy Anniversary Babe thanks for a great adventure!!!

The Hard Rock

Brandon On Our Bed

Our Room

New York New York

The Strip

The Tropicana Where We Stayed

The Waterfall At The Tropicana

The Excalibur

The MGM

A Fountain Inside The Luxor

My Winning Ticket

The Luxor

Pinewood Derby 2011

2011-04-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well this was a rough year for Pinewood Derby. It was Logan's last Pinewood Derby as a Cub Scout. He was so excited to build his car again this year with his Dad and his Grandpa Lynne. They worked really hyard on it and Logan painted it all by himself. I was so proud of him. The night of Pinewood Derby Brandon was out of town for work and Grandpa Lynne (My Dad) was also out of town on a trip. Logan was so upset to not have them there to cheer him on. However my Mom, Brandon's parents, his cousin Hailey, Riley and I were there cheering him on. Logan's first heat he took second place. After that race it went down from there. We found that even though his car weighed exactly 5oz, the weight was not evenly placed. There was way too much weight all in the back of the car, so it made his car lift slightly in the front when it got down the hill of the track. This slowed his car a lot and there for he took 3rd in all but two of the rest of his races. He was kind of bummed, but was a great sport and still had a lot of fun. i was so proud of him for cheering on the other boys and not making it all about winning. The most important part of it all is that he had fun building it and racing it. After the race my Mom took the boys and I to Chillis for dinner. It was a great ending to the day.
The Pinewood Derby Heat Chart Logan was "L"

Logan's Car Flash

The Track

Logan's Second Place Finish

The Cub Scouts

Les Mis Woods Cross

2011-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Back in February(I know I am way behind) we went to see two of my amazing nieces perform in the high school production of Les Mis. This is actually one of my very favorite boardway plays. My niece Dakota was a "Lovely Lady" and a townsgirl. She did such a good job. Her sister Cheyenne played Madame Thénardier. When she came out on the stage Brandon leaned over and said "I thought Cheyenne was in this scene" lol it was so funny he didn't even recognize her!!! She did a great job and totally owned her part. I was so proud of her. The boys had so much fun, however poor Ry fell asleep halfway through the second act. He was so upset when we woke him up and told him he missed the end. Lucky for us we can buy a copy of the play in the end of April and he is counting down until then. I can't wait for dinner theatre the end of April first part of May. I totally reccommend it to anyone who likes singing. Woods Cross High School knows how to put on shows thats for sure!!!
Mister Thénardier and Madame Thénardier and the boys

Mister Thénardier and Madame Thénardier

Dakota and Rachel

The Cast of Les Mis

Red Butte Gardens 9-14-10

2010-10-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

In September I was able to go on a field trip with Riley's Class. There were two classes of first graders that went. We went to Red Butte Gardens. I totally reccommend going if you haven't been before, it was amazing. I was over a group of all boys!!! It wasn't too bad, they were pretty good. We were lucky enough to have an amazing guide, the boys loved her. She was so fun and showed the kids some amazing things, including her holding a bumble bee. It was so much fun learning about all the different flowers and plants. There was so much to look at. I couldn't get over how beautiful it all was. It was cool seeing Riley pick out the plants we have at home and actually being able to name some of them. After we finished our tour we headed off to Sunny Side Park for lunch and to get the kids energy out. It was a great field trip and I am so glad I was able to go and have so much fun.
The First Graders

Our Guide Has a Bumble Bee in her Hand

Our Guide Holding a Bee

Pears Growing on the Trelis

Yellow Daisies

Hanging Basket of Flowers

A Beautiful Waterfall

The water

Lily Pads

Pretty Yellow Flowers

The boys trying to touch the fish

Fish

Ground Squirrels

Mrs. Beckstead with our group of boys

A Bumble Bee

Ry and some of his classmates

Pretty Flower

Wood Betony

Ry by the rattlesnake fountain

Some of my favorites

I loved all the beautiful flowers

Labor Day Weekend 2010

2010-10-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we took the boys camping up to our friend's property up by Starvation. Our friends and their two kids came in the motorhome with us. On our way up we made our annual stop to Swiss Days in Midway and had dinner and walked around. We got a little lost trying to find the property in the dark, but we made it and setup the motorhome. We did a small fire and hung out by it for a few hours. The next morning everyone else slowly started showing up. The guys decided to go out on the boat and get some wake boarding a sky skiing in before everyone else showed up. So we fed the kids lunch and once our friend Angie got their we headed down to the beach to meet up with the guys. The kids were all so excited to go out on the tube. This was a first time experience for our boys!!! They had a lot of fun, but I think Logan got a little scared when it got going to fast. I switched him places and went out with the other kids for a bit and it was a lot of fun. We took the kids back to shore and left them with Brandon. I stayed on the boat and went out with some of the others. It was so much fun, I forgot how much I missed being on a boat. The wind came up like it alkways has seemed to do at Starvation so we packed up and pulled the boat off the water. That night we hung out and celebrated Tyler's 30th birthady!!! It was a lot of fun, we sat around the fire and hung out and had a few drinks and listened to the music. The next day we got up did the whole breakfast thing and packed lunch and headed back down to the lake. However it was so windy that we couldn't put the boat in the water. We decided to hang out and let the kids play in the water and hang on the beach. We had a great spot where the wind couldn't completely sand blast us. Later we went back and cleaned up a had dinner and hung out by the campfire again. Brandon and I had a smore off which was a lot of fun. We came up with all kinds of different concoctions. I of course beat him with my mad smore cooking ideas. It was such a great weekend with minimal injuries. I am so glad we got some camping in this year.
Tyler and LaRee

Angie and Lora

Don, Ty and Brandon

Cheers to Tyler

LaRee, Lora, Traci, and Angie

Conner, Logan, Ry, and Abby

The kids on the tube

Ry, me, and Abby

Tubing with Ry and Abby

My dirty puppy

One of our friend's on the sky ski

Brandon trying to be the karate kid

Brandon and Tyler

Angie, Lora and me

Crazy Hair Day and Egg Drop 9-2-10

2010-10-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

The kids school has spirit days every so often. For this particular day they got to do crazy hair!!! I have a bunch of colored hair gels and so we went to town doing the boys hair and one of their friends.

Ry's crazy hair

Zac's crazy hair

Logan's crazy hair

Three crazy boys

Back view of their crazy hair

This also happened to be the fourth grades egg drop. We only had a week to come up with an idea. The only rules were that your egg had to be hard boiled, and no glass. Pretty simple!!! I helped Logan with his project. It was a lot of fun. We took a styrofoam block and hollowed out a spot for the egg to fit, lined it with cotton, put the egg in and duct tapped the entire thing. We even did a practice run and dropped it out Logan's bedroom window and it survived. On the day of there were lots of fun cute ideas. Logan's egg did survive the fall from the roof!! I was so glad we came up with a winning project.
Waiting for the egg dropping to begin

Mr. Spencer dropping Logan's egg

One of the 4th grade teachers opening his egg

Logan holding his survived egg

Lava Hot Springs 8-27-10

2010-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Back in August we went to Lava Hot Springs for the weekend to celebrate my sister in law Tricia's birthday. We got there late on the night of the 27th. The next day we had plans to go swimming and possibly go tube the river. The boys were so excited to go to the pool, because of the big slides. When we got there the weather didn't look to promising.

Hailey Bug

Logan Bud

Riley Bug

Travis

Everyone at the top

Brandon making a splash

Ry and Uncle Travis

Logan the water bug

Brandon at the very top platform

Brand jumping from the top platform

However it held for about an hour of fun before the sky opened up and began to pour!!! The closed the pool in hopes that they would re-open if the weather permitted. Once back to camp we retreated to the motorhome to get out of the rain. Let me just say that it was tight quarters!!! Finally the rain decided to let up and the pool was re-opening. A few of the others decided to hit the river while the rest of us headed back to swim. It was a lot of fun and wasn't to cold. Logan was fearless on the big slides. I was super proud of him, I have to admit I was a little scared being that high up. There were two different slides, a purple one and a yellow one. The yellow one went down part way and then had a bump and dropped off. The purple one was a straight drop off!!!

The purple one was Logan's Favorite

Brandon, Jeremy, and Rick

Jer, Brand and Rick

Brandon took Ry down the river with him and needless to say he didn't like it much because Brandon scared him. So Ry ended up in the pool with the rest of us for about a half hour of fun. Brandon cooked a fabulous dinner in the dutch oven that night. It was a great day!! The kids even got to get Aunt Tricia with cans of silly string for her birthday!!!! If that wasn't enough we finished the nigt off with smores and the Hot Pools. The next morning Brandon got creative making breakfast. He kept cooking the hash browns into different shapes which Riley got a kick out of. After it was time to pack up and head for home. It was a fun filled weekend rain and all.

Rick

Travis

Aunt Tricia being attacked by the kids

Aunt Tricia

Tricia covered in silly string

Ry Ry

After the silly string attack

Brandon and Tigger

Ry making a mess with his smore

Logan having a huge messy smore

The Hot Pools

Tricia's nephews

Football hash browns

The group eating breakfast

Baseball hash browns of course

On the merry go round at the park

Horse swings

Sweets Candy Factory

2010-09-14T16:20:00.001-07:00

Back in July I had made an appointment for us to go to the Sweets Candy Factory. However plans changed since that was the same day Logan wound up in the hospital. So we put it off and ended up rescheduling it for August 16th. The plus about us rescheduling was that my sister Tammy and all her kids got to go with us. I pulled my kids out of school just before lunch so we could go. We did the tour, which the kids thought was great even though not much was being made that day. After we got to go in the gift shop and all the kids picked out thier favorite taffy flavors and we bought a 1 lb bag per family to be shared. After the candy factory we all went to lunch together at Chic-Fil-A. It was a really fun filled afternoon. I loved getting to spend time with 4 of my adorable nieces and 1 nephew and my sister!!!

Monster Trucks

2010-09-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

On August 15th we had someone give us 4 tickets for the Monster Trucks out at RMR (Rocky Mountain Raceway). The boys were super excited. Right from the get go they both picked a ford truck to win!!! Riley picked Bigfoot and Logan picked Bounty Hunter. In the end both boys trucks came away winners. Bigfoot won for the timed race against another truck, and Bounty Hunter won in the Free Style. It was a lot of fun and SUPER LOUD!!!! Way to go FORD Monster Trucks!!!!

Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw

2010-09-14T15:23:00.001-07:00

On July 30th Brandon and I went to see Lady Antebellum and Tim McGraw!!!! It was such a fabulous concert. I loved Lady Antebellum, they put on a great opening show. I was so excited for Tim McGraw to come out. He is one of my all time favorites, not to mention he is a HOT cowboy when he has his cowboy hat on. I have seen him in concert 4 times now and have loved him everytime. When he sang the song Tiny Dancer I got tears in my eyes because he picked 2 different little girls and took them on stage and danced with them. It was so sweet!!! I would totally pay to go see him again. It was a great date night with my amazing husband. Thanks to Grandma and Papa Lynne for taking the boys!!! We love you so much.

Ti
He is one HOT cowboy

First Day of School 2010-2011

2010-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Well it is so hard to believe my kids started school on July 26th. There are days I like year round school and days when I don't. It sometimes feels like the kids don't get a summer, but they don't mind. Logan started on Monday and Ry started on Tuesday. It was a little weird to have him start a day later. I really have had a hard time with the fact I have a fourth grader and a first grader. It is starting to make me feel old. The house has felt so different with no kids home with me during the day. I haven't completely gotten use to it since I have been so busy getting things ready for the Diabetes walk. Now it is almost time for them to track off so the boys will be home ALL DAY!!! So much for quiet.

Logan's first day of school

Logan by the tree

Ry's first day of school

Ry by the tree

My Cute Boys On Ry's First Day

Christmas in July!!!

2010-09-13T11:06:00.001-07:00

Tiffy explaining the rules

Waiting for present exchange

Logan and Brandon

Hayden Mae

Camryn and McKenna

Chey and some others

Dougie

Koda Sue

Yoshi (Josh)

The presents

Every year for as long as I can remember my oldest sister Tiffany and her family have celebrated Christmas in July. Through the years it has gotten bigger and bigger. Last year Brandon and the boys got to play the annual baseball game with them and water fight. After that I swore we would for sure make it this year. We had soooo much FUN!!! It was a blast, the food was fabulous and it was great to hang out with everyone and have a great time. Some of the presents were hysterical!!! There were definately some well fought after presents. After dinner and the present exchange it was on to the baseball game. Logan was the team captin of one team and Ry was the the team captin of the other. I was picked to be on Ry's team and so was Brandon. After the first inning they said our team was too stacked so they took Brandon. In the end though our team won. It was a blast and I even made a killer catch out in center field!!! The kids are already looking forward to next Christmas in July. Thanks so much Tiff for including us, we love you.

Logan up to bat

Ry up to bat

Brandon hits a long one

Holden on first base

Our lineup

Run Peyton run

Doug hits a long one

Run Chey run!!!

Ry all decked out and playing catcher

Another group of outfielders

Traci (Me) center field

The group of out fielders

Rob playing 3rd

Koda Sue at bat

Madison up to bat

July 24th

2010-09-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

This year we went to the Bee's game for the 24th of July. It was a lot of fun and has become a tradition for our family for the past 3 years now. The boys both love baseball so much and really get into watching the game. It was a great game the Bees kicked butt and won. The best part was the fabulous firework show after the game.

Brandon Turns 31

2010-08-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

On July 19th Brandon turned 31!! The kids and I had planned to take him ballons and a treat to him at work and I was going to cook him a special birthday dinner. However things definitely didn't go as planned. The day before Logan's blood sugar's were super high all day long. That night we finally got them down before bed so I thought that was the end of it. However Monday morning when Logan woke up his blood sugar was sky high again and he didn't feel good. He started dry heaving and then proceeded to throw up!! I called the doctor's office and he was out of town. The nurse asked us to fax his blood glucose records for the weekend over and to let them know if he had ketones. Well he had the highest amount of ketones in his urine. Once they recieved his records they called his doctor, who then called me and told me to take him to the ER. I had to farm Ry out to my dad along with my niece Camryn who had spent the night. I headed to the ER where they put an IV in and took Logan for some x-rays. They tested his blood for various things and started him on an IV drip. After 4 and a half hours in the ER and 2 bags of fluid they told us Logan was dehydrated. Brandon left work and got to the hospital right before they released him. We left the hospital to go home and have Logan get some rest and food. Brandon took Logan and got him some lunch and 2 movies to keep him busy. We got home and got Logan all settled and fed. I then left to go pick up Ry from my dads. I hit rush hour of course so by the time I got back home Brandon had cooked his own birthday dinner. Some wife I am !!! I felt so bad, but he said it was fine. We decided to watch a movie together as a family for his birthday. Half way through the movie Brandon got himself a piece of cake and while he was eating it one of his teeth broke (the cake had nuts in it, and it was store bought). So as if his birthday wasn't already just great he got to end it like that. All I have to say is next year is going to be the best birthday ever I will see to it!!! Happy 31st Birthday Babe!!!

Brandon's Hospital Pic and Brandon Age 8

Brandon As A Kid And Brandon And Traci 1998

Brandon On The Beach In California

Brandon 2010

Lynne's 70th Birthday Party

2010-08-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

On July 17th my Step Mom turned 70. My three Step Brothers and their wife's put together a big party for her on Sunday the 18th. We all went to a park and had a great dinner that we all helped contribute to. It was so much fun to get together to celebrate her birthday. She does so much for all of us all year long. She is a great Mom, Step Mom, Grandma, and Great Grandma. There were a total of 39 of us there. We were minus two grandson's, Travis who was at college, and Todd who just went into the Marines and one granddaughter Madison who was camping.

Everybody During Dinner

My Cute Adorable Niece Hayden Mae

Troy And Karie

Tiff And Doug

Tad And Amber

All The Kids, Grandkids, and Great Granddaughter

To celebrate their grandma all the grandkids were asked to write down their favorite memory or thing about grandma. Lynne has a total of 19 grandkids and there were only three that didn't get to participate, Madison, Todd, and Hayden (who is only 1). One by one from oldest to youngest got up after dinner and read what they wrote about their grandma. She got emotional as each one of them read theirs. Tyler even got up and read what Travis had wrote about grandma. It was really special to hear all the different memories or favorite things.

All The Grandkids Talking About Grandma

My Cute Niece Camryn And Her Dad Rob

The Birthday Girl Blowing Out The Candles

After presents, dessert, and the grandkids getting up and talking about grandma the mjority of the group went to play baseball. The cheering section was mainly made up of all the girls. It was so fun to watch them all play, even Lynne played a few innings. It was a fun filled night for everyone.

Baseball Game

Uncle Tad And Hayden

Christa, Courtney, Paisley, And Candice

My Niece Taylor Being Silly

Kip Troy and Ry

Riley And Brandon's Birthday Party

2010-07-27T13:16:00.001-07:00

Since Riley was born 3 days before Brandon's birthday we now celebrate them together (Poor Brandon). So on Sat. July 17th, which just happened to be my Step Mom's birthday, we did a party for Riley and Brandon. We had all our family there plus a bunch of Ry's friends. We set up the water slide in the backyard for the kids to play on and had a pinata. The boys were really enjoying picking on the girls by spraying them with the water cannon. Talk about a lot of loud screaming girls. Once the boys were chased away from the cannon though the girls got even. They were all so cute and had a great time on the slide.

The Kids Playing On The Slide
When we got ready to do the pinata I thought for sure it wouldn't last long, boy was I wrong. We couldn't get the stupid thing to break. It even got to the point we stopped blind folding them and it still didn't help. Finally we let Ry go to town on the thing until it broke.

The Pinata

After it was on to the presents. Ry has some really cute friends. One of his best friends gave him 2 things of candy and $15 cash. Ry really got a kick out of it. He loved all the presents his friends and family gave him. I think the only presents Riley was not real excited about was of course the clothes. He truely is spoiled or well loved depending on which way you want to look at it. Riley really had a great birthday and party.

Ry Opening All His Presents

Family And Friends

After all of Ry's friends left we sang Happy Birthday to Brandon and had him open his presents. Brandon made it real easy to shop for him this year. He told me he wanted gift certicates. He got to go shopping with his Mom and Dad a couple days earlier and pick out what he wanted. It was a great day for Brandon as well. That night we went to dinner for their birthdays and Brandon it was a great way to end the night.

Brandon And His Presents

Brandon Opening Presents

Brandon Opening His Last Present

Ry Turns 6 !!!

2010-07-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby turned 6 years old on July 16th!!! It seems like yesterday when he was born. He is growing up so fast, I hate it!!! I have enjoyed watching him grow into his personality over the past 6 years. He is so different from his brother. He is completely sports driven and full of energy and attitude. He has his moments though where he is the sweetest most cuddling little guy. I cherish all his milestones since they will be the last I experience since he is our baby. Riley is so funny when he tries to keep up with his big brother. Logan and Riley have such a great bond whether they are getting along or even when they are fighting. It is so funny to see their brotherly love they have for one another.

Logan And Riley Getting Ready To Leave The Hospital

Riley 9 Days Old

Riley Watching Fireworks With Nicole Age 1

Riley At The Step Out Walk Age 2

Ry Age 3

Riley On His 4th Birthday

Riley Age 5

Ry In Disneyland 2010

Since we were having a big birthday party on Sat. for Riley's birthday we just hung out as a family. Brandon had to work on Ry's birthday so we hung at home most of the day. Late afternoon I took Riley to Build A Bear to get a new bear for his birthday. He chose to get a Panda and named him Po just like his big brothers. Logan just laughed and said how cute Riley was. On the way home I stopped and took the boys to get an ice cream for Ry's birthday. Once we were home Riley kept bugging to open a present for his birthday. I told him he had to wait for his Dad to get home. I preceded to ask him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and he asked for spaghetti and garlic bread. Shortly after Brandon came home and Riley picked which present he wanted to open. He was suppose to get to only open one, but his Dad did some shopping on his own. Riley of course picked his biggest present which was his Lego Police Station he has been asking for forever. He was so excited!!! Then if that wasn't enough Brandon gave hime 3 more presents of his own. First a New York Yankees baseball, second New York Yankees sweatbands, and thrid his own New York Yankees jersey. Guess you can't tell what baseball team he likes. What a spoiled little boy. After dinner was all cleaned up I was lucky enough to get to put together his police station for him over the next 2 and a half hours. What a birthday Riley Bug!!!! We love you so much.

Logan and Ry At Build A Bear For Ry's Birthday

Ry With His Lego Police Station

Ry In His New Yankees Gear From His Dad

Cub Country 2010

2010-07-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

On July 14th and 15th our cub scout dens, the Wolves and the Bears, went up to Millcreek canyon for Cub Country day camp. We had a total of 9 boys between the two dens and 4 leaders. The first day we went to Superhero camp. We were lucky enough to have a fun and very energetic guide/leader named Colton for the day. I think the highlight of the day was BB Guns and Rockets. All the boys had a great time the first day and all got along.

The next day we were at Jurrassic camp. I have to say that we all enjoyed this camp the most. We had an awesome guide/leader for this day also. The kids thought he was so cool. His name was Jordan aka "Licorice". The boys got to do a Dinosaur bone dig, bow and arrows, sling shots and more. It was a full day and the boys were so good. I feel so lucky to be one of their leaders. They are such a great group of boys.

Le Mans Race

2010-07-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

On July 11th we went out to the Larry H. Miller raceway to watch the Le Mans race. There were so many cars and people. The main race was very cool to watch. The cars were so loud as they went past. We all had a ton of fun. The winner was the Patron 1
car (there were like 6 different Patron cars).

Body Cleanse Results

2010-07-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well the whole body cleanse ended, my last day was the 16th. I have to say I feel great and have a lot more energy. I lost a total of 7lbs, which I have still kept off so far, and 2 inches in my stomach area. I am glad I did it and stuck it all for the full 11 days even though it was hard. I am still doing a shake everyday for breakfast which is actual really quick and easy.

Body Cleanse Day 7

2010-07-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well it is almost the end of day 7!!! I actual am feeling super great. I have had a lot more energy and I am even down 7lbs and 2 inches off my stomach area. There have been some super hard days, but I have got through them with help. :) Even though I am dying for Sat. to come so I can go back to eating, it has been well worth it. I will let you know the final outcome.

Body Cleanse

2010-07-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

Well it's the end of day one of my 11 day body cleanse. I am doing a complete body cleanse to help rid my body of all the bad toxins that we put into it on a daily basis. I am doing this with 7 of my good friends and family members. I am really hoping for some great results for all of us. I am going to post some of the results here on my blog throughout the next 10 days. My hope is to lose the stubborn fat in my stomach area from having kids and to be able to sleep at night again. I have actually met some people who have lost over 10 inches in the 11 days. I also met a guy who lost 47 lbs in 11 days. It was amazing, so who knows whats in store for me and the 7 others. I hope that no matter what we ALL feel healthier in the end.

Fourth Of July Weekend

2010-07-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Logan With His Sparklers

Ry With His Sparklers

Firework

Fourth of July weekend was fantastic. It started off with us picking Logan up from camp on Fri. That night we went to see The Last Airbender as a family. Sat. we all slept in and spent the majority of the day hanging out at our house. My brother in law and sister in law, Jeremy and Tricia, came over with 2 of her nephews. The kids all played on the slide in the backyard and had a ton of fun. That night we went and saw Eclipse as a family. I loved it for the second time, Brandon and Riley were not real fond of it, but Logan liked it. Sun morning we got up and had breakfast together. Then we ate lunch and headed off to Utah Lake for some fishing. Let me just say if you like mosquito's then Utah Lake is the place for you. We were attacked my them!!! We found out that Logan is not real fond of fishing. Riley had a good time however. We went with Jeremy and Tricia and her brother, niece, and 2 nephews. Needless to say we didn't catch anything. Bert, Tricia's brother, however caught a big ole Carp Fish and Jeremy caught a little white bass. It was a fun day even if we didn't catch anything. That night after dinner we lit our fireworks in the front yard. The boys really enjoyed the fireworks and Brandon even let them lite a few of them. As for Mon. we just kicked backed and relaxed most of the day. We went to Bountiful and had Dutch Oven Dinner and homemade ice cream with my Mom and Grandparents. It was such a great way to end the holiday weekend!!!

Bert's Big Ole Carp

Jeremy's White Bass Fish

Logan Lighting A Firework

Brandon and Logan Watching Fireworks

Ry Watching Fireworks

Riley Lighting a Firework

Firework

Brandon and the Boys with Sparklers

Diabetes Camp

2010-07-06T20:19:00.001-07:00

Camp Wapiti This Way (On Our Way To Pick Up Logan)

I survived again this year. It was a very LONG week without Logan. I can't tell you all just how much I missed him. Yet again this year he I didn't receive one email back from the little stinker. To make it worse I didn't even get a generic postcard this time either. When we got there to pick him up Fri. afternoon, I asked him why??? His reply " Mom I was too busy to email you back, but I do love you and I missed you too!" Well I guess that makes up for it just a little. He told us all about all the fun stuff they did at camp this year. He really did have a great time. They did so many fun things. They had a camp fire every night with songs, archery, swimming everyday, a hike, a field trip to the Toole Park and Aquatic Center Pool, Diabetes education, contests, skits, SLEEZE DAY, and of course the end of camp DANCE!!! Logan however did get sick one morning at camp. It was not a fun experience for him at all. One because he threw up at the breakfast table with everyone sitting there, two because his mom wasn't there, and three because he had to miss out on some of the contests for the day. By lunch however he was feeling a lot better, and was able to still do some fun things.

Hike Day

Arts and Crafts

Archery

Sleeze Comes To Camp

Sleeze!!!!

Lunch At Camp

The Entire Camp At The End Of The Hike

Campfire Circle

Water Olympics

Camp Store

Logan's Cabin

Logan's and Everyone From His Cabin on Field Trip Day

Field Trip Day to Pratt Aquatic Center and Toole Park

Logan's Cabin Mates

Logan's Counsler Sammy

I was so shocked to learn that Logan received an award at camp for being THE MOST OBEDIENT. Wow now if he could just do that at home. Logan had a great time catching up with friends from last year and meeting new ones this year. He said the dance was a lot of fun. He danced a couple of dances with girls his own age. However I think he may have danced a few more with some of the counslers.

Logan and The Rest Of His Cabin Receiving Their Awards

Eric and Olivia Dancing (Eric was in Logan's cabin)

Logan Dancing With Gabby (They are in the back Logan is in a blue shirt)

Logan never ceases to surprise us, we are so proud and sad at the sametime. While at camp Logan learned how to put in his own pump sites!!! I can't tell you what a big accomplishment this really is. He is growing up so fast and is showing us just how much more amazing he is. I am so glad there is a camp like this for him to be able to go to. He really fits in and makes so many new friends. I think it is good for him to not feel like the odd one out or the different kid for a change. I am so glad to have him back home. I think he was sick of me telling him how much I missed him by that night. On the last night of camp all the campers got their own syringe full of the ashes from the final campfire. We have put Logan's campfire ashes away until his next camp session. He can't wait to go to his next camp session!!! (Maybe a winter camp next)

Logan On His First Day At Camp

Logan Is Gone To Camp

2010-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Camp Wapiti Sign

Once again it is that time of year for Logan to go to Diabetes Camp. We took him to camp on Sun. afternoon. He is going to be gone until Fri. afternoon. I miss him sooooo much. It is so hard to have him gone. I have cried 3 times since he left, one of them being as we left the camp after dropping him off. The upside to this whole thing is at least he is having FUN. I love him so much and am looking forward to Fri.

Logan and Ry in Logan's Cabin

Eclipse Party and Movie Premiere

2010-06-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

Edward and Jacob

Our Table

My Edward Themed Cookie, Bookmark, and Charm

Lynne's Jacob Themed Cookie, Bookmark, and Charm

The Centerpiece On The Table

Yeah for Eclipse!!! I was able to go to the party my friends sister-in law and cousin puts on yet again. This time around my Step Mom, Lynne, and my Step-sister in law Karie, and her daughter Taylor joined Amy and I. The party this time around was at Noah's Reception Center. It was so much fun, the whole place was decorated in black, white, and red. The food was catered this time and it was really good. Everyone had to pick which side they were on, Edward or Jacob. I of course picked Edward. There were cute little book marks for each of us, either Edward or Jacob themed with a charm to go with. They did cookies for each of us, if you were Team Edward your cookie was iced white and said Ice on the tag, if you were Team Jacob your cookie was iced red and said fire on the tag. These girls went all out yet again this time. They had great prizes, games, and they even did a video of a bunch of spoofs on Twilight, and pictures from the past parties. It was so much fun, we all had a blast.

Prize Table

Prize Table

The Candy Table To Make a Bag For The Movie

Karie, Edward, Taylor, and Jacob

Edward, Lynne, Taylor, and Jacob

Edward, Me, and Jacob

Edward, Amy, and Jacob

Edward, Me, Amy, and Jacob

Taylor With Jacob That She Won

After the party it was on to the movie premiere. They rented out a theatre at the District again this time. The theatre was super crowed like last time. They made things so much better this time. We were able to go into the theatre instead of being crowded up in the lobby area. I think this movie was by far the best of the 3 so far. I really LOVED IT!!!

Amy and Me

Amy, Me, Lynne, Karie, and Taylor Waiting For The Movie To Start

Riley's All Star Game

2010-06-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ry's All Star Team in the Dugout

Riley missed his last two baseball games of the season while we were in California. He was a little upset about this, since he is our little die hard baseball player. However since he moves up in the league next year he got to participate in the All Star game for all the kids that move up. I was a little worried how this would go since the age division he has played in the last 3 years doesn't really follow baseball rules. On top of that the next age division is machine pitch, which is what their All Star game was. Riley practiced the whole week leading up to the game. He did absolutely amazing. He hit off the machine everytime he got up to bat and only got out once. He is so excited for next season even more now. He really loved hitting off the machine. It was a fun game to watch, all the kids did a great job. Ry is very sad the season is over and is already asking when fall sign-ups are.

Ry Up To Bat His First Time

Ry Making a Run For It

Ry On Second Base After His Hit

Riley Up To Bat

Ry Running to First

The Teams Congratulating Each Other

Since we missed his award ceremony his coach brought his trophy to the All Star game and gave it to him. It was a great season even though we never had a free night. The scarey thing is next year will be even worse.

Riley and His Coach

Baseball Award Ceremony For Logan

2010-06-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Logan's Team The Seattle Mariners

Well once again baseball season has come to an end. Riley's award ceremony was while we were in California, so he missed his. When we got back Logan's division started their Round Robin Tournament. His team did pretty good considering we were down anywhere from 2-4 players during the whole thing. The tournament was double elimination. We lost our first game then won our next two. The second to last game the Mariners had to play the second place team in their division (The Mariners finished 3rd). We were down 4 players so we had to take an automatic out at the top of our line-up everytime. The boys played their hearts out and it showed. They were down the entire game, but came back in the final inning down by 2, to win the game. It was the most intense game of the season. By them winning we had to play a double header against the first place team in the division. Needless to say they kicked our butts 14-2. The boys did amazing and I am so proud of Logan's team. Their team finished in the middle of the pack for the tournament. The first place team, The Padres, won the tournament. It was a great season and Logan really loved his team and his coaches. They took 3rd place for the reguar season. The Mariners had the youngest team in thier division, so thats saying a lot about their team and the way they played. Their trophies were really cool and all the boys loved them.

The Mariners Waiting to Get Their Trophies

Logan Getting His Trophy

Logan and His Coaches

Logan with His 3rd Place Trophy

California 2010 (Warning this is a LONG post sorry)

2010-06-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well our trip to California was a blast!!! Our boys had no clue about the trip at all. We woke up on June 5th and packed the car and then proceeded to wake the boys. It was 5am when we left. We stopped at McDonalds and got breakfast and headed out of town. The boys didn't stay awake long so that made it a little easier. However once Ry woke up all he kept asking about was when we were going home so he could go to his baseball game. lol Just outside Filmore we gave the boys their first clue. This made it really fun and exciting for them. Every hr or so we would give them a clue. We thought Logan would read the road signs like he usually does, but he didn't. So when we got just outside St. George Brandon said he couldn't read the sign and asked Logan what it said. Instantly the boys thought we were going to Beaver Dam to be with my dad. They were so excited we drove past St. George and through the canyon. As we came up to the Beaver Dam exit the boys were getting very excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. We never said a thing, Brandon took the exit and stopped at the bottom and then preceeded to get right back on the freeway. The boys were absolutely devastated. They both started crying and Brandon and I tried not to laugh. Once they had calmed down they started to ask where we were really going. We said they had to figure it out from the clues. Logan noticed the road sign that said Las Vegas, he instantly thought thats where we were going. When we got to Vegas we drove the strip so the boys could see the different hotels/casinos. We decided to stop at the Excaliber because our boys love knights and castles. They thought it was so cool we took them to the kid area and let them play some games then we had lunch. After lunch we told them it was time to go. They were upset yet again. Logan even asked us "What can be more fun then Vegas!" I couldn't help but laugh.

The Boys inside The Excaliber

Once we were back in the car we gave them clue #4, which was a beach towel with Mickey Mouse on it. Clue #1 was a blue shirt for each of them, Clue #2 was sunglasses, Clue #3 was sunscreen. Ry instantly said were going to the beach! We didn't say a thing and just kept driving. I fell asleep for a bit and the boys watched movies and bugged Brandon. I woke up about 15 mins. outside Barstow. We decided to give the boys their next clue. It was a tin of Toy Story 3 card games. It had rummy, go fish, war, and snap. They didn't pick up on anything with this clue. So we stopped in Barstow to fill up on gas. Once we were back on the road we decided to give them another clue. Clue # 6 was a book for each of them. Logan's book was called Kingdom Keepers which is about kids that are in Disneyland after hours. It had a picture of the castle right on the front!!! Riley's book was a Finding Nemo book. Logan opened his and didn't say anything, Ry on the other hand started yelling "We'er going to Disneyland!" Logan still didn't say anything, he just kept reading what his book was about. So we gave them clue #7 Toy Story 3 coloring books and crayons. Still nothing. So we tried clue #8 which I was sure Logan would finally get it. On the outside of the paper it said "Here is something to help you with where your going." It was a Disney CD of songs from various Disney Movies. Logan still didn't get it and Ry was going nuts saying we'er going to Disneyland. So we finally gave them the last and final clue. Clue #9 was a gift card for each of them to Disneyland to spend. Logan opened his and read what it said and looked at us and said "Are we really going to Disneyland?" LOL He finally got it!!! They were so excited and started calling their Grandma and Grandpa's. I am so glad we did the whole surprise thing for them. It really started our trip off great!!!

An hour later we reached Oceanside where we were staying. The drive in was absolutely beautiful. It was so cool to see the vineyards and avacado fields. The boys couldn't wait to see the beach.

An Avacado Field

A Vineyard
Even though Ry has been to Disneyland and California before he was to little to remember any of it. The place we were staying was right on the beach in Oceanside Harbor. Brandon's parents were not back yet so we parked at the beach so the kids could see the ocean. Ry went nuts, he couldn't get his shoes off soon enough. I went with him as he ran down to the water first thing. It was a great experience to see him all excited about the ocean.

Ry, Logan, and I in the ocean

Us playing in the Ocean for the first time

We spent about 15 mins. just wading in the ocean before Brandon's parents got back. We then went to the timeshare to unload. Our room was on the 4th floor with an amazing ocean view. We got all unpacked and went down to the Harbor and had dinner. After the boys wanted to go to the pool and swim. It was a great way to end our long day.

Brandon and the boys in the pool

View from our balcony
So on day 2 we woke up and had breakfast and then we were off to the beach for the day. The weather was great not too hot not too cold. Logan and Ry learned how to boogie board for the first time. We all had a great time of fun in the sun and ocean.

The Boys Learning to Boogie Board

Logan's First Wave

Ry's First Wave

Brandon and His Brother Jeremy

First Sand Castle
After the day at the beach it was on to dinner. Of course after dinner we headed to the pool to end the day. Ry was our little dare devil in the pool. He let Brandon throw him up in the air and land in the water. Then he started doing front and back flips in the water. He is our crazy boy for sure.

Travis hot tub side Logan, Hailey, and Riley in the hot tub

Ry mid flip in the air
After the pool it was off to bed early for Disneyland the next day. We got up early Mon. morning and drove the hour to Anahiem. Everyone was so excited to get there. It was my niece Hailey's first time to Disneyland. We got there right after it opened. I think I was as excited as the kids were. It was a long day of fun, rides and more. We all had so much fun the first day. One of the highlights of day 1 was the Jedi Training. I dressed the boys in matching shirts in hopes they would get picked. Sure enough they were. They got to wear real jedi robes and have light sabers. If that wasn't enough after they were taught some fighting techniques Darth Vader himself showed up along with Darth Maul. Ry was the first kid to go and actually fight Darth Vader. It was so funny I wish I had a video camera. Logan got to fight Darth Maul instead. I have to say it made the boys day. We spent all of day 1 in Disneyland. We stayed until just before 11pm. Instead of driving an hour back we got a hotel across from Disneyland so we could do it all again on Tuesday.

The Boys First Thing in the Morning

Darth Vader Rising Up Out of the Stage

Darth Maul

Riley Fighting Darth Vader

Logan Fighting Darth Maul

Us with Winnie the Pooh

The Kids at Pirates Lair

Ry, Logan, Hailey, and Me on the Tea cups

Waiting for the Fireworks to Start

Tinkerbell Flying Over the Castle

The Fireworks

Fireworks Over The Castle
Day 2 of Disneyland was kind of a special day. It was exactly 12 years to the day that Brandon proposed to me in Disneyland. I couldn't believe where we are now 12 years later. It was a fun day to remember and share with our kids. We spent half of the day in Disneyland and half of the day in California Adventure. That night at 5:30 we had dinner reservations at Goofy's Kitchen, to have dinner with 7 different Disney Characters. It was so much fun for the kids and even us adults. The food was fantastic besides. I am so glad we ended up doing a character dinner. After dinner we rode a few more rides, but with it being Hailey's first time and Travis's first visit in over 13 years they were ready to leave. We took the kids and let them spend their gift certificates and get souvieners. Then we were on the rode back to Oceanside.

Almost the Exact Spot Brandon Proposed 12 years ago

This was the cutest, the one bear was obssessed with fixing Ry's Faux Hawk

Trapped in a Toy Box

The Boys with Chef Goofy

The Boys and I with Dale
The rest of the trip we spent doing various things, shopping, sight seeing, feeding the squirrels and chipmunks, and playing at the beach or pool. All in all it was a great vacation. We all had so much fun and enjoyed everything. One of the funest things we we able to do while we were there is Friday was our last day. We went down to the beach and ran into some people we met at the time share. They had rented surf boards for the entire day. After awhile they took a break and we asked if we could try. They gladly said yes, so Brandon and I got to surf for the first time ever!!! It was so much fun, I absolutely loved it. I can't tell you just how much sea water I swallowed however, but it was worth it. After spending the majority of our last day at the beach we showered and got all packed. Then we headed to the actual Oceanside pier. We walked the pier just the four of us and ended up having a late lunch at Ruby's, which was right on the end of the pier. We were sat right by the window looking out to sea. I had to stop myself at one point because I started to get sea sick. The food was great and the boys got a kick out of it. After the pier we went back so the kids could swim one last time. After hours of playing in the pool we went to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack in the harbor. Let me tell you what an experience that almost was. We let Ry order a virgin Pina Colada. Well the waitress brought it and left it on the table. Ry took a sip and asked Brandon if he wanted a taste. Well it's a good thing he did, it had ALCOHOL in it !!!!! We had to take it to the bar and have them make a new one while we watched to make sure no alcohol came near it. After all that Ry barely made it through dinner. We looked over and all of a sudden he was sound asleep at the table. It was so cute and sad all at the sametime. I was super sad to leave the following morning, but once we were home it felt good. It's nice to have vacations, but it's nice to come home too!!!

Theodore

The Twins

Fatso the Chipmunk

Brandon and Ry

A Cute Little Crab

Logan Being a Beach Bum

Ry at the Beach

Brandon Surfing

Traci Surfing

The Boys Sand Castle

The Boys and I on the Pier

Ruby's Resturant

Out in Front of the Hotel

The Boys Hitching a Ride up to the Room

Ry Asleep at the Table

My Papa Turns 89 !!!

2010-06-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa turned 89 on June 1st. Our family got together on Memorial Day to celebrate. It has been a week of milestones for my Grandpa. Not only did he celebrate his 89th birthday, but on the 25th of May my grandparents celebrated their 69th Wedding Anniversary. I am so proud to have them as such great role models in my life. My Grandparents have been such a big part of my life, I don't know what I would do without them. My Grandpa's only living sibling was able to come into town for his birthday. IT was so great to have her there with us. My Grandpa is already looking forward to his birthday next year. All he wants to do for his 90th birthday is to go to Disneyland!!! So far there will be 29 of our family members going to celebrate with him!!!

Choir Concert

2010-06-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

This post is also out of order Oh Well !!!

Logan decided half way through the school year that he wanted to join the school choir. He loved it!!! They had practices every week for 45 mins. They learned a lot of songs and had a ton of fun. The night of the performance he was so excited to have his family come and watch him. I was so proud of him, the entire choir did such a great job. I can't get over how grown-up my little boy is becoming. I am such a proud, happy and very lucky mom to be so blessed.

Pinewood Derby

2010-06-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so I forgot to do this post so it is out of place but at least I am adding it.

The end of April was the Pinewood Derby for cub scouts. Logan, Brandon, and Papa Lynne(my Dad) worked so hard on the car leading up to the race. It was so much fun to see them having fun together. They did such a great job and Logan really loved racing it. They said his car come in fourth place, but my Dad swears they made a mistake and he actually took third. However we all agree that all that matters is whether he had fun or not and we all did hands down. Besides there is always next year, plus we have the next 5 years to get a perfect car. Logan's car improved so much from his first one he did last year so we are headed in the right direction. I can't get over how creative some of the boys were with their cars. There were so many different shapes, colors, and sizes. It was so much fun, we look forward to doing it again next year.

Baseball

2010-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

With all the rainand cold weather we have been having I have not been able to get too many pics of the boys at their games. I did get these two of logan at one of his many freezing cold games. He plays the outfield and is doing fairly well this year. He gets nervous when he gets up to bat, but we are hoping he can overcome it at some point. He does such an amazing job in practices. He is really enjoying his team this year and his coach is amazing. It has been a great experience for him. Logan's team is really into cheers and Logan is now trying to teach them to Ry.

Riley has done an amazing job this year. He is still struggling with the fact that he had to do coach pitch again, but next year will be his year. He has such a love for the game. There has been a few times I wish I would have had my camera. Ry really cracks us up because he takes his baseball so seriously. He absolutely HATES dirt on the bases and is comstantly cleaning them off whether he is the baseman or the runner. I am hoping to get a lot of pictures in this finally week of games the weather better hold out!!!!

Peony

2010-06-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

Many people don't know, but my absolute favorite flower is a peony. My Grandma Mitchell use to have a ton of them planted in her yard. Six years ago she passed away and my Dad and his siblings put her house up for sale. Before it went on the market I went and dug up one of her peony bushes. At the time we lived in a duplex, but I planted it anyhow. We bought our house a year later and so the peony bush went with us. That little bush has been through quiet a lot. When we moved in and got it planted it went into shock and pretty much died. The next year it came back, but was very small. Last year it finally got it's first flower and I was so excited. I got to watch it slowly bloom into the beautiful flower. When it had fully bloomed we cut it and took it to the cemetary and put it on my Grandma's grave for memorial day. There was an emotion I can't explain when we put it there. This year I was sad that the flower bloomed two weeks earlier so I was not able to take it and put on her grave. It was such a beautiful flower though and I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Rainy Days and Rainbows

2010-06-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems more like May showers instead of April showers. We have had so much rain lately. We have had to play a few baseball games in the rain and even had more cancelled due to rain. However rain has many good qualities. The smell of rain is absolutely intoxicating to me. Next it saves on my water bill. The rain brings out the cute little birds hunting for worms. Last but not least on rare occassions it brings a beautiful rainbow with it. I am an absolute rain lover. My dad tells me it's because I was born on a rainy day. There are times however that the rain becomes a little too much. I can't wait for the rain storms of August that usually bring thunder and lightning with it. For now I am wishing for warmer weather and soon !!!

Mother's Day

2010-06-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

I had the greatest Mother's day this year. I woke up to my 2 cute boys who couldn't wait to give me their homemade cards and presents. They were such amazing cards that I couldn't help but cry after reading the amazing words Logan wrote in his card. After is was on to breakfast. My in-laws came for breakfast and Brandon did all the cooking and serving. It was a great breakfast !!! After we hung out and visited with my in laws for a bit. Later on we went as a family to the park and the 4 of us played our own game of baseball. It was so much fun even Tigger tried to join in. After 2 and a half hours at the park we went home and relaxed for a bit. That night my mom and my grandparents came for dinner, which my husband cooked again. We visited and had a great night. I couldn't have asked for a better mother's day.

7 Kids !!!

2010-04-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I babysat my sister Tammy's 5 kids so her and her husband could celebrate their 13th Wedding Anniversary. Holy Cow can I just say 7 kids is a lot. We had so much fun with ALL 7 of the kids. I can honestly say it feels like you go non stop though when there is that many kids. They all got along pretty well for the most part. It was great that they were able to play outside both Saturday and Sunday. I loved having my cute absolutely adorable baby niece Hayden Mae. It was so fun to have a little baby in the house again. It was acutally nice to have girls in my house for a change. I had 4 girls and 3 boys running wild all weekend. Saturday night we ordered pizza and ended up watching a movie with popcorn. I made a great big bed on the floor for all the kids, minus the baby, to sleep. They all did great and slept all night without a peep. Sunday I made a big breakfast for everyone and tried to clean my house up somewhat. I actually got to do little girls hair for a change which was so much fun!!! Later I took all 7 kids to the park at the school to play. We had a great time even though the wind was blowing like crazy. I was actually sad to see them go home, but at the same time I am thankful I don't have 7 kids all the time. I am absolutely amazed at what a great mom my sister is to 5 kids. I really don't know how she finds the time for herself. I hope her and her husband had a great Anniversary weekend!!!

I Can't Get Enough Of How Cute My Niece Is

Tigger All Wore Out Relaxing

Hayden Mae After Her Tubby

McKenna Playing Around

Ry Crossed The Rings All By Himself For The First Time

Ry Being Cheesey

Playing Tag

Holden Rocking On The Playground

Peyton Posing For A Picture

Tag Your It!!!

Hayden Mae Hanging Out On The Blanket

Tigger Playing At The Park

A Group Picture Of The Kids And Tigger

Hayden and Holden

Hayden's First Wagon Ride

Ry's First Baseball Game

2010-04-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well once again it's baseball season. Ry had his first game on Saturday morning. They did the big Chuck Wagon Breakfast, which was a great way to start the morning. Riley was so excited for his first game. Riley is on the New York Yankees this year, which totally made his day when we found out. Ry has been practicing so much with Logan that when he got up to bat at his game he went to bat as a lefty. I had to yell out to him that he is a righty lol. The funny thing is he can actually bat left and right, which if he continues to be able to do that watch out. He got up to bat 3 times and hit everytime without the tee. He did such a great job and was by far one of the cutest catchers ever. I am sure everyone will get sick of all my baseball post after awhile so here is a sorry a head of time.

Ry Up To Bat For The First Time

Ry Batting Again

The Cutest Catcher In The World

I Love This Picture Of Ry As The Catcher

Easter

2010-04-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

For Easter this year we were lucky enough to go down to Beaver Dam again with my Dad, Step Mom and all my Step Brothers and their families. We had so much fun while we were there. It was so nice to get away to warm weather and be outside. We went on a lond 4 wheeler ride while we were there. We packed lunch and made a day out of it. We even went back to the spot where Logan and I crashed last year. I have to say I was nervous getting back on the 4 wheelers this year, but it went well and no one was hurt. The kids got to do the big Easter Egg Dying contest again this year. They all had so much fun and Ry really got into it literally. On Easter Sunday we all got up and watched the kids go on the hunt for eggs. They all made out great and had a ton of fun in the process. After we had a great big breakfast together. Sadly after breakfast was over we had to pack up to come home. The kids were so sad to leave and so were Brandon and I. We hated coming home to such crappy weather, but that is how life goes. All in all though it was a great and much needed break for us all.

Lunch Break

4 Wheeling Fun

Brandon Taking A Break

Brandon Caught A Horny Toad

Ry Holding The Horny Toad

The Kids

Last Year's Crash Site

Ry Dying Eggs

The Adults Kicked Back While The Kids Dyed Eggs

Logan Dying Eggs

Ry's Hands After He Was Done

Logan On The Hunt For Eggs

Ry On The Hunt For Eggs

Jordan Finding Eggs

Taylor Finding Eggs

Christa And Paisley Jo

Logan And Ry In Their Easter Outfits

Papa Lynne, Grandma Lynne, And The Boys Before We Left

Apolo Anton Ohno

2010-03-28T09:47:00.001-07:00

On March 16th Apolo Anton Ohno was at the Utah Olympic Oval filming a commercial for his new 8 Zone. Riley and I were lucky enough to be able to go to the oval and be in the commercial (not that you will be able to see us). After the commercial we got to go back and meet Apolo and get his autograph. He was so nice and even cuter in person. He signed a picture for Ry, Logan, and me. It was a lot of fun and a great experience.

Back to Blogging

2010-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have been a complete slacker on my blogging, but I am back now. I will hopefully be able to keep up on it again. Our lives have been super crazy busy the last few months. The boys are both signed up once again for baseball. Logan is on the Seattle Mariners, and Riley is on the New York Yankees. They are keeping us busy with Logan, who has at least 4 practices a week right now for 2 hours. Riley's practices will start on Monday so it will just add to our busy schedule. So I am hoping to be good about updates but we will see.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

2010-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Monday night Logan and I had a Mom and Son date night. We went to see two of my nieces in the play Seven Brides For Seven Brothers at Woods Cross High School. It was a lot of fun to see the girls in their first high school play. I really can't get over how old they are getting. They both did a great job and the play was a lot of fun. I am so glad that I got to spend time with Logan. It is so fun that he likes to go to plays and such with me. I hope it stays that way for a little longer, before he decides he's to cool to hang with mom!!! Some of the pictures I took are a little blurry but I could not have my flash on and we were not real close to the stage so I had to zoom in almost as far as my camera would allow. My nieces are the in the Brown Dress with the Blonde wig, the Green Dress with the black wig, and then the one that wears the black wig also is the one in the blonde wig and black and pink dress with Logan. Their names are Cheyenne and Dakota, Love you girls !!!

Four Years Ago Today

2010-01-31T17:30:00.000-08:00

Four years ago today our lives dramatically turned upside down. Our family faced one of the hardest things in our lives. It all started late on Sunday Jan. 30th, 2006. Our oldest son Logan who was 5 at the time developed an extreme thrist and was constantly going to the bathroom. He had no appetite and no desire to sleep. At first we thought it was because he had been sick for the past few days with croupe and had been taking a steroid to get rid of it. Brandon and I took shifts all night of staying up with him. The next morning I called the doctors office and they said it was a side affect from the steroid and to just watch him. I couldn't help letting my mother instinct kick in and starting looking in one of those childrens medical books. Logan had the symptoms for dehydration of a child with Diabetes. I told my husband and he said we should listen to the doctor and just watch him and that he would be fine. So we sat and watched and waited throughout the day. We tried to brib him to eat by taking him to AB's drive inn to get lunch. Well needless to say it failed, 10 mins after getting our food Logan had downed 2 kid size sodas and was then in the bathroom throwing up. We quickly packed things up and went home. He looked so tried and sickly looking. I was so worried about him by this point and called the doctor again. Our usual doctor was out of town so the other doctor told us once again to just watch him, that he may be getting the flu. I was not happy with this, but then decided to try and get him to take a nap with me. Brandon took Riley, who was then 18 months, and left to run some errands. I was able to get Logan to fall asleep for only 30 mins. when he woke up because he had wet my bed. He started to cry and was so upset because he had had an accident. I quickly put him in the bath and got him cleaned up. By this time it was after 5pm and there was no sign of improvement. At around 7pm my neighbor came over to see me and when she saw Logan she instantly told me to call the doctor again and to take Logan to the ER. So as soon as she left I called the doctors office and left a message for the on-call doctor. When he called me back and I preceeded to tell him about Logan he asked me if my childs breath smelled fruity!!!! I was in shock, I was wondering what kind of quack doctor I was talking to now. He then told me to trust him and just smell his breath. So I had Logan come over to me and open his mouth so I could smell it. To my surprise his breath smelled liked APPLES of all things. I relayed this to the doctor, where he then told me " I am going to hung up now, please get your son to the ER ASAP". I was even more worried and upset and asked him what he thought was going on and he said to just get to the ER. I ran and got Brandon and relayed all this to him. We then frantically called to find a sitter for our sleeping baby. Brandon's brother Jeremy and his date Tricia (she is now his wife) came and sat with Ry. We left and went to the nearest ER which was Jordan Valley Hospital. When we got there they girl at the desk didn't have a clipboard for us and said she would bring us one out in a bit. The ER was packed and 3 more people came in shortly after us and were all given clipboards and paper work before us. I went to the desk and told the girl that we had been waiting and she said she was sorry that she had forgot about us. I filled out our paperwork and turned it back in just as I sat down they called us up. They told us they had to get Logan admitted right away. I asked if they thought they knew what was going on and she then told us "I can't tell you my opinion." They took all his vitals and put us literally in a storage room because they had no real rooms available. They sent a nurse in to put in an IV and take some blood. Just as she finished Logan threw up all over the floor and it was straight liquid. We then got him and the floor cleaned up and another nurse came in to poke his finger and take his blood sugar. It was then that I knew my mother's instict that morning had been correct. The meter only read HI, the meters can only read a blood sugar up to 600. The doctor then came in and told us that Logan in fact was being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It took everything in me to not lose it in front of my sick little boy. The doctor told us they were going to test the blood they drew to get an accurate blood sugar and in the mean time they were going to get us a real room and start him on a slow dose of insulin. We called our families and broke the news to them. Brandon then left the hospital to get Ry taken care of with his parents. I sat with Logan in the ER and watched as they ran tests and kept a constant watch over him. My dad ended up showing up at the hospital to be with us. While we were sittingthere I over heard some nurses talking about Logan outside his room. When I asked them what they were talking about they told me to ask the doctor. So I found the doctor and asked him what was going on. It was then that he informed me that Logan was a very luck little boy. His blood sugar reading had come back and his blood sugar was 1,260 !!! He told me how luck we were he didn't ever go to sleep because he would have gone into a coma and probably never come out of it. He told me that a normal person's blood sugar is between 80-120. Logan was in what they call Ketoacisdosis. His fat cells were breaking down to try and make insulin and causing sugar to enter his blood stream. He also told me that they had to be very careful to bring his blood sugar down so it wouldn't cause his brain to swell. I finally lost it, I couldn't take in anymore of what he was saying. They were going to have to transport Logan to Primary Childrens by ambulance. By this time it was 1:00am and we were all very tired and out of it. Logan asked my dad to ride with him in the ambulance, Brandon was going to meet us at Primary's so I drove my dad's truck. We were admitted at 1:30 am and were told that we would be there for the next week. They came in every hour and woke Logan up to check his blood sugar. Over the next 5 days we learned what was needed in order to take care of Logan from now on. I know that our amazing little boy was watched over by a very special guardian angel the days his pancreas was failing and during our ER trip. Our family is so blessed to have had Logan's life spared somehow. He was meant for more here on earth and I truly believe that. He has taken on so much in his short life and he handles it all with such strength that it amazes me beyond belief. We love Logan so much and are extremely grateful for everyday we have with him. I can truly say the scariest thing in life for me so far is the fact I almost lost my son 4 years ago. My heart truly goes out to anyone who has ever lost a child. I am sorry for the long post but this is something that has affected our lives that I can't explain.

Christmas Eve and Christmas 2009

2010-01-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

This year Christmas Eve was at my sister's house in South Weber. We always get together have dinner, spend time totogether as a family, and exchange presents. There was a lot of laughs, good times, lots of noise, and presents. We had such a great night. After presents Santa's Elves delivered Christmas Eve Pj's for everyone to open. The boys couldn't wait to get home put out cookies for Santa and go to bed. On Christmas morning we had to wake our boys up at 7:50am even then that was pushing it for them lol. Once they were awake they couldn't wait to get downstairs and start opening presents. We all had such an amazing Christmas and now get to enjoy the nice school break.

Misc. During December

2010-01-02T16:05:00.001-08:00

December was a busy month for us. We started out by going to the Nutcracker Ballet to see my niece McKenna perform as a blue soldier. It was such a great night, we went with my Dad and Step Mom and both of my sisters and their families minus Tammy's 2 youngest who were too little to go. McKenna did a great job, she was only in the first half so the second half she was able to come and sit with us and watch the second half. After we all went for a LATE dinner, good thing we fed the kids before we went, at the Olive Garden. It was so great to spend time together as family and visit. Throughout the rest of December between endless school projects for Logan, baking, shopping, and the holidays we barely had a moments free time. I once again did my holiday baking and can't believe how much my girlfriend and I did. We spent 2 full days baking and I filled 20 plastic tins for Brandon to give out at work, a bad tradition started when there was only 5 employees in in whole office. I hate to say it, but I am glad it is all behind us.

Village

2010-01-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

As many people know I do a village under one of my trees every year. This is something that I have been doing for the past 8 years when my Nana could no longer put her's up. She divided her village 4 ways, my Mom, my Aunt Judee, my sister Tammy, and me. Since then each year I buy at least one new item for my village. I sometimes end up getting more depending on the new items for that year. When I went to put it up this year I realized I have become a little obessed with my village. Brandon told me I am no longer allowed to buy houses for my village (Thats What He Thinks YEAH RIGHT AS IF). I can see his point, but it is a very crazy addiction that I can not help at ALL!!! I even ran into a guy at the store who asked me if I did a village and when I replied yes he said stop now. When I asked why he said he had been doing one for 34 years and had over 300 houses and it took up half of his GREAT ROOM sized family room. Not to mention 3 days to put up!!! I guess that could be me in 26 years lol. Right now I have 40 lighted houses, 2 ice shanties, a skating rink, and one card board house which is what my Nana originally started hers with, not to mention all the people, animals, cars and more. I absolutely hate putting up my village, because of all the problems I seem to incounter while doing it, but in the end the day after it is done I absolutely LOVE IT and would not trade doing it for anything. I am so thankful for my Nana for starting such a great tradition in my life.

Thanksgiving 2009

2010-01-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Every year for Thanksgiving we rotate between Brandon's parents, my Dad and Step Mom's, and our house with my Mom and Grandparents. This year it was suppose to be with my dad, but where we rotate between 3 families our schedules didin't match up so we went to Brandon's parents. I started a new tradition with my kids that they got a kick out of, which is that we made name tags for everyone that was going to be at dinner. It was a fun little project to do with the boys. My job for Thanksgiving was of course to make the pies so I baked a pecan pie, and carmel apple pie, and a pistachio pie (my mother in-law made pupmkin). We ate dinner very late, but it was a great Thanksgiving. Brandon's Grandparents were there (his mom's parents), his Mom and Dad, his Uncle (mom's brother), his brother Travis and his daughter Hailey, his brother Jeremy and his wife Tricia, Tricia's niece Christa and her nephew Jayden, and our family. We all missed Grandma Gunn who passed away in July. She was in all of our hearts and missed. It was so great to be able to spend the holiday with family.

Cub Scouts

2010-01-02T14:51:00.001-08:00

On November 18th we went to the Cub Scouts Pack Meeting. I have been so lucky to be be one of the leaders for Logan's cub scout den. I am one of the leaders over the wolves, and I have an amazing partner to be the head leader with. Amy and I have had so much fun being over the wolves together. We have a great group of boys 2 of them being our own boys, Zac and Logan. Over the last few months our den has been working really hard to pass off different achievements and earn patches. Sadly as we have done all this hard work we now have to say good-bye to Logan and Jake, who have now moved on to become Bears. I am very sad to see my son go, but I am so proud of all he achieved while he was a wolf.

New Moon Party

2010-01-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

Well I have to admit I am one of the many Twilight freaks who loves the books and the movies. I have a great friend whose sister-in-law is obsessed with Twilight. Her and her cousin put together a huge party for the premire of New Moon and rented out a theatre at the district for a midnight showing of the movie. My friend Amy asked me months ago if I wanted to go and of course I said yes. Her sister-in-law and cousin put a lot of work into the whole thing. We had so much fun at the party. There were games, prizes food and a bunch of us crazy Twilight lovers. When the party ended we helped clean up and headed to the theatre. Needless to say it was an absolute madhouse!!! We were at the front of the line where they take your tickets and let you go into the theatre's. I held my camera over my head and snapped a shot. We were packed in there like a herd of animals. There was probably 1 man to every 15 women. The bathroom lines were so long for the girls bathrooms that women actually started using the mens bathrooms until the were told the police were going to be called if the kept it up. It was completely crazy, but it was an awesome girls night out. The movie was great in my opinion, I thought they did a much better job then the first one. I saw it the first time at the midnight showing and then again with my husband and kids a week later!!! My friend's sister-in-law is already planning for the next party for Eclipse, which comes out June 30th and we will of course be there!!!

Vitamins !!!

2009-11-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

So this morning when I tried to give Riley his daily vitamin with his breakfast this is what he said:

Mom: Riley take your vitamin and get it over with please.

Riley: Mom I can't take my vitamin. I have to eat my cereal before it gets all wet inside.

I swear he can be so funny sometimes. Of all the reasons not to take your vitamin. It took him almost 30 mins. just to put it in his mouth and chew and swallow it. My kids act like it is poison or something.

Logan Turns 9 !!!

2009-11-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Holy Cow where did the time go??? It has been 9 years since I gave birth to my amazing little boy, who now is not so little. Logan Bud Gunn was born November 1st,2000 at 5:45pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 15oz and was 19 1/2 in. I was a week over due with him and had to be started. I was in labor for a total of 8 hours, and it was worth every minute. In the nine years since then we have watched our amazing son grow in so many ways. We have struggled and overcome so many obstacles. We are so proud of how Logan takes everything that is thrown at him with a positive attitude. Logan is one of the most caring, kind hearted kids I know. He brings so much to our family everyday. He is a great big brother most of the time, and actually helps out with things at home quite often. In Jan. of 2006 Logan gave us the scare of a lifetime. He became so sick and when we took him to the hospital and they diagnosed him with type 1 disbetes it was one of the hardest times in our life's. We came so close to losing him and I never want to go through that again. Everyday is a gift that I cherish more then anything else. Logan has taught us, and many others so many things. We are so extremely proud of him. We love you so much Logan. Happy Birthday Buddy !!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Every year for Halloween we have the same tradition. I make homemade chili and apple cider and take the boys trick or treating. After we hit most of the houses in our nieghborhood we came home ate, handed out candy to kids, and watched Halloween movies. It was a lot of fun, and the boys looked so awesome in their costumes. Once again when it was all over the boys picked 10 of thier favorite candies and sold the rest to my dad for $15 each. I love this for so many reasons!!!

Halloween Class Parties

2009-11-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

Well once again it was time for Halloween class parties. I was once again the Head Cub Mom for Logan's class. The kids had so much fun with all the games we played and treats. I had a great team of Mom's that were willing to help. It is always so much fun to see all their costumes. Logan's teacher really gets into Halloween. She even did a pumpkin carving party and then taught them a Halloween line dance. I didn't get to help with Riley's class party, but I did peak in there for a minute and they were having a lot of fun.

Pumpkin Carving Party

2009-11-02T15:14:00.001-08:00

Last year my dad started a new family tradition. Every year now we get our pupmkins and go up to my Dad and Step Mom's and have dinner, carve our pumpkins, and then have dessert. It is so much fun to get together and spend time together. The pupmkins are always all so different and fun. This year we didn't have any pupmkin guts fight but it was still fun. The kids are getting so big and make it even that much more fun. Thanks so much Dad for starting a new family tradition.

Family Pictures 2009

2009-11-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

We have been trying to cooridnate family pics with my whole family for sometime now, but it never has seemed to work out. We recently found out that Brandon's cousin, Crystal, started her own photography business. I was so excited to have her take our pictures. We don't get to see his cousins very often, so it was a ton of fun. We had her take our pics at Wheeler Farm. The day started out questionable as to whether we would be able to have them done or not. When it came time to meet at Wheeler Farm the rain stopped and stayed clear just long enough for us to get our pics. I think they turned out great. We are going to have such a hard time picking our favorites. Thanks so much Crystal we love you.

Logan's Birthday Party

2009-11-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

We decided to let Logan have a friend birthday party again this year. He wanted to do it before his real birthday and have it a Halloween theme but without costumes. He ended up having 11 friends show up, two of them girls. My really good friend got off work early to help me get everything ready. We made a ghost cake, carmel apples, marshmellow witches, rice krispie treats, witches hats bread snacks, and treat bags. We order pizza for everyone and the kids had a great time. The girls had a late night and the boys stayed the night. The party was full of fun, they watched Thriller the full music video, and had a dance off. It was so funny to watch all the kids bust out their moves. They even requested certain songs and knew a ton of Michael Jackson songs. When it came time to settle down and go to sleep (finally after midnight) they did great. The next morning they all got up played around while I made breakfast then ate. By 10:45 all but one of the boys had gone home. I can't believe we survived!!!

Bear Lake

2009-11-02T12:16:00.000-08:00

I realized I had forgot to do this post earlier, so I am doing it now. On September 12th we went up and spent the night in Bear Lake. They weather had been great and then we of course we pick the weekend to go when it ends up being cold. We still had a great time just being away from home and getting out. We spent part of the next day on the beach even though it was super cold. The kids had a great time and the company was great. Brandon's brother and his daughter went with us and it was a ton of fun.

Diabetes Walk 2009 Slideshow

2009-10-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Diabetes Walk 2009

2009-10-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well it was once again time for the annual Diabetes walk. I was once again in charge of the opening and closing program. I was so excited this year because Logan was giving his first ever speech and his Cub Scout troop was doing the flag ceremony. The cub scouts did the flag ceremony first, and they did a great job. I am one of their leaders so it made me very proud to watch them. Shortly after it was time for Logan to give his speech. He did such a great job, you could tell he was super nervous though. After his speech there were a few others that got up to talk. Then it was time for the walk to begin. Since we had such a big team this year our family opted to do the 2.5 mile instead of the 5 mile. We had over 60 team memebers walk with us this year. It was amazing to see what a great support system we have. Our team consisted of many family memebers and many close friends. Our family is so greatful for all of these amazing people. Waiting at the finish line was the entire Woods Cross Chatelles Drill Team. They were there to cheer everyone on for finishing the walk. After all our team finished I took my usual pictures of each family with Logan. We then went in to eat some lunch and listen to the Jon Dansie Band. Shortly after we started to eat channel 4 news came and asked to interview Logan. So we went out by the train so Logan could do his first tv interview. They asked to interview me along with Logan. I have to say I was as nervous as Logan. It was a lot of fun though and was crazy to watch us on tv 4 different times that night. Later we were off to walk the zoo as a family. It was so much fun to see all the baby animals and be together with ALL our families. When it was all over we said our goodbyes and my awesome sister took our boys so Brandon and I could have a night alone. Brandon surprised me and got us a room at the Hotel Monaco. We had a great day and it ended with a great night. I love my amazing family and friends and can't thank them all enough for all their love and support!!!

Hospital Stay

2009-10-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

It all started on Thursday morning, September 17th. I was awoke at 5:30am to Logan getting sick in the bathroom. I got him taken care of checked his blood sugar and sent him back to bed. Then at around 7am he woke up again sick as can be. Once again we got it under control tested his blood sugar again and sent him back to bed yet again. I had hoped he wouldn't get sick anymore, but he proved me wrong at 8:15 am. This time he was so sick he just kept throwing up. I was beginning to wonder where it was all coming from since he had not eaten since before 9:00pm the night before. His blood sugar was in the 300's and were not coming down. I finally called his doctor who told us to go to Primary Children's. I had not seen Logan this sick since he got diabetes 3 and a half years earlier. He was so tired and and miserable and I couldn't get over how pale he looked. Thank heavens for my amazing neighbor Amy who gladly let me pawn Ry off on her. When we got to Primary's they immediately put in an IV and tested his blood sugar. I felt so bad that when they check his blood sugar at the hospital they have to fill a small cocktail straw with his blood, my poor baby. I was so thankful for my sister Tiffany who came over from the U of U to be my support since Brandon was stuck at work. Tiffany was great she helped calm Logan down while they tried to put in his IV and get a blood sample, she even brought him a friend, a stuffed rat which is now named Fred. We met with the doctors who told me he had the common flu and had just dehydrated from throwing up. He didn't have any ketones in his urine which was a great sign. They kept us for about 4 and a half hours and made sure he keep fluids down and sent us home. They said all should be fine now and that he was on his way to recovering. That night and into the next day Logan was starting to seem like his old self. I was so thankful that he was even up for eating lunch and that he kept it down. His blood sugars were great and all seemed wonderful. However it was short lived. I made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner with homemade rolls since Logan had been sick. About an hour after dinner Logan started complaining that his stomach hurt. I asked if he was going to be sick and he said no just that he had a really bad pain in his tummy. We decided to keep an eye on him and see how things went. At around 9pm Logan felt worse so we tested his blood sugar and he was 80. We gave him some sprite to bring him up a little and would retest in 15 mins. When we retested him he had dropped to 70, so it was more sprite for Logan and another 15 mins. Well 10 mins into the 15 mins Logan was up in the bathroom sick again, I wanted to cry. We tried to get some more sprite into him since he just lost all the previous sprite and was already low. He kept it down for the full 15 mins but right after we tested him he was sick in the bathroom again. We decided to call Primary's and see what they had to say. They proceeded to tell us that if his blood sugar didn't come up within an hour or the stomach pain got worse to bring him in. We were able to get his blood sugar up to 130 so we thought we were in the clear. By this time it was after 1:00am and we were about to put Logan in bed and go to sleep when he got sick yet again and was having horrible stomach pain. I called Primary's and they told us to get him in asap. Brandon stayed home with Ry, who was lucky enough to be sound asleep, while I headed yet again to Primary's with Logan. He had me so scared during the drive to Primary's. He was so upset when we got there and they informed us as soon as we walked in that he had to have another IV put in again. The poor kid, as if he hadn't been through enough already. We were so lucky though to have a tech that had been on a special IV team for a few years. He put Logan's IV and was able to get a full vial of blood in a matter of seconds. Logan didn't even cry this time, I was so thankful for this amazing guy. We spent the rest of the early morning in the ER waiting and waiting for a doctor. Logan was at least able to get some sleep, me on the other hand not so much at all. We finally saw the doctor at 6:45 am. He proceeded to tell me they were concerned about the stomach pain and were going to test his white blood count. An hour later they came back with the results where they were slightly elevated. So they next step was to do a CT scan to make sure it wasn't his appendix. They came and took us back a few mins later. This gets a little graphic sorry. So we get back in the room where they do the scan and they proceed to tell me what they have to do. They had to stick a tube up his bum blow up a balloon once inside and fill it with fluid. My poor child, I never wanted to cry more for him. They had to leave the tube in for the entire scan plus put some kind of fluid in his IV. When they were done they had to drain the fluid before they could take out the tube. This was so painful for him, did I mention they didn't give him anything for the pain. Once the scan was done we went back to our room in the ER to wait yet again. Finally after 7 hours of waiting in the ER they came in to tell us Logan's scan was clear thank goodness. Next they had decided to admit Logan to the hospital. So we were finally taken up to the 3rd floor to our own room. After we were checked in met the nurses and the doctor and found out what the plan was Brandon sent me and Ry home so I could shower and get some sleep. I was exhausted and really needed a couple hours of sleep, too bad it didn't go well with Ry home with me. I tried to put a movie on for him and every 10 mins he would tap me and ask when we could go back and see bubba (Logan). Since the whole sleep wasn't happening I got up after 2 hours and showered and got ready ot go back to the hospital. We stopped at the store to get Logan a surprise and a balloon and headed back to the hospital. When I got back I was so thankful I left and had gone home. While I was gone they decided to do another test to check for H1N1. This test involved them putting a tube up his nose and into his lungs and stomach, once again they gave him nothing for the pain. I was so glad I didn't have to witness this test. They were keeping us overnight at the hospital so after we ate dinner together and watched a movie as a family in Logan's room, we said our goodnights to Brandon and Riley and they went home. Logan still was on a liquid diet, but we were told if he ate his breakfast and kept it down, plus had no ketones in his urine 2 times in a row we could go home the next day. That night I didn't get much sleep once again, but at least I had a bed this time. When breakfast came Logan did pretty well but couldn't eat very much. He had one test with no ketones but the next time it was positive again. I was starting to get discouraged since things were not going they way we had hoped. At around 11am Logan's endocronologist to check on Logan. He was worried since Logan was not drinking enough fluids on his own. He then proceeded to take Logan's DS away and turn off the tv until Logan drank and entire bottle of apple juice. We absolutely love Dr. Swinyard, he is the best. Dr. Swinyard said if Logan ate all of his lunch and drank all of his gatorade at lunch and had no ketones we could be released. So when lunch came Logan kept his end of the deal and ate everything. They tested his urine at 1:30 and it came back clear so they got our paperwork together for Logan's release. We were finally going home after a very long weekend. I am so thankful after it all that he is ok and feeling good again. Everyone at Primary Children's was amazing for the most part. I hope we don't have anymore hospital stays for a long time.

Climbing Higher

2009-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my Kindergartener, Riley. However he is not the best about using his backpack and giving me all his notes and papers. So on Wed. September 9th (my posts are out of order) and around 9:30 am Riley comes to me and says " Mom here I forgot to give you this note". I look at the note and Ry was suppose to have recieved his first climbing higher award ever at school that very morning at 8:40am. I wanted to kill him, not really, but I was sad and upset all at the same time. So later that day when I went to take him to school we went into his class and his teacher presented him with his award. He recieved it for always using a quite voice and working well in class. I was absolutely shocked since Ry is never quite at home, none the less we are very proud of him.

Woods Cross High Chatelles

2009-10-05T22:39:00.000-07:00

Friday September 11th we went to Woods Cross's Homecoming game to watch our niece perform at half time. It was a lot of fun to go back to our old high school and watch a football game. They football team is a lot better then when I went to school there. At half time we got to watch my niece Cheyenne perform with the drill team. The Chatelles did a great job, I was so proud of her. Brandon however was in charge of taking pictures and he didn't do the best jobbut at least one turned out. Cheyenne is the 3rd girl in from the left.

Cowabunga Water Park

2009-10-05T19:19:00.001-07:00

On Labor Day we went to the new water park in Draper. It was not the warmest weather for a water park, but it wasn't too bad. We all loved the fact that the water at Cowabunga was salt water. The water park wasn't too crowded, which was really nice. The slides were a lot of fun, Ry was barely big enough to go on all the slides. When Riley went down the slides he was so small that he would shoot out at the bottom. We spent 4 hours there which was perfect. It was such a fun day to spend with the family.

Attempt at a Camp Out

2009-10-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Well since we didn't get to go camping at all this year, the boys kept asking to camp out in the backyard. So we decided to set our tent up in the backyard and camp out for the night. The boys were so excited and we even started a fire in our fireplace outside. The night started off great, but it all went downhill from there. First the wind came up and started blowing so many sparks from the fire that we had to put the fire out. After that we decided to call it a night and get in the tent for bed. Well we all settled in for the night nice and cozy. Well about an hour into it Ry woke up crying that he was scared and didn't like the tent. Brandon was sleeping on a bump in the lawn and it was starting to get cold. We couldn't get Ry calmed down so we had to pack it up and go inside. So much for our camp out!!! I remember when I was a kid camping out all the time in a tent. I guess we have spoiled our kids by camping in the motor home all the time.

Swiss Day's

2009-10-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip up to Midway for Swiss days this year. It was such a beautiful drive up through Provo Canyon. The weather was perfect for the drive up, not too hot not too cold. When we got to Midway we couldn't believe the traffic. It is always busy at Swiss days, however this year was even more crowded then before. After fighting the traffic to get a parking spot it was off to fight the crowds. Shorthly after we got there the storm rolled in and we got rained on. It wasn't too bad and luckily it didn't last long. We had some great food while we were there and enjoyed looking at all the different booths. The boys had a lot of fun doing the rock climbing wall too. All in all it was a fun family outing.