Krissy Jo

My sweet niece, Kristie, was able to come and visit her "Utah" family for a few weeks. Unfortunate circumstances took her away early, but I am so glad she was able to be here with us for as long as she was! She stayed with my sister, Kim, for most of the time. But luckily, we had her stay at our house for a couple of nights. What a great time we had! We got to go and see Twilight together...Yeah! And she asked me to take her to Temple Square. What is a trip to Utah without Temple Square, right? We had such a great time and I think we wore her out, but I am so grateful that I got to spend the short time with her that I did. She and Caden really bonded. It was cute to watch them sit together playing a game or watching a show. She is so great and I want her to know how much I LOVE HER!!! I'm so glad you got to visit Kris!!

Jace's New Glasses!

A little over a month ago, I went to the boys school to help out with the vision screening testing. All the students came into the cafeteria one class at a time to have their eye sight checked. There were two volunteers in each line. One to help the kids cover each eye and have them stand in the right place (behind the red line) and the other to point at what letter was to be read. If the kids could read all the letters standing behind the red line then they were seeing at 20/20. Caden came through my line and he did great, I checked Jackson in between classes and he was fine. Then Jace got to come through my line as well. When I checked him, I had him do it like 3 times, poor kid...he couldn't see a thing! I went with with him over to the eye doctor who did more extensive testing on the kids who had trouble reading in my line. He was seeing at 20/70.

So, needless to say, we got him into the eye doctor right away. Sure enough, he needed glasses, but luckily he won't need to wear a patch or anything.

Jace was so excited to get glasses! I was a little surprised at how anxious he was to get them. He came in crying one afternoon after he'd had them for just under a month. He'd fallen off his bike and totally crunched the frames! There was no fixing those puppies! So I threw him in the Yukon and we ran down to the eye doctor to order a new pair. He's on his second frames and he's had quite a few close calls...I've had to bend them back into shape about 3 times (in less than two weeks!!!) I went ahead and ordered another set of frames, because he's six years old and he's a boy...and I have no doubt in my mind that we will need them before long!

We just had his one month follow-up visit and the doctor said he showed visible improvement. Yeah! He is so cute in his glasses!

Fall Family Pictures

We drove up Provo Canyon last week for our fall family pictures. Jenn shot our family and I shot the kids. I had so much fun and the boys did really good! (Thank heavens for bribery!! Yes I use candy to bribe my children!) The pictures of the boys are all posted in the right column. I love my job! Here are some pictures of other photo shoots (and a Christmas Card) that I've done:

The Jeffery Family

The Sase Family

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Just Call Me Corky!

So we went to a silent auction last Friday night. I bid on this really cool BYU Basket for Mark. It had a BYU T-shirt, BYU hat, the Fall 2008 True Blue magazine, all signed by #45 Harvey Unga and of course tickets to a game. Pretty cool, right?

I was in a hurry when I wrote down my bid and there were several BYU baskets (this was one of the best) some were for the next day’s game, others were for games in November. These tickets were for BYU vs. New Mexico in November. Perfect! My friend, Michele, called that evening to let me know that I won. I told her it was a surprise for Mark and asked if she would just hold on to basket and I would get it from her on Monday while he was at work.

Saturday morning we went to see the Golding boys play football. I was telling Jen about the basket I won and she said she’d watch the kids for us for the game. I wasn’t going to tell Mark about it at all, we were just going to show up at the game. Then I’d give him the rest of the basket for Christmas.

Saturday evening, we were heading to dinner with Mark’s brother Joe and his sister Marlene. (I had told Marlene about the basket earlier in the day and that it was for the New Mexico game.) Mark was checking the score on his Blackberry while we were driving. I asked Joe who they were playing and he said, “New Mexico.” I about died, Marlene felt so bad. Ryan just laughed! Mark kept asking what was wrong, so I had to tell him. I still wasn’t sure if it was actually that day’s game, so I tried to get a hold of Michele to have her check the tickets. I was finally able to reach her and we totally missed it! The game started at 4pm and it was already past 6pm. I totally looked at the tickets wrong! What a bummer! Oh, well, I had good intentions. The weather was crappy and we had plans with his family so Mark wasn’t too upset. He was pretty happy about the rest of the basket, still. I just feel bad that I ruined one of his Christmas surprises. Just call me Corky!

I'll be back!

My lack of internet these days has kept me from posting, but not to worry, I'll be back online soon!

Lake Powell

Mark and I got to go to Lake Powell for 4 days last week. We had such a great time! Grandma Neilene flew out from North Dakota to stay with the kids so we could go. This was my first trip to Powell and I can't wait to go back. There were 24 of us, adults only. We had 2 house boats, 2 ski boats, 4 jet skis and tons of food! We stayed in Moki Canyon, went on a 10 mile hike (which was more than any of us bargained for) that was such a neat experience, did lots of exploring, cliff diving and playing on the water, ate tons of food, and tried to ignore the naked people in the house boat across from us! We also got to try out the Aqua Skipper, play horseshoes and experience The Crack. It was so relaxing and we had such a great time!

When we first left the kids, I was so sad, but by the end of our trip, I didn't want to come home! I LOVE my kids, but a vacation away is much needed from time to time!! Our next destination: Hawaii!

Mark jumping from about 50 feet

Yes, that would be Mark on the far right!

Jeff on the Aqua Skipper...the guys were hilarious on that thing!

The house boat that we stayed on
The Crack

Jack's Shiny Red Bike

Jackson is my kid who would stay inside playing video games all day if I let him. During the summer he's outside all the time, but it is seriously like pulling teeth to get him to go outside when his brothers are in school. The weather is so nice and I want him to be able to enjoy the outside as long as possible, so this was my solution. We went yesterday and he picked out this bike. I tried to get him to get one just a little bit bigger, but this was the one he wanted. So, we brought it home and he's been outside ever since! Gotta Love It!!

Jackson and Pieper riding together

Lofty Goals

Today is the first day of school, and I've got some pretty lofty goals. First of all, I must say that I have mixed feelings right now. I will miss the freedom of summer, being able to go and do things with the kids, but I am so happy to be back on a schedule. This summer has been absolutely NUTS!! I will definitely miss having the boys home, but at the same time, I am ready for some peace and quiet! Not that the boys were always playing at our house, but when they were, I swear, half the neighborhood kids were with them!

Jace is in first grade this year, Caden is in fifth grade and Jackson is in his second year of pre-school. I cannot believe how big my boys are! I got suckered into doing pre-school again, so I get to be Jackson's teacher this year, too. I am glad about that. I get bored during the day and I'm used to having lots of things to do...especially since my Texas schedule was so hectic with daycare AND pre-school. And I am glad to know exactly what Jackson is learning. It's so fun to watch his expressions as he is exposed to new things...he LOVES to learn!

Jace was nervous to go to first grade this morning. He's been so excited all summer that he gets to play on the "big play ground" this year. He's six and has quite the attitude for a six year old. Plus he has selective hearing loss and doesn't listen to a word I say. Last night I wanted to make sure that he KNEW it was not okay to be sassy to his teacher and that he needed to be a good listener. So I called to him in the other room, this was our conversation:

Me: Jace, tomorrow you meet your teacher. Are you going to be nice to her?
Jace: What?
Me: (a little louder) Are you going to be a good listener for your teacher?
Jace: (a lot louder!) What?
Me: (to myself) Never mind

I am sure he will do great, she is not "mom". Once we got to school and met his new teacher (she's young and really cute!) he said, "I think I will like this class." I know he will and I know he'll do great this year. He's a very smart kid and an excellent student. All of his teachers have absolutely adored him!

Caden is always excited about school. He's in class with a few of his friends from last year so he's pretty happy about that. His teacher speaks with an accent and he thinks that is pretty cool. We missed back to school night since we were out of town last week so we went a little early this morning to meet both of their teachers, find their classrooms and find their desks. Caden will do just fine, he couldn't get rid of me fast enough!! This was our conversation:

Me: Are you going to be able to find you class room?
Caden: Yeah, I am going to go play.
Me: Well, do you need anything else?
Caden: No, I'm good. Can I go?
Me: Okay....have a good day!
Caden: .... (he was around the corner and out the door)

He is in fifth grade and I suppose it's uncool to have your mom walk you to class. At least no one else was inside the building, so none of his friends saw. I wouldn't have walked with him to class if we'd gone to back to school night! Poor thing! Oh well.

So about those "lofty goals"...I am aiming really high this year!

This is our schedule and we did great this morning!

6:00am Get up and work out for 30 minutes (this is just for Mark and I)
6:30am Get the kids up and read scriptures until 7:00
7:00am Make hot breakfast while the kids get ready for school
7:20 am Eat breakfast
7:50am Car pool

It took a few minutes for Jace to wake up, but he finally joined us. I wouldn't dream of disturbing Jackson's slumber for scripture reading...he's a bear if he gets woken up. But Caden did great! He was tired, but a willing participant. I am really excited about this. I hope we can get into the habit of reading scriptures as a family, everyday. I know it will benefit our family.

Spontaneous...

We took a very last minute, very fun trip to North and South Dakota last week. There was a LOT of driving involved, but it was way worth it. We figured with it being the last week of the kids summer break, we may as well take the opportunity to go! We knew once school started there was no way we'd be able to pull it off. We went with Mark's sister, Marlene, and most of the kids cousins: Taylor, Emilee, Jadon, Jonalyn and Jamie to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We went to church with Joe and Neilene on Sunday, took a trip to the Zoo and spent lots of time at the water park where they are staying. The kids had so much fun!!! We did some shopping and of course played a few games of pitch. Then we were off again.

On our way home we stopped in Deadwood. That was an interesting little western town. You can see in the photo what Emilee thought of Deadwood! We visited Cosmo, a little place near Mt. Rushmore, where everything defies gravity...the kids loved it there. And then went to see Mt. Rushmore. What an amazing place. On our way home through Wyoming we stopped at Martin's Cove and learned more about the pioneers and their rescue at the Sweetwater River.

We had such a great trip. We got home last night. The kids start school tomorrow and I am so ready to be back on a schedule! We miss you Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks for the fun trip!!

(I promised Jamie and Taylor that I would post this picture on my blog, so this is for them!!)

What Happens in Vegas...

In the beginning of August we spent fun-filled weekend with the Goldings. We loaded up the car, dropped off the kids and headed on down to Vegas. We had a BLAST! We stayed at Planet Hollywood, right on the strip. We got to see "Stomp Out Loud" and "O". Both were really great shows.

The boys got to enjoy the rides at the top of the Stratosphere,

while Jen and I enjoyed the view.

As part of our "Package Deal", we GOT (notice I used the work "got" instead of "had") to go to the Westgate Owner’s Dinner for an hour. This is where they try to persuade you to upgrade your timeshare from a two bedroom to a four bedroom. It was held in a conference room with a nice little buffet in the back. They had a DJ and of course we got to sit with DeWayne (words cannot describe this man). There were several other owners there, suffering just like we were. It was the type of thing that you were sure you would die of boredom before the end of the night. So, what does Mark do? He decides to get up and provide the evening's entertainment by demonstrating how well white people can dance! Anyone who knows Mark KNOWS that he can NOT dance, and will understand how embarrassing and hilarious this was for everyone involved! But was he embarrassed? No! He didn’t care! He and DeWayne ended up having a dance off. I actually think that Mark may have won that one! I was dying! It was really funny and he did certainly liven up the evening!

Of course there was shopping and great food, between the buffets and Mark insisted that we eat at In-N-Out, twice. It was so nice to get away for a few days. Fun times!!

Happy Anniversary!!

I cannot believe that it has already been 9 years! Married life with Mark has been great so far! We've had tons of adventures and I know there are more to come! I am so lucky to be married to the man of my dreams! He is honest, hard working, funny, spiritual, a wonderful father and a great husband.

I was visiting with a friend of mine about a week ago and we were talking about relationships. She said, "Of course you love your husband, Kristie...but what's so great about you and Mark is that you two actually LIKE each other. You WANT to be around each other. You have FUN together. You ENJOY each others company. A lot of people don't have that." Her comment really made me think and I realized how lucky Mark and I are. It made me sad to think that some people don't have that type of relationship with their spouse. I am so glad that Mark is my best friend, and yeah, we have a blast together! He makes me laugh every day...and I'm looking forward to another 9 years!

Love ya babe!

Temple Square

We went to Temple Square a few weeks ago with Mark's brother, Joe, and his family. It had been so long since Mark and I had been there and we really wanted to take the kids again. We took the tour of the Conference Center (which we had never done before. It's pretty impressive!) and we watched the Joseph Smith movie at the Legacy Theatre in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Then walked around the temple grounds. Jace and Jackson asked alot of questions after the movie and it gave Mark and I a great opportunity to share our testimonies with them. Caden got to talk to a Sister Missionary at the Visitor's Center about the Saviors visit to the America's and I was really impressed with his comments and questions. He's a smart kid! It was such a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I feel so blessed to live so close to Salt Lake and to be able to do things like this. It is a great reminder of our Church's heritage, and a wonderful way to feel the Spirit.